How to Get Started As A Baby Brand Rep

Hey everyone! So today's post has been HIGHLY requested and I am so excited to finally share it all with you!

I get so many questions on how I got Oaklee started as a "Brand Rep" on Instagram! I guess for those of you who don’t know or are wanting more information about what exactly that is/means, I will break it down for you.

Smalls shops are looking for people who are willing to take high quality photos of their products to use for a wide range of purposes. (ex. Instagram, facebook, website ect.) In exchange you either receive free product or you get product at discounted price.  

I actually started shopping small when I saw all these cute clothes on pinterest and wanted to know where they came from. That is when I found the greatest shopping site on planet earth… Etsy (say goodbye to all your money). I’d heard about Etsy before but never really took the time to check it out but once I ordered my first item I was hooked! I love the wide range of items available and that it wasn’t something that EVERY baby around  was going to have!

Then one day I was searching online about how to get your baby started in modeling (typical mom move am I right?) and I accidentally stumbled upon a blog post about “Brand Repping”. I thought, “hmm.. I think I could do that since I already shop small.” So I posted pictures of O in her stuff on my instagram and started tagging the shops and then entered her into a few “brand rep searches”. At first she wasn’t winning any but then one shop (Baby skye birds nest) believed in us and we were picked as a brand enthusiast! (That was one of the greatest feelings in the world to be honest! )

 After that I started looking at other brand reps Instagrams and noticed I needed to change a few things to really make this work. Those things I have listed below:

What to do if I want to get my child started in Brand Repping:

·         Create an Instagram specifically for Brand Rep work. Shops want you to help promote their items to other people who might be interested in the same things. Your friends might not be the best audience for that. Create a new instagram and follow other brand rep members and shops! Get to know the brand repping community (they’re amazing btw).

·        Make sure you have the equipment to take high quality looking photos. I’m not saying you HAVE to have a nice camera, back drops & lighting but it does make a difference when you have clear, crisp looking photos. I will give an example below: This was one of Oaklee’s first brand rep pictures.

      Now this is what her photos look like now. 

      Which would be more appealing to you as a shop owner?

·        Enter Brand Rep searches. Search the hashtag #brandrepsearch or #babybrandrepsearch you will find shops that are currently holding “brand rep searches”. Looking over the terms and if you think it would be a good fit then enter! (The rules on how to enter are written below the picture). At the beginning this can seem like a waiting game. Shops are looking for a specific look and sometimes you just don’t fit that “look.” Just keep on trying!  

·        Create a following. Like I said before, get to know the brand rep comminuty. Follow and support other brand rep members. Follow and support other small shops. They will begin to do the same and more and more people will follow.

·        Post regularly. I think this one is HUGE! With so many reps out there you can get lost in the feed. Make sure you are posting at least ONCE a day in my opinion. That makes it so shops/reps can keep seeing your work. Instagram is set up in a way that the more you post, like, and comment the more relevant you become on someone else’s feed. This process will also help you to gain followers!

·        Be truly interested in wanting to help the brand grow. Don’t enter a search if you don’t truly love the items the shop has to offer. Simple as that. The shop is trusting you to help promote sales, giveaways and new products and who wants to do that for a product they don’t like? Not me.

·        You will need to spend some $. Most shops require a monthly purchase (with a discount) and if you don’t make that monthly purchase you may be terminated as a rep. This isn’t about getting “free stuff”.

I’d also like to note that this does require a lot of time and attention. I usually spend about an hour a day taking pictures, editing them and posting. This doesn’t include the time I spend commenting, replying, and liking. It’s not for someone who just wants “free stuff”.

I truly adore each and every shop we rep for and I am so extremely grateful and blessed for the amazingly generous shop owners. This community and shopping small in general, will really give you a since of appreciation for how much time, effort and love goes into each piece. You are helping to support someones dream and that itself is so rewarding.

And that’s pretty much it! If you are interested at all please feel free to contact me. I’d LOVE to help you get started, give tips, whatever you need! Once you get involved you will be hooked, I promise! It’s so rewarding! We rarely have to go to the store and buy Oaklee clothes, bows and shoes anymore. You will find some amazing shops with even more amazing owners!

Thanks for taking the time to read this very long post and please be sure to follow Oaklee!

Love Always,

The Crazy Collards