6 Tips for Successful Sponsored Posts

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You’ve been working hard to grow your social media accounts. You've spent hours creating posts, engaging with other users, and developing your online presence. But as you look at your page, you realize the organic reach isn't what you hoped for. And, let's be honest: it can feel a bit disheartening.

You may even be considering throwing in the towel. Don't! Instead, consider how you might jumpstart your engagement with sponsored posts. This guide will explore how you can use creator marketing, especially the sponsored posts approach, to grow your LinkedIn and X accounts with organic engagement.

Megaphone's viral on-demand platform can help you achieve your goals. With this simple tool, you can find, customize, and promote posts with creators that align with your brand to put your name in front of their audiences and grow your social media accounts.

Benefits of Sponsored Posts for Businesses

Boosting Brand Trust Through Sponsored Content

In today’s market, products and services don’t sell themselves. You need a brand that people trust to get most consumers to try what you offer, and this isn’t limited to new brands. Sponsored content allows your business to build trust with the publisher’s audience. When a stranger trusts you, it can do wonders for your reputation and ability to make sales.

Raising Brand Awareness with Sponsored Posts

Brand awareness is a crucial component of your business’s existence. After all, if people don’t know about you, they can’t give your company a shot. And yet, it is also among the most challenging marketing goals to achieve. Not only is everyone in your industry racing to improve theirs, but it takes considerable time and patience to succeed. With sponsored content, however, you can boost brand awareness among the publisher’s audience.

Improving brand awareness through individual endeavors is still crucial, as it expands your reach even further in the long term. Leveraging sponsored content gives you the boost you need in the short term to establish visibility and draw more curious shoppers to your products or services.

Generating Consumer Interest

Reaching consumers where they’re at, and in a way that doesn’t feel overly promotional, is a great way to generate consumer interest in your brand. That is especially true when you deliver ads or content on a platform with relevance. Take, for instance, a travel blog (publisher) and a destination spot (brand). In travel marketing, the travel blog already has many trusted visitors who visit its site most days.

When the destination ad appears smoothly with the rest of the page’s content, combined with a memorable image or text that catches the reader’s eye, it will pique customer interest. Sponsored content isn’t limited to delivering ads on a publisher’s platform but can come in various formats, like social media influencers and paid articles or guest blogging.

Engaging Readers with Sponsored Content

How your target audience interacts with your brand determines how well you reach and resonate with your current and potential customers. Also, the more your brand is in front of them — whether through engagement cues such as Likes, Shares, Comments, or brand mentions — the more likely it will be at the forefront of their mind when they’re ready to purchase.

Readers actively engage with content from publishers they’ve built a connection with over time. When your content or message is delivered similarly and on the same site, those same readers are more open and engaged with your material. That is because it feels less like engaging with a brand they don’t know (even if it is the case) and more like engaging with content delivered by a publisher they already know and love.

Using Sponsored Content to Drive Sales

There’s nothing more frustrating than generating plenty of leads but struggling to convert them. It is less frequently a problem with sponsored content because you attract higher quality and more relevant leads. As a result, they are more likely to convert and make a sale when exposed to your offer.

6 Tips for Successful Sponsored Posts

1. Use Megaphone

Megaphone is a viral on-demand platform designed to boost your online presence authentically and organically. Our software connects you with influential creators in your niche to help you grow impressions, followers, and leads without relying on paid ads. Key features include:

A sophisticated engagement network,

A private engagement pod service (coming soon),

Diverse creator partnerships for sponsored posts, X spaces, and newsletter ads (coming soon).

Megaphone caters to startup founders, marketers, emerging creators, and ghostwriting agencies seeking to amplify their digital footprint and social proof. Our complex matching algorithm ensures you partner with your field's most suitable and valuable creators. Go viral today with our viral on-demand platform.

2. Choose Advocates Who Match Your Brand

Partner with sponsors or influencers whose style or audience matches your brand and can resonate with the people you want to reach. It may be tempting to partner with the most popular entity with an extensive reach, but if their audience isn't your audience, you won't get anywhere with your promotion. After all, if the right people aren't seeing it, why are you doing it? Instead, keep the sponsor or influencer in your industry.

If you sell kitchen goods, try partnering with a TikTok cooking influencer. If you're a plumber (or any Home Services company), partner with a locally trusted media outlet to reach residents in your local market. Working with more minor sponsors or influencers also allows for a more even partnership since they will likely give your brand more attention than someone with innumerable sponsors they must promote.

3. Choose the Proper Platforms for Your Audience

Just as the sponsor should be relevant to your audience, so should the platform on which you deliver your ad or promotion. The top three social media platforms for brand promotions by influencers are Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. However, you should only use them if your audience is active on them. For instance, leading industry topics in popular platforms include:

Facebook

Financial service, retail, entertainment, gaming, media, telecom, consumer goods, automotive businesses, and technology.

