Latest / Influencer Confidential / Media Kit vs UGC Portfolio: What Creators Don’t Realize They Need #279

Transcript

Media Kit vs UGC Portfolio: What Creators Don’t Realize They Need #279 · Influencer Confidential

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Speaker 1: Welcome to Influencer Confidential by Sidewalker Daily. My name is
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Speaker 1: Nina Zeta and I will be your host. I love
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Speaker 1: working with brands and influencers on all things business strategy.
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Speaker 1: Are you ready to learn what it takes to work
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Speaker 1: in this influencer industry and see behind the curtain? Well,
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Speaker 1: let's jump in. If I had a dollar for every
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Speaker 1: time I was asked what is the difference between a
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Speaker 1: media kit and a portfolio? I would be sitting here.
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Speaker 1: I'd me and bora, bora, no all jokes aside, y'all.
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Speaker 1: I think this is a question that a lot of
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Speaker 1: creators have because they know they need specific assets and
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Speaker 1: pitching tools to land partnerships. But they're like, do I
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Speaker 1: need a Medikit? Do I need a portfolio? What's the difference?
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Speaker 1: When do I use what? So? What I want to do?
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Speaker 1: Because we are very passionate about both assets here at
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Speaker 1: Sidewalker Daily is talk to you not only about the
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Speaker 1: differences in these two also the similarities and when to
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Speaker 1: use each asset in your pitching journey, how to use
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Speaker 1: them to effectively make money in brand deals. That is
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Speaker 1: our specialty here at Sidewalker Daily. If you're new to
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Speaker 1: our channel. We are centered all around monetization in that
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Speaker 1: specific area of brand partnerships. I always joke you know
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Speaker 1: how creators have a niche, Well, I have a niche too,
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Speaker 1: and my niche is brand deals. I have over ten
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Speaker 1: years experience in the creator economy. I've been featured for
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Speaker 1: my work in this industry on sites like CNN, NBC News, Entrepreneur,
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Speaker 1: mag Business Insider, and more. And we come from the
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Speaker 1: brand side. I was the one reviewing your media kits
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Speaker 1: and your portfolios, and now I have a creator community
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Speaker 1: of over one hundred and sixty thousand creators that I support,
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Speaker 1: like y'all listening in on brand deals. So let's talk
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Speaker 1: about media kits. Let's talk about portfolios, especially as we
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Speaker 1: go into the new year and can share the differences.
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Speaker 1: So to put it really simply, a media kit is
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Speaker 1: what we call a visual resume here at Sidewalker Daily.
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Speaker 1: It's a term that we've coined. A media kit sells
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Speaker 1: your influence and it also sells your content. So when
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Speaker 1: I say sells your influence basically shows an insider look
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Speaker 1: into your audience, into your social media footprint, your presence,
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Speaker 1: the people that you influence on a day to day.
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Speaker 1: Your portfolio shows your work. Yeah, there's a little bit
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Speaker 1: about you, but it's really really content focus. It's really
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Speaker 1: work focus. Typically a media kit people ask like, how
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Speaker 1: many pages should it be? I am not team two page,
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Speaker 1: one page, ten page, I'm team make it work for you.
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Speaker 1: Your story is a very different story than the influencer
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Speaker 1: sitting next to you. You guys have different things to offer.
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Speaker 1: Some of you may have a podcast, some of you
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Speaker 1: may be a writer, some of you may have testimonials,
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Speaker 1: some of you may have case studies. Not every single
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Speaker 1: person's going to have the same media kit because we're
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Speaker 1: all so different, but typically you will find a standard
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Speaker 1: about page and the most important part, y'all, when it
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Speaker 1: comes to about on media kit, it's not about you
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Speaker 1: like I love ponies and smoothies and no, it's about
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Speaker 1: your audience and your brands that you've partnered with. It's
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Speaker 1: about your own personal brand and the mark you're going
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Speaker 1: to make. We are seeing a really big shift in
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Speaker 1: media kits, specifically using way more sales copy, way more
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Speaker 1: sales language, and influencers not being afraid to sell themselves
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Speaker 1: because a media kit is exactly that. It is the
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Speaker 1: document that you were sending in that first initial pitch
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Speaker 1: or when you're networking with a brand. This is what
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Speaker 1: you're going to get to get them to see who
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Speaker 1: you are. It's obviously needs to include information about your audience,
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Speaker 1: the demographics you know, isn't men? Is it women? What
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Speaker 1: are the top cities you know? What is your audience
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Speaker 1: interested in. I love media kits that include psychographics. You know,
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Speaker 1: are they college educated? Are they parents? What do you
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Speaker 1: know about your audience? And sometimes people are like, well,
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Speaker 1: I don't know anything. I'm like ask get on stories,
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Speaker 1: have them answer polls, Have your audience engage with you
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Speaker 1: so that you can dive deeper into the psychographics of
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Speaker 1: who your human is. Because those media kits really stand out.
