Content partnerships can massively amplify your brand. We’re going to explain what to consider and how to make them a success…
Would anyone have known Sonny without Cher? Or Siegfried without Roy? Or Buzz Lightyear without Woody? Who knows… But what we do know is that their partnerships were the rocket force behind their success. Content partnerships, much like these entertainment duos, can be worth their weight in Swarovski-encrusted onesies.
We don’t know anything about Hollywood fashion (that’s clear), but we do know a thing or two about partnerships. Big Bee Content is built entirely on the premise of collaboration – with our production partners, with our clients and with their other agency partners too. For us, collaboration is the key to effective, quality creative content.
Why are content partnerships useful?
- Expanded expertise
When you are able to combine your own expertise, talents and knowledge with that of others, you amplify the quality and weight of content, making it more robust and gaining further understanding of the relevant issues yourself. You are both giving and gaining greater expertise.
- Shared resources
Collaborating also means combining resources, be it equipment, finance or support services. You might want to do an ‘expertise exchange’ where you offer your services to one another, rather than paying each other. Collaborating can be a cost effective way of working, whether you’re starting out or you’re established.
- Discovering new audiences
Collaborating with others allows you to introduce yourself to those who are outside your niche, but still relevant. You might want to hone in on alternative audiences and topics. Partnering with people who are already influential in that space can provide a step up, offering you some instant credibility through association.
- Unleashing creativity
Partnering is a fantastic way to inspire and be inspired, getting those creative juices flowing and challenging your brain to think a little differently. You’ll find ideas start to bounce around or grow and expand when you’re sharing and finding flow with other collaborators. Different minds produce different thoughts and so, what begins as a simple seed, can grow into an epic rainbow mutant Venus fly trap with purple spikes that can eject from its leaves on a mission to take down the evil poison ivy that’s infesting the world. Or something.
- Building morale
There is nothing that gives you a morale boost more than finding people that you really vibe well with and killing it with awesome content. That team effort, having fun along the way and overcoming any hurdles together to create something new is priceless!
- Boosting credibility
When you partner with relevant, supportive partners who have already made a name for themselves with their audience, you’re given a leg up in the credibility stakes. It also looks great to onlookers that you’re collaborating, demonstrating the ability to work well in a team. You can support each other in social media by commenting and sharing each other’s work, providing useful social proof and boosts for each other’s content. Gold stars all round.
Examples of content partnerships
Now, that’s 6 strong reasons to consider content partnerships, but what might content partnerships actually look like? Content partnerships come in all shapes and sizes and can be formed to suit your unique needs. But here are a few examples:
Content sharing across platforms
A very simple content partnership might look like finding a well-aligned partner organisation and sharing content on each other’s platforms. This can provide you with back links to your website, external links to theirs, and get your expertise out to a wider audience, while offering some niche information to them. Depending on where it’s published, you might have to be very transparent that this is a content partnership, as platforms such as Instagram and Facebook require you to add in all partners details. Transparency is always a welcome addition in the world of ethical content, so these types of measures should be embraced (we certainly do at Big Bee).
Guest slots
Guest slots are one of our favourite routes to partnership, because they can provide such useful content to the audience and help to build the relationship that you have with your partner/s in a really organic way. You might be a guest on their podcast, or vice versa where you get to know each other better through deep questioning; you might do a guest takeover of their social media platforms where you provide insights demonstrating your expertise, or you might appear in an episode of theirs on YouTube that allows you to bond over the process of filming. Whatever media is used, guest slots provide fantastic opportunities to form stronger partnerships with like-minded collaborators – and who knows where they might lead!
Social support partnerships
A social support partnership is essentially an agreement to make a conscious effort to support one another’s work publicly. Sharing, commenting and reacting positively to each other’s social media posts, sharing the other’s blogs in original social media posts and bigging up your partners’ successes can provide a boost in both the rankings and in the feel-good factor. (We all need a good old pat on the back sometimes!)
Advisory partnerships
Content partnerships don’t have to be external-facing. Bringing in a partner as a stakeholder to advise on your content plans, engage in content workshops and sense check your content output is an extremely valuable opportunity, bolstering your content in the long term, improving and maintaining quality. There is no shame in asking for help, in fact, it’s a really valuable way to up your content game.
Influencer partnerships
Influencers are often phenomenal content creators who have built strong followings based on the quality and regularity of their content. Partnering with an influencer is, therefore, a fantastic way to tap into a specific market, especially done in an authentic way that honours how they usually do content. It’s really important to respect the way they create. Lean into it, adapting your message in a creative spin that suits both parties and entertains/informs their audience.
“The easiest way to turn off your community members is to broadcast the same message across multiple channels. Instead, determine the kind of content that interests the members of your community in a way that is useful to them.”
– Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute
What Joe Pulizzi says here stands true not just on your own channels. Content has to be created to suit the needs of the audience, no matter if you’re talking to your own nurtured audience, or that of an influencer.
Supplier/client partnerships
Your suppliers and clients should be some of your strongest advocates. Consider approaching them to ask for an introduction to their audience. This might look like a mention in their newsletter, a slot on their intranet, or a shout out on their social media…maybe even a case study in how you’ve worked together. All of these options can demonstrate your positive influence, introduce you to new audiences and provide insightful content for each of you to share.
Tips for successful content partnerships
- Be unafraid
- Stay relevant
- Beware reputational damage
- Sign agreement of terms
- Beware social media rules and regulations
- Find trusted, expert partners
- Have fun
About the Author
Niki May Blane is founder of Big Bee Content – our ‘Queen Bee’.
A former journalist and content production manager, she is a passionate storyteller and maintains order in the Hive by carefully aligning disciplines to deliver projects. Niki can most commonly be found buzzing around delivering virtual workshops and creating copious amounts of copy.
