What is Barter Collaboration?

In simple words, Barter means the exchange of goods and services between two parties without the involvement of money. We often use the word Barter collaboration in influencer marketing as it is a process where Brands reach out to influencers for promotion of their brand goods or service in exchange of complementary products. 

If the brand pays the social media influencer a certain amount of money, then the  collaboration is no longer a "barter" one; rather, the collaboration is then referred to as a paid collaboration in which the brand pays the influencer money in exchange for effectively advertising their product or service. 

Why is Barter Collaboration better than Paid Collaboration?

Brands and influencers benefit from Barter collaboration as it has many advantages.Brands love to work with influencers and creators in this setup as Barter collaboration adds a personal touch to the entire process. The audience loves to hear personal accounts of customers, hence Barter collaboration helps the influencer build a strong connection with their audience.

The essence of the audience purchasing something recommended by influencers or celebrities is that they trust and value the influencers' personal opinions and recommendations. If the influencer has not used the product, he/she may not provide a genuine and detailed opinion or account of the goods that will in turn drive sales for the brand due to this, influencer marketing has become one of the most common and effective ways to market products. 

Another advantage of barter collaboration for brands is that the brand only needs to bring the product to the influencer after this they can give the influencer leeway to promote the product to their respective audiences in their own unique way. This is a win-win situation for both the brands and the influencer. 

How to choose an influencer for Barter Collaboration 

Have a look at the at the tips for selecting an influencer for a barter collaboration

1. High Engagement rate

If you wish to calculate, the engagement rate of the influencer the formula for the same is: Number of likes per post/ Number of followers X 100

Use this formula to calculate the influencer's engagement rate ratio, as the target audience reached by the influencer is very  critical to the success of a barter collaboration campaign. A low engagement rate will not help the brand's promotion hence looking for influencers with higher engagement guarantees a successful association. 

2. Relatability

Audience engages with the influencer who is authentic and credible and gives a personal touch to your product. So brands should reach out to influencers who have a good following base and have relatability and a genuine connection with the audience. This firsthand account will help the  influencer in delivering an excellent promotional campaign. It will also improve and elevate the brand's image in the eyes of the audience, as people value genuine feedback.

3. Pick the right  type of influencer

There are four types of influencers like: Mega,Macro, Micro and nano influencers. Usually mega and macro influencers go for paid collaboration because they have a huge following. It is therefore important for brands to initially reach out to micro and nano influencers for barter collaboration, keeping the campaign goals and requirements in mind you can choose your influencer accordingly.  

Final thoughts

Keep in mind the tips mentioned above, such as checking the engagement rate of the influencer or creator and finding a specific niche. The right kind of influencer will increase your brand awareness and reach which will help you get the required lead generation with the help of barter collaboration. 

Looking to connect with influencers? WhizCo is India’s leading influencer marketing agency. WhizCo bridges the gap between creators and Brands and helps brands execute unforgettable influencer marketing campaigns and helps them grow online. WhizCo offers a complete solution to brands for running campaigns- from shortlisting, evaluating and onboarding influencers, to gathering feedback and performance tracking- All this coupled with years of expertise in managing thousands of creators and executing multiple campaigns at once.