It is important for entrepreneurs to collaborate, regardless of the industry they find themselves in. It is no longer news that various businesses exist out there, so the need to outdo every competitor is on the rise each passing day. Not that competitors are bad, but what if there are ways to grow your business and broaden your network by leveraging the power of collaboration – with your supposed competitors?
While that sounds like giving your competitors an edge over you, the outcome will be mind-blowing if you do it the right way. Let’s take a look at some practical and productive ways to collaborate as an entrepreneur rather than compete.
Social Media Cross-Promotion
A great way entrepreneurs can create awareness about their business and services is through social media. Rather than doing it all alone, how about teaming up with a group of other business owners? Here’s what that would do for you – introduce you to their audience and, in return, double your reach. Cross-promotion with other businesses will help you attract more customers who are interested in your services.
Another way to go about this is by collaborating with a group of like-minded entrepreneurs. This collaboration aims to connect with other entrepreneurs and companies running businesses that complement your own. This way, you’re able to reach more prospective clients rather than the general public.
Run Giveaways
One of the most popular ways people collaborate on social media is by running giveaways. Team up as a group of entrepreneurs and organise competitions people would be willing to participate in. If there’s one asset you have in abundance, it’s the product you sell or the services you render. If you’re bothered about prizes, that’s why it’s a collaboration. You don’t have to bear the burden alone. You and your team can pull your resources together; that way, it makes it easy on each of you.
With Instagram, for instance, you all get to post the competition details on your feeds. To enter for the competition, people have to follow your handles (yours and those you’re collaborating with) and probably like and comment on the posts depending on the competition’s terms. At the end of the competition, the winner is selected, and it’s a win-win for all parties involved. The winner gets a prize, and businesses in your team get more visibility and engagement.
Referrals and Outsourcing
Collaboration and supporting other entrepreneurs should be a lifelong commitment and not a one-off occurrence. As an entrepreneur, make a habit of outsourcing jobs and referring other businesses. Here’s an example. If you are a product seller, you could use a local delivery service to deliver products to your customers. What’s more? You could also outsource your business branding to a local freelance brand specialist. The list is endless, you just have to find which works best for you.
Furthermore, you could refer other businesses for certain roles using your Instagram stories. This way, you can expect the business owner being referred to reciprocate the gesture. Referring and outsourcing to other entrepreneurs like yourself will foster a good relationship and promote support for your community.
Collaborate with Influencers
Influencer collaboration is one of the common ways entrepreneurs collaborate. While adopting this measure can be a little tricky, it can be beneficial when done with the right party. A practical example is a hair brand collaborating with an influencer. The hair brand gives out hair for free in exchange for a shoutout on the influencer’s platform. Instances like this often occur with smaller influencers. Bigger ones might demand payment or other means of compensation. There are several benefits that come with collaborating with social media influencers. Some of these are:
- You get to collaborate with professionals who are great at what they do.
- They are quite affordable when compared to other traditional advertising forms.
- They have a follower base who trust their judgement and will most likely be interested in products the influencers recommend. E.t.c.
Although influencer collaboration is beneficial, it is essential to choose the right influencer. Choose engagement over numbers. An influencer with a thousand engaged followers will give you more results than one with a hundred thousand non-engaged viewers. In addition, make sure the influencer has a viewership that matches what your brand stands for and represents.
Run an Interview Series
Starting an interview series across your social media platforms is another great way to create and build relationships with other entrepreneurs out there. What this does is generate great content for your brand and that of others that are being interviewed. The interview can even work in two ways – you interview an entrepreneur who also gets to interview you in return.
When you interview other entrepreneurs, they get to talk about their businesses extensively. This gives them more visibility by showcasing them to your audience. You can expect to get the same result in return when you get interviewed also on their platforms. Overall, you all get to showcase your businesses to everyone on your list and beyond. Through this, you increase brand visibility.
Conclusion
Collaboration is essential in today’s world and thrives better than competition. The above ideas showcase means by which entrepreneurs can leverage collaboration as a tool for building and promoting their brands. As more people are beginning to adopt remote work, there is a need to collaborate with like minded people and grow together as a team rather than competing.