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Speaker 1: A media kit is a place to show your past
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Speaker 1: brand partnerships. It is going to maybe half certain testimonials
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Speaker 1: and studies inside of it. Oftentimes we see a work
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Speaker 1: with me page, different ways that you can work together,
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Speaker 1: a contact us page. Right when we're thinking of media kits,
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Speaker 1: traditionally speaking, I have seen them most of the times
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Speaker 1: in a PDF format. Sometimes a creator will send a link,
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Speaker 1: and there's always this battle do I send a pdf?
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Speaker 1: Do I send a link? I don't know. I personally
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Speaker 1: don't click links and emails that come to me. I'm
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Speaker 1: way more open to opening a PDF, and a lot
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Speaker 1: of the creators in my community have seen success with this.
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Speaker 1: Don't even try and tell me, well, what if it
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Speaker 1: goes into spam. That's why we are tracking our emails
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Speaker 1: and tracking our pitches to see if they are going
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Speaker 1: into spam. So you're going to be able to know
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Speaker 1: that right away. Now here's the thing. Your media kit
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Speaker 1: is going to include samples of your work. Obviously, whether
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Speaker 1: it's still photography or clickable reels, it needs to show
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Speaker 1: the work. It needs to show your podcast episodes or
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Speaker 1: your YouTube videos, right because that's what the brand is vying.
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Speaker 1: And it also needs to show your metrics, your influence,
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Speaker 1: your shiny analytics, so to speak. Actually, I have a
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Speaker 1: really great on demand train by the way, if you
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Speaker 1: guys want to see examples of media kits and also
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Speaker 1: learn a little bit more about what I call the
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Speaker 1: shiny analytic to get brands excited about you, I will
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Speaker 1: include a link below so you guys can watch that
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Speaker 1: after you watch this video. It is a free training,
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Speaker 1: it's available to you whatever, and it is all about
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Speaker 1: brand partnerships, and we have a very specific section on
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Speaker 1: media kits. If you want to dive deeper, you can
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Speaker 1: go watch that after you finish this. Now, typically a portfolio,
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Speaker 1: right there's going to maybe be a small section about you.
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Speaker 1: It is going to be super content focused. The best
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Speaker 1: portfolios are when you are scrolling and there's content, content, content, content, examples, examples, examples, examples.
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Speaker 1: I have seen portfolios will also have sections of past
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Speaker 1: brand partners you know, past testimonials and contact us page.
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Speaker 1: But the really ninety percent of the portfolio and the
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Speaker 1: structure is really showing off your work versus having a
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Speaker 1: portfolio and a PDF format. I tend to see these
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Speaker 1: be more websites, and I tend to see these be
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Speaker 1: more links. Now, I know I said before, like, oh,
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Speaker 1: clicking links can sometimes be something that I'm not going
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Speaker 1: to do. If the pitch says here's a link to
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Speaker 1: my UGC portfolio, they're also able to track and see
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Speaker 1: who clicks those links. And again, I have creators who
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Speaker 1: swear by sending links, not PDFs, So don't let that
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Speaker 1: stop you. And again I have seen so many UGC
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Speaker 1: creators thrive and be successful even having their portfolio UGC
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Speaker 1: link in their email signature. They have it in everything,
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Speaker 1: so this is something that I see more done in
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Speaker 1: a link format. The reason media kits tend to be
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Speaker 1: more PDFs is because it kind of gives that resume
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Speaker 1: feel versus Why we see a lot of portfolios be
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Speaker 1: links's because it feels more like of a website of
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Speaker 1: a business. So they're both really strong. It's just how
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Speaker 1: you want to kind of come across. If I had
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Speaker 1: to pick, I would go PDF for the media kits
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Speaker 1: and I would go links for the portfolio section. Now
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Speaker 1: customization versus one size fits all. In our course, our
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Speaker 1: Pitching Brands Master Course, you guys, a lot of you
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Speaker 1: already have it. You can go into the media kit
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Speaker 1: section and see all different types of media kits. One
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Speaker 1: of the things that we talk about a lot in
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Speaker 1: that program is customization. Like I have this Yoga creator
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Speaker 1: that comes to mind. We have a Yoga media kit,
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Speaker 1: but we also have a travel creator kit, and we
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Speaker 1: also do skincare because she does like a lot of wellness.
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Speaker 1: So her yoga media kit is really identical to the
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Speaker 1: travel one. It's just the pictures are swapped out are different.
