What can you do to double your reach through collaboration?

Us business owners love social media and it's so easy for us to communicate to a mass audience across LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Our friends, family and clients are often connected with us online and we focus on publishing content and becoming a broadcaster of our business. However, whilst we are producing content and creative posts, we often focus less on growing our audience and wait for new accounts to find and follow us.

In this blog post, I'll be discussing ways you can double your reach, generate new followers through collaborating with other businesses.

Collaborations work well for social media because it enables you to not only communicate with your audience, but also tap into someone else's online network. By doing so, you will have double the exposure and with more exposure your posts will have higher engagement & reach.

So how can you collaborate with someone else's business?

1. A joint promotion. You could offer a percentage or money off yours and a similar business' products/services, when your customers purchase the bundle together.

2. Cross promotion. Share posts from your collaborating business and tag them. Ask them to do the same.

3. Share Exhibition space. Research some industry relevant exhibitions and ask to share stand space.

4. Co-branding. Come up with a mutual brand and use this brand to sell both of your products/services, often relating back to your individual business'.

5. Offer Referrals. Ask Collaborative businesses to refer you and in return they will get commission.

6. Franchise. Make your brand stronger and have more locations.

7. Share your Marketing expense. By dividing the budget, you will be able to do more.

8. Plan a joint social media marketing campaign. Double the impact of your campaign and have both of you working to free up some time and give you some flexibility.

9. Ask an Influencer. Find an influencer with the same brand values and ask them to feature your products/services and tag your business.

10. Share the journey. Use Instagram and Facebook stories to take photos of you both and share the story of how you can both help. Let your audiences watch the relationship and give them the trust they are looking for.

Collaborating is probably the most overlooked form of marketing, yet it's one of the most meaningful. Two heads are better than one, and in many cases, two companies are better than one, especially when you share resources and expertise.

Think about your current relationships in a different way. Expand your customer base and generate new business.

If you have any questions about collaborating, please email hi@gemmediamk.com