Understanding how to effectively distribute benefits in brand-influencer partnerships is crucial for achieving successful outcomes. Here, we explore various models that brands and influencers can adopt to ensure mutually beneficial collaborations.
1. Cost and Risk-Based Allocation
Fixed Fee + Performance Reward Model
-Brand Perspective:
Brands often incur a fixed cost to guarantee basic promotional services from influencers. This involves paying a predetermined fee for creating and distributing content, such as videos, images, and posts. For instance, a medium-sized beauty brand might pay a beauty influencer with 500,000 followers a fixed monthly fee of 10,000 yuan for producing four product trial videos.
-Influencer Perspective:
Influencers receive a stable income to cover production expenses and time investment, with the potential for performance-based bonuses. Brands might offer additional rewards based on metrics like product sales or traffic. For example, if sales exceed 1,000 units through influencer promotion, the influencer could earn a commission of 1-5 yuan per item sold. This incentivizes influencers to optimize their content and strategies for better results.
Product Cost Bearing and Sales Sharing Model
-Brand Perspective:
Brands provide free products to influencers for trial and promotion, assuming the product cost. This method, suitable when product costs are low or when establishing trust through product experience, reduces initial cash expenditure. For example, a home furnishing brand might supply a product set worth 5,000 yuan to an influencer for trial.
-Influencer Perspective:
Influencers earn a sales share by promoting the product, with a negotiated commission rate typically between 5% and 20%, depending on factors like profit margins. For high-profit items, such as smart home products, the influencer might receive a 15% share, motivating them to maximize sales efforts.
2. Promotion Effect-Based Distribution
Step-by-Step Income Distribution Model
-Brand Perspective:
Brands set income distribution based on different stages of promotional success. Initially, a lower base remuneration attracts influencers to start promotions. For example, influencers might receive a 5% commission or a fixed amount per order in the first month. As sales increase (e.g., exceeding 100-500 units), the commission rate may rise to 10%, and further increase to 15% after surpassing 500 units. This approach encourages sustained influencer efforts while allowing brands to manage costs based on actual sales.
-Influencer Perspective:
Influencers benefit from clear income targets and adjust their strategies to meet step-by-step goals. As sales approach higher tiers, they might intensify promotions through tactics like giveaways or increased content frequency to boost sales and revenue.
Traffic or Exposure-Based Allocation Model
-Brand Perspective:
When the focus is on brand exposure rather than direct sales, revenue can be tied to the traffic or exposure generated by promotional content. For example, payment could be based on video views, ranging from 10 to 50 yuan per 1,000 views, or unique visitors to the brand's Amazon page, with a rate of 0.1 to 0.5 yuan per visitor. This ensures ample product exposure, paving the way for future sales conversions.
-Influencer Perspective:
Influencers concentrate on creating engaging content to drive traffic and exposure. They leverage creativity and fan interaction through methods like interesting short videos, trending hashtags, or collaborations with other influencers to broaden content reach and maximize benefits.
3. Comprehensive Value Distribution
Brand Value Sharing and Cooperative Income Model
-Brand Perspective:
For brands with long-term growth potential, offering influencers a share in brand value can be advantageous. Brands and influencers might agree that if the brand's overall value (assessed through brand valuation or market appraisal) increases by a certain percentage (e.g., 10%-20%), the influencer receives a share (e.g., 1%-5%) of the value-added benefits. This fosters a focus on sustainable brand development rather than short-term gains.
-Influencer Perspective:
As stakeholders in the brand's long-term success, influencers become more invested in maintaining brand image and participating in brand-building activities. They might proactively offer insights on brand positioning or product enhancements and consistently promote brand values within their networks, knowing that increased brand value directly benefits them.
By adopting these strategic distribution models, brands and influencers can forge strong, mutually rewarding partnerships that align with both parties' goals and drive sustained success.
