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
