What is an Influencer Media Kit? Everything You Need to Know
An influencer media kit is essentially a portfolio for influencers. They typically consist of an influencer’s social network accounts, metrics, and case studies of past brand deals. This document is shared with prospective sponsors, like a resume at a job interview to show an influencer’s strengths and qualifications.
An influencer media kit is the best way to introduce yourself to potential sponsors as a professional in your field. Think of this as your sales pitch, and remember to keep it short and to the point.
Like a resume or CV, you may even have different versions depending on the client. For example, cold-calling a potential client on Instagram may look very different than responding to a request from a company on YouTube. Ultimately, your unique situation and objectives will define your influencer media kit, though there are some best practices you should follow.
What is an influencer media kit?
An influencer media kit is a crucial tool to showcase your work, highlight your social media statistics, and give brands an insight into your niche, audience, and posting schedule. It allows brands to get an in-depth look at your influence, such as audience insights and demographics, a summary of your content, and links to previous collaborations. Your media kit will communicate your social media presence and how you successfully engage with your audience.
You can find influencer media kit templates online to help you get started; just be sure your finished product stands out and illustrates what makes you special. A press kit can be valuable for influencers of all sorts on any social platform, whether you are:
- A blogger
- An Instagram influencer
- Facebook famous
- A Pinterest pro
- TikTok trending
- A Twitter traffic expert
Whether you’re reaching out to brands directly to pitch an idea or have received some interest from a brand, you’ll need a media kit to demonstrate what you can bring to the table as a dedicated influencer. It can mean the difference between becoming a potential brand partner or missing out on an opportunity.
3 reasons you need an influencer media kit
If you’re an influencer looking to work with brands, creating an influencer media kit is essential. Here are five reasons why:
1. Professionalism
A media kit showcases your influence, experience, and other selling points in a professional and organized manner. It demonstrates to brands that you take your role seriously and are an expert in your niche.
By providing information upfront, you save your clients time and effort. The media kit provides a snapshot of your brand, audience, and value proposition to potential partners. This offers a taste of what you bring to the table, leaving a good impression for the future.
Many brands will ask influencers for their media kit when considering a partnership. If you don’t have one, you might lose out on these opportunities.
Companies want to understand an influencer and their audience before entering into an agreement. Having data and demographics ready will expedite the process so potential sponsors can make their decisions without unnecessary detective work. It also saves you time from having to come up with a sales pitch for every client you network with.
2. Land better deals
Some influencers include price information in their media kit, but even if you don’t, companies and marketers will take you more seriously if you take yourself seriously. This will not only land you higher-profile sponsorships but will help you when it comes to pay negotiations.
You wouldn’t walk into a job interview without a resume, so why would you approach brands without an influencer media kit?
3. Stand out
An influencer media kit can make all the difference when it comes to standing out to brands and landing sponsorships. Not only does it make an influencer’s life easier, but it also helps to present a more professional image to potential partners.
A professional influencer media kit will put you ahead of the competition. In the same way, a cover letter or portfolio gives professionals an edge in landing a job, and an influencer with a media kit is more impressive than one without.
Providing the information marketers will be looking for, like engagement rates, audience demographics, and previous brand partnerships, shows that you are knowledgeable about influencer marketing. Consider including references to further prove your worth.
And, of course, be sure to include contact information in an obvious way so clients can easily contact you when they are ready to move forward.
What should be included in media kits for influencers?
An influencer media kit should include everything sponsors will want to know about you, as well as any unique value you have to offer. For starters, you need to include influencer metrics to prove your value. These include:
- Number of followers and/or subscribers
- Engagement rate
- Years of experience
- Niche
- Social media links
For example, you might lead with the fact that you are a micro-influencer with an avid following of 8,000 subscribers on YouTube that you earned organically over three years by posting exciting camping videos and product recommendations. This immediately lets prospective sponsors know if you have the reach, niche, and experience they are looking for without having to scour your channel to figure it out on their own. They will probably still do some research, so be honest, but providing this information in a neat package shows you value their time.