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Speaker 1: Why when you're pitching as a resume and you're pitching
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Speaker 1: a yoga brand. They don't care about your photos in
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Speaker 1: Marrakesh unless you're doing yoga and Marrakesh right. They want
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Speaker 1: to see product, they want to see up close. They
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Speaker 1: want to see you doing yoga versus if you're pitching
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Speaker 1: the Four Seasons, they don't want to see you in
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Speaker 1: a yoga studio. So that is where I see a
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Speaker 1: lot of customization. We're creating media kits per industry, and
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Speaker 1: we're using that very strategically in our pitch efforts. We're
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Speaker 1: being really intentional with our pitching. Now, if you are
7:43
Speaker 1: someone that needs support on this side, y'all Book eight
7:47
Speaker 1: Discovery call. They're free, complimentary. See how I can get
7:50
Speaker 1: in and support you in the pitching side of your business.
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Speaker 1: I've included a link below so we can support you
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Speaker 1: on the pitching side. Now. UG see portfolios on the
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Speaker 1: other hand, and we don't see a lot of customization here.
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Speaker 1: What we do see are blocks. So we'll see a
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Speaker 1: portfolio that has like travel, fashion, lifestyle. The entire website
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Speaker 1: will have different blocks in section that shows different content.
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Speaker 1: But for the most part, it's like you're not going
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Speaker 1: to have multiple websites. Right, you have one website for
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Speaker 1: your business and you show all the different types of
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Speaker 1: things you can do. We see that tend to happen
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Speaker 1: a lot in the UGC portfolio. Land Now, who's using what?
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Speaker 1: Oftentimes influencers, people who are pitching influence, people who are
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Speaker 1: pitching their audience. They have a media kit and a portfolio.
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Speaker 1: So we here at Sidewalker Daily, we have helped our
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Speaker 1: creators see that they need both. If you don't have influence,
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Speaker 1: if you don't have followers, if you're just pitching content,
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Speaker 1: you just need the UGC portfolio. You just need that
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Speaker 1: be built for you. You don't need both assets. I
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Speaker 1: stress both of these tools, whether you're pitching a media
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Speaker 1: kit or a portfolio, need to be visually branded and strategic.
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Speaker 1: You have five to ten seconds to really impress a
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Speaker 1: brand when they receive these materials. Branding matters, font selection matters,
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Speaker 1: Colors matter. You can't tell you the amount of media
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Speaker 1: kits I've seen that have blurred content or the margins
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Speaker 1: are a disaster. Brands can feel your unprofessionalism. When your
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Speaker 1: documents and your pitching tools feel unprofessional, it will hurt
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Speaker 1: you from landing the job. Visuals are a big part
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Speaker 1: of the pie. You guys, you want a brand to
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Speaker 1: get your media kit and have this like literally like wow,
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Speaker 1: this creator is phenomenal not because of your numbers, but
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Speaker 1: because of how you present about how professional your documents are. Now,
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Speaker 1: I get that not every single person watching here is
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Speaker 1: a Canva wizard or a tech wizard, and you rather
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Speaker 1: just have someone help you with this side. Sidewalker actually
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Speaker 1: has an entire design studio in our company where we
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Speaker 1: create professional pitching tools from company decks to media kits
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Speaker 1: that creators are using to land ten thousand plus brand deals. Okay,
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Speaker 1: so all of our materials that would create our custom
9:56
Speaker 1: If you're interested in learning more about our design services,
10:00
Speaker 1: if you need help in this section, if you're ready
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Speaker 1: to actively pitch, go ahead and click the design inquiry
10:06
Speaker 1: form below so that you can learn a little bit
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Speaker 1: more about our design processes and see if we're a
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Speaker 1: good fit for you. I'm very transparent. I do not
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Speaker 1: work with anyone on my pitching accelerators on my one
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Speaker 1: on ones that does not have a media kit that
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Speaker 1: is up to standard, because I always say without that tool,
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Speaker 1: it doesn't mean I have to create it or a
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Speaker 1: company has to create it. But if that media kit
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Speaker 1: is sloppy and doesn't look good, I personally will not
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Speaker 1: take on a pitching client because I'm like, we're not
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Speaker 1: going to have success. That is how important. I will
10:34
Speaker 1: turn down a ten thousand dollars coaching client if her
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Speaker 1: media kit is not strong because I know there's literally
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Speaker 1: nothing I can do to help her. Now, that is
10:42
Speaker 1: why the media kit is so so important, So go
10:45
Speaker 1: ahead and check out if you need support on the
10:47
Speaker 1: branding side. On the design side, include that link below. Now,
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Speaker 1: one thing people ask me, like Nina, how do I
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Speaker 1: use these tools? When do I use these tools? Both
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Speaker 1: the UGC portfolio and the media kit should be included
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Speaker 1: in your outbound pitch to a brand. When you we're
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Speaker 1: pitching and you're introducing yourself and you are reaching out
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Speaker 1: to a brand for the first time, you want your
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Speaker 1: media kit to be in that email. You do not
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Speaker 1: want to wait for email too, because there may not
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Speaker 1: be an email too. The whole point of the media
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Speaker 1: kit is to get you to have email too, right,
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Speaker 1: So it's kind of like the resume and the job world,
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Speaker 1: Like what does resume get you an interview? That's what
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Speaker 1: I want the creators in my community to get interviews, opportunities,
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Speaker 1: to get a brand on the call, understand the brand's goals,
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Speaker 1: put together a proper proposal with package A and B.
