Saturated markets and the noise of digital platforms has made it harder than ever before to reach an expanding audience. Partner marketing can help overcome this hurdle – enabling businesses of any size to reach new audiences while improving their reputation and brand image.  

From entire strategies to social media campaigns, joint partner marketing has real benefits for marketing, reach, business growth and more.  Some of these benefits include: 

• Greater engagement that enhances brand image
• Use of previously unavailable expertise
• Increasing your audience
• Attracting like-minded individuals to your team
• Driving growth and development

What does partner marketing look like? 

Collaborative partnerships may take on numerous forms and structures. But no matter your approach, the underlying concept remains the same: Engagement and efforts built on shared values, ethics, and missions. 

External collaboration can be performed in many ways. Common examples of external collaboration efforts include: 

• Publishing guest blogs on external sites
• Utilising social media to engage with partners, such as encouraging joint/cross-promotion on channels
• Using social media to actively interact and communicate with your audience
• Undertaking joint business ventures
• Establishing competitions or challenges that drive discussion

With a wide range of benefits available any business wishing to expand should consider introducing collaboration to their marketing and business operations.  We’ve created three simple steps to guide you and your business through the process and ensure that you achieve the best results possible.  

Step 1: Choose your partners well and structure the relationship

Before you kick-off a joint marketing project, consider the best partner for the job. The better you and your partner are aligned, the better the results of your campaign. You’ll reach a more appropriate audience and be more likely to fulfil your objectives. 

What organisations share your mission, values, or culture? Do they have the same objectives for this relationship? These are important questions to answer to make sure your activity is beneficial to your business.  

Finding new partners to collaborate with can also be achieved in many ways. Common techniques of sourcing collaborative partners include:  

• Searching your pre-existing network for potential prospects
• Reaching out to relevant organisations through social media
• Attending webinars or conferences to meet like-minded organisations

Once you’ve established a partner who is open to working with you, define the scope of your involvement. It may be a one-off, such as featuring a guest blog, or it may be a long-term schedule of social posts and engagement.  

Introducing structure and scope will define your joint activity, ensuring that each partner is aware of their input and any deadlines involved.  

Step 2: Establish partnership strategies to optimise performance

The form your collaboration takes must be relevant and appropriate for your audience. Establishing challenges and competitions may not be suitable for high-profile fintech corporations but may be engaging for businesses that wish to reach a wider, more general audience. Establishing clear language, tone, structure, and messaging is vital. 

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If your activity isn’t appropriate for both audiences, or feels disjointed, you may not have the impact you want. Aligning your strategy first, with your combined audience in mind, will optimise both engagement and conversion rates, as well as strengthening your brand image.  

Ask yourself these questions to begin defining your collaborative activity: 

• How will collaboration aid all parties? 
• What is the most appropriate form that is relevant to our audiences? 
• What tone should our efforts take to maximise engagement with audiences? 
• Will there be any promotions or promotional material? 
• Is there a fixed subject that parties must consider, or are we able to engage in broader areas? 

By asking these questions when defining your collaboration strategy, you can ensure that you and your partners gain the most value out of your efforts. 

Step 3: Advertise your partnership marketing efforts and showcase your involvement

Promoting your efforts helps you capitalise on the value of the project – during and after. It displays that your business can work cooperatively with other organisations or competitors. Additionally, it reinforces perceptions that your business is communicative, able to strategise and implement effective projects, and much more.  

Learn how to craft the perfect case study

Social media posts, videos, and even case studies are all great ways to advertise your collaborative efforts – getting the message to your audience and any potential prospects in the form of an engaging story. This may lead to future opportunities for collaboration – expanding your reach even further and gaining greater visibility.  

Empower progress with partner marketing

Collaboration is a great means of not only expanding reach, but in reinforcing business partnerships and gaining access to a greater wealth of knowledge. By considering who to approach to collaborate with carefully, defining the scope and messaging, as well as actively promoting your efforts throughout, businesses may gain new opportunities to grow, develop, and gain access to further projects in the future.

We’re committed to enabling progress and development in business through our innovative methodology and expertise. To learn more, see our other blog posts, or contact us to arrange a free consultation on how we can help your business reach the next level.