You should also include highlights of your previous work, preferred contact methods, and any necessary technical information. If you have set rates, a strict posting schedule, or only create content for certain platforms or media types (say YouTube videos or Instagram pictures), you can include that, too.
Consider arranging your influencer media kit with the following sections:
1. A short bio
When creating an influencer media kit, it’s important to include a short bio highlighting who you are, where you are, and your interests, values, and experience. This bio is an integral part of your kit and will decide for many marketers if you match what they are looking for.
2. A list of your social media accounts
A clear list of your relevant social media accounts will make it easy for interested businesses to explore your content. Depending on your social network presence, you may opt to provide links to top posts, relevant previous sponsored content, individual accounts, or a Linktree that organizes all of your pages and channels.
3. Services (and rates)
When creating an influencer media kit, you should be clear about expectations. If you only create YouTube videos, a company looking to grow its brand awareness on Instagram isn’t a good match. Defining your services will clear up any ambiguity and showcase your specialties.
Some influencers go as far as to include their rates upfront. Others prefer to save this for later, after they have had a chance to gauge an interested client so they can negotiate the best price. You should also consider whether you want a one-time sponsorship post-deal, set-time contract, or long-term partnership.
4. Photos and images
If you are a social media personality and the face of your business, including a headshot or photograph of yourself, will make you more memorable to marketers.
If your channel or influence focuses more on your brand or content, consider including company logos or social media profile pictures instead. Influencer marketing is very visual, so showcasing your style and adding color and graphics to your media kit is a great idea.
5. Contact information
When creating an influencer media kit, having accurate and easy-to-find contact information is critical. Your contact details could include your email address, phone number, social media handles, or website link. It is essential to keep this information up-to-date and accurate. For a multi-page influencer media kit, include your preferred contact method in the footer or header of each page.
6. Past work and references
Work history is important for any job. Don’t expect major brands to dish out a big paycheck based on your word alone. Be sure to drop the names of other brands you have worked with in the past or are currently partnered with, including links to posts that highlight your reach and engagement.
Demonstrate how your partnership with these brands led to positive changes in their stats and sales to indicate your value to prospective sponsors. Concrete data is much more likely to close a deal than empty promises.
If you have samples that align with the target demographic of a prospective partner, be sure to include them for maximum effectiveness, just as you would focus on relevant work history in a resume.
By creating an influencer media kit that includes these elements, you can wow potential brands and set yourself up for successful collaborations.
How to create a stand-out influencer media kit
Creating an influencer media kit is essential to winning brand partnerships and creating a professional appearance. An effective media kit is like a stand-out influencer resume that includes social media handles and contact information and highlights your skills.
This could be a game-changer for any influencer, particularly those trying to impress brands for collaborations. You can use a template to help you get started or build one from scratch for a custom media kit that really stands out.
Before you start typing anything up, familiarize yourself with these steps:
Do your research
Before you get started crafting your influencer media kit, spend some time researching your target customers and the competition so you know what to focus on. Understanding the brands you want to partner with will allow you to cater your media kit to suit their wants. Likewise, keeping an eye on the competition will enable you to identify opportunities like underserved niches you can fill.
As an influencer, you need to have a strategy in place for landing sponsorship deals. Creating content on a whim and hoping a company will come along to hand you money is a pipe dream. If you don’t have a list of ideal brands you are pursuing partnerships with, as well as a strategy for catering to their individual needs, start there.
Some influencer journeys fail to get off the ground because they choose an oversaturated niche and can’t stand out from the crowd. For example, suppose you start a YouTube channel where you stream video games. In that case, you’re choosing to go up against juggernauts like PewDiePie and Ninja, in addition to countless other gaming streamers. It is important to understand the community and niche down to where the competition is less fierce.