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Speaker 1: That's how creators are making ten thousand dollars months because
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Speaker 1: they are not doing little one offs. They are sending
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Speaker 1: out beautiful media kits. They are getting brands on a call.
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Speaker 1: They are putting together custom proposals with packages included. So
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Speaker 1: this is the process when you're trying to be a
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Speaker 1: professional creator that you're trying to look for. Same thing
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Speaker 1: for my UGC people, you want to include your gorgeous
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Speaker 1: portfolio in that first email because they're going to go
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Speaker 1: ahead and click and see right away. I like her
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Speaker 1: style or his style, he shoots really good content. Let's
12:01
Speaker 1: learn a little bit more about how we can work
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Speaker 1: with them. So these are assets that are used in
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Speaker 1: that first initial outreach. Now, I do not recommend keeping
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Speaker 1: your media kit public, but I am okay with having
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Speaker 1: your UGC portfolio public. Why the portfolio, like I said,
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Speaker 1: is more of a website. There's no private information in there.
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Speaker 1: It is just you know, simply maybe testimonials, logos, and
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Speaker 1: a lot of content. Your media kit On the other hand,
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Speaker 1: I'm a little bit more of the mindset that I
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Speaker 1: don't want that public, Like if a brand wants to
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Speaker 1: see my media kit, I want them to reach out
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Speaker 1: to me and request it, and then that way I
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Speaker 1: can follow up with them, sell them better, get them
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Speaker 1: on a call. If you just have a public you
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Speaker 1: don't know who's looking at your stuff, So it's almost
12:43
Speaker 1: better to know so that you, as a business person
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Speaker 1: can follow up and make sure you close the deal.
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Speaker 1: So I would not have your media kit public on
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Speaker 1: your website. I would have it password or request my
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Speaker 1: media kit email me here and then that way you
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Speaker 1: can start a conversation with the client. One thing that
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Speaker 1: I think POLI needs that you know, maybe a media
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Speaker 1: kit doesn't because media kit's a little bit more custom.
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Speaker 1: Portfolios need to show a variety of different styles. If
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Speaker 1: you have UGC content that's talking head, testimonial, before and after,
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Speaker 1: interesting transitions, get readies with me day in the life
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Speaker 1: of whatever, different formats. This is again your content creator.
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Speaker 1: You're selling different formats, So having different styles of content
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Speaker 1: on your portfolio is clutch to getting the brand deal. Okay,
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Speaker 1: whereas a media kit, you know, you may not necessarily
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Speaker 1: need all the styles. You're showing best performing content, or
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Speaker 1: you're sharing viral content, or maybe you're showing different styles.
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Speaker 1: But again, it doesn't have to be pages of pages
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Speaker 1: of pages of content. I have seen creators in their
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Speaker 1: media kit link their portfolios saying hey, if you want
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Speaker 1: to see more, click here, and then it takes them
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Speaker 1: to their portfolios. So we're seeing a lot of that
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Speaker 1: happen as well. But that is a key difference that
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Speaker 1: I'm seeing in terms of the type of content that
13:54
Speaker 1: lives in the portfolio world. Both your media kit, y'all,
13:57
Speaker 1: and your UGC portfolio are revenue generating assets. They are
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Speaker 1: part of the sales process, and believe it or not,
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Speaker 1: there's so many more assets and tools that creators are
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Speaker 1: using to pitch mood boards, case studies, proposal decks. Right,
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Speaker 1: you need these assets to sell. It's just part of
14:13
Speaker 1: the world that we're in right now because you guys
14:15
Speaker 1: are running a full on business, and the better your
14:18
Speaker 1: assets are, the more money you're going to make. So
14:21
Speaker 1: if you need support on your media k or you're pitching,
14:23
Speaker 1: go ahead and book a call, like I said, complimentary
14:26
Speaker 1: with our team. Include that link below and see how
14:29
Speaker 1: we can support you in this side of your biz.
14:32
Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you did, make
14:35
Speaker 1: sure to rate, review, and subscribe to our show and
14:38
Speaker 1: visit Sidewalkerdaily dot com for more resources on all things influencer,
14:43
Speaker 1: marketing and social media. Until next time,