The influencer scene has dramatically changed over the past few years, and despite the fact that it’s more saturated than ever, brands are still counting on influencers to help promote new products, share brand messaging, and reach new customers. If you’ve seen the phrase “PR-friendly” listed in the Instagram bios of influencers you follow, you may be wondering exactly what that means, and most importantly, how can you use those strategies to build more meaningful relationships in your own life. As a publicist who recently celebrated a decade in business, there are many things my colleagues and I would like you to know.

For starters, we LOVE working with influencers, especially those that are truly fond of the brands we represent. Secondly, there are some universal things influencers can do to make their working relationship with PR pros even better. Here are 5 tips publicists want fashion influencers to know:

#1 - A media kit is a must-have

Brands and publicists often ask influencers for a media kit to make sure their content and audience is a good fit for their clients. Your media kit should include basic information about you including topics you cover, regular content that you post, stats (followers, impression rate, engagement, etc.), and a summary of your social media channels that you regularly post content on. You can also include other areas of interest as well to help facilitate the brainstorming process when working with publicists on content. To be especially PR-friendly, you should also include past brand collaborations and projects you’ve worked on so that prospective brands can better understand your range and abilities.

Your media kit can be a single sheet with a summary of information or a beautiful PDF document with multiple pages and images. It should be current and ready to send when requests hit your inbox. There are many free resources available online to help compile beautiful media kits including Canva, or you can hire a graphic designer to make your kit perfectly on-brand.

If you’re an influencer looking for compensation on posts, that should be disclosed upfront and not thrown as a curveball at the end. You can include pricing information in your media kit or send it separately once the conversation matures. Be sure to include add-ons that may be of value to a brand such as Pinterest pins, Instagram Reels, Youtube features, or anything else you may be offering that brands may want to include in their partnership with you.

Due to the on-going COVID pandemic, keep in mind that some brands may have smaller budgets than usual or no budgets at all, with the exception of product to gift. If you love the brand, considering working with them anyway in order to build the relationship. As budgets bounce back, brands will often reach back out to influencers they know and love to partner on future campaigns.

#2 - Know your niche

One of the things that has backfired on influencers over the past several years is posting inappropriate content. No, we’re not talking about anything X-rated, we’re specifically talking about content that does not fit within the context of an influencers’ overall brand. This could include posting about products that wouldn't necessarily be selected by an influencer to cover without monetary compensation, but could also include situations in which the style of a post is outside the norm. Knowing your niche is key for both your audience and prospective brands because it will organically dictate the type of content people can expect to see. Of course you can veer off the path as you evolve your brand, but don’t post about things that you don’t love just because there may be money on the table. All the money in the world isn’t worth corroding your brand, and besides, this will only confuse both your followers and prospective brands along the way. On that note, if you get approached by publicists who rep brands that aren’t a fit, it’s ok to tell them so, but be polite and consider keeping the conversation going. You never know what other brands they represent, or what possibilities may exist in the future.

#3 - Cultivate relationships with your favorite publicists

In the world of fashion PR, relationships make the world go round. Doors can open and close in the blink of an eye, especially if you don’t know the rules of the game. If you’ve had the good fortune of working with publicists that you like, make sure they know that you want your relationship with them to be more than just a one-off post. This means being willing to see beyond the initial sponsored post and find ways to add value to their clients by coming up with creative ideas on how to maximize key messaging within the context of your site or platform. Publicists are often privy to information about a brand that influencers aren’t when it comes to brand strategy and what new opportunities may be just around the bend. Be patient and continue building the relationship, especially if you enjoy the brands the publicist is working with.

There are many times I’ve worked with influencers on product trade and other times that I’ve been able to secure larger deals that include monetary compensation. Remember that there are many other forms of payment that may be valuable to influencers including brand alignments, product gifting, and opportunities for additional exposure to support personal brand-building. Think big picture, and publicists will too. 

#4 - Wrap it up with a (pretty) bow

If you’ve come to an agreement with the publicist, don't drop the ball. Many publicists often share horror stories with me about working with influencers who fall off the grid during a project only to casually re-appear months later wanting to pick-up where they left off. Please don’t ghost publicists. We are often working on tight deadlines with multiple stakeholders and we don’t have the time (or energy) to hunt you down. When influencers go rogue, they lose credibility. One of the things influencers don’t realize is that the PR community is pretty tight-knit and we all talk. Bad behavior gets around and publicists always remember when they’ve been snubbed.

If you agree to do a post or collaboration, fulfill the terms of the agreement and let your PR contact know if you need support. Life happens, things come up, we totally get it, but we can’t help you if you aren’t communicating what’s happening. Last but not least, when your post goes LIVE, don’t forget to tag the brand and/or publicist so that they can share with their clients and help cross-promote your content.

#5 - Keep in Touch

As a communications expert, this last tip is a no-brainer to me, but I’m often surprised at how often this is missed by even the most well-intentioned influencers. Fashion publicists need and want to cultivate positive relationships with influencers, but it’s not a one-way street. We also want influencers to keep in touch with us by sending updates on what they’re working on, pitching collab ideas that may be relevant for clients, and thinking outside the box on things we can partner on in the future. If you’re an influencer looking to build, send a note to the publicists in your network to stay on their radar. As we often say in the PR world, “Communication makes the world go ‘round”.

The influencer world is rapidly changing, but there’s still plenty of space for new and unique voices to shine. I hope you enjoyed these 5 tips that publicists want fashion influencers to know. Now go out there, and use your influence to make the world a better place!

Note: This post was originally written by me for PR Couture back in 2015 and has since been updated to include new and relevant information. You can read the original post here.