Calculate your metrics
The major selling point of your influencer media kit is your metrics. Calculating these stats allows you to actually quantify your value to marketers rather than just relying on luck and a good first impression.
Some stats you will want to include are:
- Reach (subscriber count + follower count + additional unique viewers per post)
- Engagement (average likes + follows + shares + additional interactions per post)
- Post frequency (number of unique content posts per week)
- History (age of oldest channel or account in a relevant niche)
- Experience (number of past sponsorship deals and their outcomes)
If you don’t have an impressive history or any successful experience yet, you may opt to leave these out, but the first three metrics are unavoidable. Even if you don’t provide them, brands can at least estimate them with relative ease.
You can use tools like YouTube analytics, Instagram Insights, or third-party tools like Hootsuite to uncover and calculate many metrics for you. These tools can even provide additional information that may help you, such as:
- Audience demographics (i.e., gender, age, and geographic breakdowns)
- Total channel or video views (especially on YouTube or for Reels)
- Unique visitors and growth rate
Metrics will vary depending on the social media platform and type of content, and if you are active on more than a single platform, you will have to add or average numbers to reach the actual total. Consider which numbers are most impressive and relevant to a specific client and lead with those for the best results.
Customize your template
There are a variety of media kit templates available to help you get started. Some are available for purchase, others are included with services like Hootsuite, and there are also free options. Popular examples include:
- Hootsuite
- Inzpire.me
- Canva
- Etsy
- Independent options
These customizable templates allow you to quickly create media kits for influencers that tell brands everything they need to know. They generally include a branded design, biography section, stats page, blank testimonials, pricing options, and other optional areas you can add or remove as needed.
You can, of course, create your influencer media kit from scratch, but using a template will save you time formatting and ensure you don’t overlook any vital information. If you want to make your kit from scratch, reviewing some templates for ideas and inspiration is still a good idea.
Influencer media kit examples
There are many different ways to approach an influencer media kit depending on your ideal client, content type, experience level, and preferred platform. Below are some influencer media kit examples and templates showcasing different layouts and strategies. Use these as inspiration but aim for your own unique style.
Ou La Vix snapshot
This simple example from Ou La Vix is a little heavy on text and short on stats. Potential sponsors will appreciate the snapshot of Wagner’s monthly reach and a breakdown of the services she provides. However, the left half of the page would be stronger if it referenced more of her influencer experience, past partnerships, and links to sample posts. Her contact information in the footer should also be more prevalent. Wagner’s inclusion of website and blog content as part of her influencer services shows how flexible and creative you can be, even outside of social media networks!
Oberlo YouTube analytics
In this example from Oberlo, we can see some helpful stats found in YouTube’s analytics that can be helpful to potential sponsors. Age and gender are basic metrics that can quickly show if your viewers fit a brand’s target audience. Similarly, language and location are essential for marketers whose companies may or may not be international. Watch time from subscribers can be a useful stat to show that your reach is greater than just your subscriber count. Leverage whatever social metrics and analytics tools you can to paint the best picture of your influence.
Later Instagram audience
These analytics from Instagram by Later offer a snapshot of an influencer’s audience, including reach, engagement, gender, and location. While this would be incomplete as a full Instagram media kit, it is an excellent section or page about this influencer’s audience at a glance.
Bespoke Bride testimonials
Testimonials serve as excellent social proof of the quality of your services and your capabilities as a marketing partner. They expand your sales pitch beyond just what you have to say, reinforcing your claims and highlighting your strengths. It is wise to ask happy clients to leave you a review on social media or to send you a testimonial via email that you can use for your media kit in the future.
Up your influencer game with Scalefluence
Now that you have learned what an influencer media kit is and why you need one, it’s time to create your own. Scalefluence is an influencer empowerment platform that helps content creators just like you achieve their dreams as successful influencers. Whether you need help building your influencer media kit, expanding your reach, or connecting with brand sponsors, we can help you accomplish your goals.
If you want to learn more, sign up today to learn how we help creators like you. Happy creating!
