How do sponsorships work? Mastering Sponsored Posts

You want to know…..how do sponsorships work?

As a business owner, do you often feel like you’re struggling to boost your visibility? If so, we have two words for you: sponsored posts.

In 2023, for instance, brands on Instagram posted an average of 4.7 sponsored posts each week. It’s easy to see why: sponsored content boosts your brand awareness and creates a strong link with your target audience.

But how do sponsorships work? Well, it’s not that complicated. Here’s everything you need to know about sponsored content and how to use it!

How Do Sponsorships Work?

First things first: what is a sponsored post? This is a form of social media advertisement used to target a specific audience. There are two types of sponsored posts: promoted posts and paid sponsorships.

Promoting (or boosting) a post involves paying a social media platform to boost the post’s visibility. As a result, you can amplify the post’s reach and get it in front of a larger audience.

Paid sponsorships involve promoting your brand through an influencer or content creator. To their audience, the post would look very similar to organic content. The only difference will be a small “sponsored” tag in the copy.

Sponsored content comes with plenty of benefits for small businesses. Among other things, it allows you to:

Attract consumer interest
Utilise less intrusive ads
Tap into new target audiences
Improve your SEO score

Creating Impactful Sponsored Posts

With sponsorship benefits explained, let’s look at how to use them the right way. Ideally, this would be a five-step process.

Step 1: Outline Your Goals

First, think about what you want to achieve with your sponsorships. What are your overall business goals? Are you looking to generate more leads, increase your brand awareness, or something else?

Once you have a clear direction, it will be easier to define specific campaign KPIs. Other factors that can help you in this regard include:

Past campaign performance
Your target audience
Potential reach

Step 2: Set a Budget

Setting a budget for your sponsorships will help you allocate resources wisely. For best results, think of your budget as an investment. Compare it with your expected ROI to justify the cost of sponsored content.

When setting a budget, consider how you’ll use sponsored posts. Will they be a pillar of your social media strategy or just another marketing channel? Think about how much content you’ll need to create to meet your goals.

Step 3: Consider Partnerships

Many sponsorship strategies involve working with influencers. That’s because they’re usually experts in their niche with a loyal audience. If you partner with them, some of that trust will likely rub off on you as well.

Of course, choosing the right influencer for you may require a lot of research. They’ll need to:

Fit your budget
Belong in your niche
Align with your target audience
Understand the message you want to send

Step 4: Determine Your ROI

All effective sponsorship guidelines involve determining your ROI. However, this isn’t simply a matter of measuring your bottom-line profit. It’s about tracking the key metrics to measure your performance, such as:

Reach
Engagement
Conversions

As soon as your sponsored post is live, start tracking those metrics. You should also communicate your key metrics to the influencers you’re working with.

Step 5: Create Good Content

Creating quality content has always been the best way to boost business visibility. Sponsored posts are no exception. Before writing your copy, put yourself in your audience’s shoes to see what they would be interested in.

Keep in mind that sponsored posts can appear in many formats, including videos. The one thing all posts should have, though, is a strong call-to-action (CTA). Without it, you’re missing key opportunities.

How to Publish Sponsored Posts

Depending on the type of your sponsorship, some social media platforms may work better for you than others. To help you cover your bases, here’s how to publish sponsored posts on all the key platforms.

Instagram Sponsorships

Instagram allows three types of sponsored posts:

Promoting a post from your business profile
Boosting an Instagram story ad
Partnering with an influencer

To boost a post, go to your profile and select the post you want to promote. Press the “Boost Post” button, select your goal, and choose a target audience. Set the budget and duration, then pay for the promotion.

With paid partnerships, it will be up to the influencer to post the content. Then, you’ll approve them as a creator associated with your brand. You’ll find this option in Settings > Business > Branded content.

X (Twitter) Sponsorships

On X, sponsored posts will have a little “Promoted” tag at the bottom left. The platform doesn’t support defined CTA buttons, but clicking on the post will take you to the associated landing page.

To create a sponsored post on X, head to X Business and select “Launch a Campaign.” Select your region and time zone, then choose your objective. You’ll also be able to add targeting features, such as:

Keywords used by your audience
Followers of similar accounts
Specific operating system

At this point, all that’s left is to write your ad, add any media, and set your schedule. As soon as you pay, you’ll be able to launch your campaign.

Facebook Sponsorships

Facebook doesn’t allow influencer partnerships, so you’ll have to focus on promoted posts. These posts will have a “Sponsored” tag under your brand name and include a CTA button.

To create a sponsored post, head to your Facebook page and choose a post to promote. Then, pick a campaign goal and either select a recommended audience or create your own. Enter your budget and duration to get started.

Need Help With Sponsored Content?

So, how do sponsorships work? In essence, it’s all about being willing to put in the effort. The more you play around with sponsored posts, the easier it will be to find a strategy that works for your business.

Don’t have that kind of time? At William Lawrence, we can take a look at your digital presence and craft the perfect sponsored posts for your needs. We’ll also create monthly reports for all your social media accounts!

William Lawrence is an official Facebook marketing partner and a certified Google Ads company. Contact us here to see how we can help your business!