YouTube

They are very diverse, but gaming, beauty, cooking, DIY home improvement projects, and educational topics are the most popular.

Instagram

Popular for very visual audiences, like cosmetics, fashion, photography, home building, interior design, food industry, travel specialty repairs, and more.

TikTok

Entertainment, dance, DIY, fitness and sports, fashion, cooking, pets, and beauty/skincare

It is primarily for business, so topics often involve company information, networking, hiring, partnering, product stocks, etc.

With these in mind — and the knowledge that there are dozens of other websites to sponsor and platforms to leverage influencers on — create content for platforms your audience uses, such as social media or podcasts, to reach them where and how they want you to get or engage with them.

4. Know Your End-Goal and Work Backwards

Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive web traffic and sales, or increase lead generation? You need to know where you want to be to ensure your sponsored content campaign will get you there. If you want to increase brand awareness, podcasts are a massive hit for reaching your specific audience by narrowing down industry-related podcasts.

Social media also successfully generates quality leads demonstrating purchasing intent, and website sponsorships have a track record of driving web traffic and influencing sales. Whatever the objective, prepare your campaign for 376% more success by applying the SMART technique —using specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely plans — before creating your sponsorship strategies.

5. Prepare Multiple Campaigns for Flexibility

Keep your campaign flexible for quick and easy improvements. Advertising requires a lot of trial and error, and digital solutions have made it incredibly easy to make real-time adjustments that boost success. Like Marco Bizzarri once said, "The market is moving so fast, there is nothing set into the wall. You need to be very, very flexible."

In sponsored content campaigns, the key is to plan multiple campaigns to run simultaneously or try a few different types of campaigns to gauge which has the best results. That allows you to avoid ad annoyance by delivering various campaigns while also ditching the ones that aren't up to your standards and building off the ones that are a hit.

6. Embrace Changing Trends

Trends in marketing and consumer behavior/preferences are constantly changing. Develop your sponsored content campaign plans with the flexibility to roll with changing trends. Note that although it feels riskier to allow the influencer you sponsor to adapt their messaging to reach their audience best, it's often the best way to deliver it more authentically. After all, higher risks frequently mean higher rewards.

Collaborative Marketing

How to Get More Views on Tiktok

Content Creator vs Influencer

How to Increase Social Media Engagement

How to Increase Brand Awareness on Social Media

Why Storytelling is Important in Marketing

What Makes a Video Go Viral

Social Media Content Creators

Creator Partnerships

Instagram Collaboration

Content Ideas for Sponsored Posts

Listicles: The Classic, Go-To Format for Sponsored Content

Listicles, informational articles structured as a list, are one of your toolkit's most effective content marketing tools. Listicles are easy to consume and allow readers to skim for enticing information. People are wired to enjoy reading lists. This form of content also allows marketers to smoothly weave promotional messages into the article without appearing too salesy. Here are some great examples:

15 Bands That Probably Wouldn't Exist Without Led Zeppelin by Spotify

This BuzzFeed article, sponsored by the music streaming service Spotify, is a phenomenal example of a strong listicle. It provides content that many music lovers would find interesting, and contains Calls to Action (CTAs) that link every band on the list to their Spotify profile. It also checked all the boxes to create a successful listicle.

Sunbathing: Expectation Vs. Reality by Cancer Research UK

This listicle, containing humorous content that is chock-full of images and videos, was sponsored by Cancer Research UK. By including humorous examples of relatable scenarios, Cancer Research UK smoothly spreads awareness about a serious message, such as wearing sunscreen when spending extended amounts of time in the sun to avoid skin cancer.

Long-Form Articles: Create a Story for Your Sponsored Content

A big trend in sponsored content marketing is longer, more substantive content. A study by Orbit Media found blog posts with larger word counts generate more traffic. When the content tells quality, memorable stories, like the examples below, the message sticks with its readers for far longer and ultimately garners results.

Women Inmates

Why the Male Mode Doesn’t Work and Cocainenomics by Netflix. Netflix has had exemplary content marketing as of late. They partnered with two prominent national news media publications, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, to post in-depth exposés on subjects relating to their Netflix Original TV shows: an examination of how women are treated in prison to promote “Orange is the New Black” and an explanatory piece on cocaine traffickers in Medellin for “Narcos.” Both articles had engaging content that would resonate with the show’s audience.

Exclusive Interview with Julia Marino by Mountain Dew

This long-form sponsored content was a feature article published by Vice Media. It contained a Q&A with snowboarder Julia Marino, a medal-winner for Pyeongchang's 2018 U.S. Olympic team. The captivating article contained several references to the brand Mountain Dew-sponsored events.

Videos: The Highly Engaging Sponsored Content Format

According to Convince and Convert, 1200% more shares are generated on social media by videos than text and images combined. Videos and dynamic photos draw the eye and generate considerably more engagement than other kinds of content. It can also fit in perfectly with the rest of your aligned and concentrated marketing strategy.

