March 18, 2022
When marketers reach out to Instagram influencers about potential partnerships, they want to know much more than simply whether an influencer is willing to take a pretty product photo in exchange for cash. They want to go behind the scenes and learn more about the influencer as a person, as well as get details about their audience. So whether you have 1,000 followers or 100,000, it’s a good idea to have an Instagram media kit prepared with the essential data that’ll grab brands’ attention and persuade them to work with you.
Read on for our complete guide to creating a professional Instagram media kit that showcases your talent, highlights your unique audience, and makes brands want to go into business with you.
Chapters:
- What is an Instagram media kit?
- What to include in an Instagram media kit
- Keeping your Instagram media kit up to date
What is an Instagram media kit?
An Instagram media kit a resume and business card for your Instagram account. It contains key information about you, your content, and your audience. Through your kit, you can sell yourself as a skilled, knowledgeable, and, of course, influential Instagram user.
When brands are interested in working with an Instagram influencer, they’ll reach out to them and often request a media kit. Companies do this for two key reasons:
- They want to know if you’re a good fit for their brand. Companies want to partner with influencers who have an original take and a unique voice, but they also want a partner who shares their values. A media kit can tell a brand more about you and your work and help the brand determine if it’s a good fit
- They want to ensure you can reach their core audience. A media kit also contains important information about an influencer’s followers. Before investing in an influencer, brands often look at the demographics of your audience — as well as how engaged they are — to ensure there’s a significant overlap with their own target audience
But an Instagram media kit doesn’t only help brands decide if you’re right for them. It can also attract their attention and make them want to work with you. A well-designed and informative media kit communicates your value and can lead to a variety of brand sponsorships, collaborations, and ambassadorships.
Now that you know what a media kit is, let’s take a look at what it should contain.
What to include in an Instagram media kit
Your media kit document can be anywhere from one page to several pages long. And there are a few core sections it must include so that marketers can determine if you’re the right influencer for their brand.
Your story
Brands want to know about the person behind the photo filters, so dedicate a few sentences to telling them who you are. But keep it relevant to your Instagram account. Say why you’re passionate about the topics you post, why you enjoy engaging on Instagram, and why your audience relates to your content so well.
Influencer Sabir Peele — who’s better known as Men’s Style Pro among his more than 65,000 followers — suggests adding some emotion to your summary by using first-person narrative and sharing personal details throughout.
“It’s more impactful to say, ‘I love helping people feel great about themselves through clothing,’ rather than saying, ‘[Insert name] is a style expert who has appeared on E! News,’” Peele says. This is especially important, as an ideal influencer partner will be committed to engaging and interacting with their audience.
Niche influencers are super valuable in the growing digital world. Have a unique hobby or experience? Share it. You never know when a brand will be on the lookout for an influential plant parent or someone who has visited over 100 National park for an environmental charity tie-in. Smart marketers will look for this kind of unique persona.
Audience information
Your Instagram follower count is important, but it’s not the only number brands are interested in. Companies interested in partnering with you will also want to see your engagement rate.
Engagement rate is the percentage of followers who engage with your Instagram posts, and it includes both likes and comments. You can calculate your Instagram engagement rate by dividing the number of likes and comments your posts receive by your number of followers and then multiplying this value by 100.
Engagement rate = likes + comments ÷ followers x 100
Brands want to see a high engagement rate because it shows them that your followers are actively interacting with your content, which means they’re likely to respond to content you post about their brand. The average engagement rate on Instagram is 4.7%, according to an Iconosquare analysis of more than 30,000 Instagram business profiles.
You can also include your number of followers on other social networks, such as TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. If you have a website or blog, use Google Analytics to gather important information for your media kit, like monthly visitors, monthly page views, and time on site. Or, if you have a newsletter, share your number of subscribers, open rate, and click-through rate.
Audience demographics are also important to include in your Instagram media kit. As noted earlier, brands want to identify influencers whose followers are closely aligned with their own target market. Include such information as audience location, gender, and age range, as in the media kit example from Adventure Cats above. You can easily find this information within the Instagram app using our handy guide to Instagram analytics.
Rates
Not every influencer chooses to include rates in their Instagram media kit. However, it can be beneficial for both influencers and brands to be upfront about pricing matters so that neither wastes the other’s time.
While there’s no centralized scale for influencer marketing costs, many influencers include a pay range in their Instagram media kit that depends on the type of collaboration. For example, a sponsored Instagram Story may cost less than a post. Or, an influencer may charge more for hosting a giveaway or participating in a brand takeover.
Don’t be afraid to bundle content by what platforms compliment each other. For example, a sponsored photo post is a great way to share about a product or brand you love, however, this could be complimented by an Instagram Story that includes a swipe-up link to the retailer. Think about the most impactful way to deliver your message to the audience.
Also, consider the deliverables. If working on a video collaboration, would you need to partner with a video editor? Is a photographer required for a unique type of collaboration. Be sure to build in your costs and then consider the value of your reach.
An influencer’s rates may depend on a variety of factors, including their number of followers, engagement rate, expertise level, and if they have agency representation. While it’s commonly accepted that influencers with the most followers earn the most, that’s not always the case.
Nano-influencers and Micro-influencers — endorsers with between 1,000 and 100,000 followers — are powerful marketing tools who can also rake in sponsorships. Brands often turn to them because micro-influencers are tapped into niche markets and have high engagement and conversion rates.
Having trouble determining your Instagram influencer rates? There are also a variety of calculators that can help influencers figure out fair rates. If you’re interested in creating sponsored posts or product reviews in return for free products, you can mention that in your Instagram media kit as well.
Previous work
If you’ve partnered with brands before, share a few examples of your past collaborations and campaigns. Include screenshots of branded social posts, links to sponsored blog posts, and more. Nothing is more convincing to a possible collaborator than seeing the solid work you’ve already done.
For example, Adventure Cats includes some of its previous brand partnerships, such as a series of Instagram posts crafted as part of a cat food sponsorship.
Some influencers even include a form of social proof in this section, such as testimonials and quotes from marketers they’ve worked with. And if you can provide some numbers about the return on investment of your previous work, even better!
Visual aspects
Instagram is a visual medium, so your media kit should showcase the best of your work. This may include a photo that gets to the heart of your personal brand, a graphic you created for Instagram, and so much more.
Just keep it consistent with the visual style of your Instagram account so that your media kit is like a continuation of your social presence. For example, if you use specific colors, photo filters, typography, or imagery on your Instagram, maintain this theme in your media kit.
Luckily, you don’t have to be a designer to create a professional-looking Instagram media kit. There are countless media kit templates available online, as well as on free design platforms like Canva and Taler, and there are even Etsy sellers who specialize in custom media kits.
Even if you don’t often post selfies on your Instagram account, be sure to include a headshot in your media kit so that marketers can see the person behind your popular account.
Growth
Don’t be afraid to show your growth journey year over year — or month over month, especially if you’ve recently had a follower growth-spurt. Brands will enjoy partnering with an influencer who is paying attention to what followers respond to and attracting a new audience everyday.
Keeping your Instagram media kit up to date
Things change fast in the digital age. Your followers will grow, your website analytics will change, and your brand partnerships will come and go.
So regularly update your Instagram media kit to reflect this.
Ensuring that your influencer media kit contains up-to-date information provides brands with an accurate picture of who you are and how great your social media reach is. It’ll also give them confidence that you’ll bring that same level of thought and detail to a potential partnership.