This makes it an ideal medium for sponsored content, including product tutorials, expert testimonials, informative animations, webinars, or exclusive behind-the-scenes content. It’s also perfect for influencer-driven content, particularly those on popular channels like YouTube. Here are a few examples:

Partnership with a YouTube Influencer by Audible

Audible, Amazon’s audiobook subsidiary, got several YouTube influencers to post videos highlighting their services. This instance was with influential lifestyle vlogger Grace Helbig, a user with over 3 million subscribers. The video itself, as well as its bio, publicized a promotion that gave first-time customers an audiobook for free.

Podcasts: The New Sponsored Content Frontier

According to a 2016 report from Statista, radio listeners have been on the decline. On the other hand, podcast listeners have skyrocketed, thanks partly to the rise of in-home interactive devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. They’re great channels for reaching a new brand’s target audience segment. Here are a couple of successful sponsored partnerships:

“All WeWork and No Play” Planet Money Segment Sponsored by WeWork

The popular NPR podcast Planet Money aired a podcast discussing the trend of flexible workspaces and making office spaces for co-working. It was sponsored by WeWork, a company that offers these sorts of work venues. The engaging segment effectively increased awareness of the company’s offerings and benefits.

“Chompers” by Oral B and Crest

“Chompers” is a podcast that contains entertaining trivia questions, riddles, and stories. It is published exclusively on the Amazon Echo. All of its subject matter has an emphasis on oral hygiene and health. It’s a perfect way to keep brands like Oral B and Crest at the forefront of consumers’ minds while delivering content that makes people smile.

Infographics: Visuals Make Your Sponsored Content More Appealing

Infographics are an essential storytelling medium for content marketers. Studies show that almost 50% of our brains are focused on visual processing. While infographics can be labor-intensive, they’re an investment your marketing team should consider to provide appealing and rich content.

7 Things You Didn’t Know About the Golden Gate Bridge by Wells Fargo and San Francisco Travel

This infographic was posted on Good Media’s website to boost tourism in the city. It provides visually appealing information about the bridge, ranging from the number of cars driven across to the babies born on it.

Global Logistics by UPS

This sponsored infographic, published by Good Media and Kiki Karpus, helps the audience visualize the grandiosity of the scale as to how a package goes from its source to your doorstep.

Thought Leadership Content: Position Your Brand As the Expert

Thought leadership is an intense way for brands to build legitimacy within their industries; it’s particularly effective for B2B organizations. It demonstrates that you know your stuff and are pioneering new ways to succeed within your field.

Green Tips to Introduce CSR to Your Organization by WCA Solutions

This blog, published on Business News, was a great example of a B2B company leveraging a publication with a professional audience to get the word out about its value. As a listicle, the content discusses how companies can become more environmentally friendly while highlighting the benefits of CSR initiatives.

Megaphone: Your Go-To Platform for Sponsored Posts

A sophisticated engagement network,

A private engagement pod service (coming soon),

Diverse creator partnerships for sponsored posts, X spaces, and newsletter ads (coming soon).

How to Get Influencers to Promote Your Brand

Tiktok Collaboration

Social Media Collaboration

Content Creator Collaboration

Youtube Collaboration

Brand Collaborations

How to Find Influencers

How to Find Twitter Influencers

How to Find Influencers on TikTok

Where to Find Influencers for Sponsored Posts

1. Use Megaphone to Find Influencers for Sponsored Posts

A sophisticated engagement network,

A private engagement pod service (coming soon),

Diverse creator partnerships for sponsored posts, X spaces, and newsletter ads (coming soon).

You can find influencers for sponsored posts on social media. Try searching for relevant hashtags and checking trending content on different platforms.

Here are places to search for influencers by niche

Instagram – Search hashtags like #sponsored, #ad, or niche-specific tags (#TechInfluencer, #FitnessBlogger).

TikTok – Look at trending videos and use TikTok’s Creator Marketplace.

YouTube – Search for product reviews and unboxing videos.

Twitter/X – Check for industry leaders using advanced search.

LinkedIn – Find B2B influencers in specific industries.

3. Do Competitor Research to Find Influencers for Sponsored Posts

Another effective way to find influencers for your sponsored posts is to see who your competitors are working with. Check for sponsored posts in your niche and reach out to those creators.

4. Use Google Search & Blogs to Find Influencers for Sponsored Posts

You can also find influencers for sponsored posts with a simple Google search. Look for terms like “Top [Niche] Influencers 2024.” You can also check industry blogs for influencer recommendations.

5. Browse Facebook & Reddit Groups for Sponsored Posts

Finally, you can find influencers for sponsored posts by browsing Facebook and Reddit groups. Join groups like “Influencer Marketing Hub” or “Brand Collabs” on Facebook. You can also browse Reddit communities (r/InfluencerMarketing, r/socialmedia).