12/7/2020

FOR RDs: Do’s & Don’t for Landing More Brand Partnerships

At LINK and GCG we are all about quality and providing value to both our brand partners and you, our RD community! As we invite more brands and RDs onto the site, we want to make sure that everyone can get the most out of LINK and all the opportunities and connections that can be made using the platform.

We are sharing five tips that we’ve found to have really helped RDs stand out and land partnerships with brands! Remember it’s not just about the transaction, it’s about relationship building and finding ways to mutually succeed! Let’s dive in…


1. FIND COMMON GROUND FIRST

DON’T – Reach out to brands and immediately offer to partner together without first seeing if you are a mutually good fit or if the brand is interested in your type of offering.

Instead of: 

Hi ABC Foods, 
…I see that you have a variety of healthy snacks in your brand portfolio. I’d be happy to partner with you anyway that you may need! My media kit is attached, just let me know…

DO – Reach out to brands, introduce yourself, show genuine interest in the brand and showcase how you could specifically bring them value by highlighting your past successes

Try something like this:

Hi ABC Foods, 
… My name is Jenna Gorham and I’m a registered dietitian specializing in plant-based nutrition. I’ve been plant-based myself for the past 10 years and am a huge fan of your products! I’m hosting an upcoming webinar on plant-based nutrition for busy professionals and thought your product would be the perfect fit for this audience. I’d love to discuss this opportunity more with you if you are interested…

This finds common ground and shows why the partnership would be a good fit.


2. OWN YOUR NICHE

DON’T – Be an expert on it all (as they say – jack of all trades, master of none!) or offer to cover all the topics and specialities, even ones that you have limited exposure to. Additionally, don’t forget to mention your expertise! They don’t know why you’re a great fit if you don’t tell them!

DO – OWN your main 1-3 areas of expertise (beyond your RD credential!)! Showcase your strongest areas to offer value to potential partnerships. Reach out to brands who align with your speciality, expertise, and audience. This ensures better success for both you and the brand when you are truly a good fit for one another.

(The example above fits here too 🙂 )


3. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

DON’T – Skip the research! Don’t reach out to a brand without knowing their products, mission, or target audience or copying and pasting generic messaging to all different brands.

DO – Peruse the brand’s website and social media or even pick up their product the next time you are at the store– get to know the brand, if you don’t already. Take time to write a personal note and showcase your interest in the products and company as well as your value that may align perfectly with the brand’s mission and goals.


4. STAY UP TO DATE  

DON’T – Be spotty or unreliable with your communication when attempting to connect or move forward with brand partnerships. Also, not checking LINK regularly and potentially missing out on brand messages. 

DO – Ensure you are keeping up with your potential and current partnerships in a timely manner and checking LINK on a regular cadence to make sure you don’t miss anything or miss out on partnership opportunities


5. MAKE IT EASY

DON’T – Refer brands to sift through all the opportunities that you’ve posted on LINK and ask them to let you know if they are interested in any.

Instead of: 

Hi ABC Foods, 
…I’ve just posted a bunch of great new opportunities to collaborate with brands. Feel free to take a look and let me know if any are of interest to you!…

DO – Make it easy for the brands! Offer them one or two opportunities that appear to align best with their brand and share a few essential details so they don’t need to hunt for them. 

Try something like this: 

Hi ABC Foods, 
…I’ve just shared some new opportunities for ways to collaborate with brands. Because your products offer a great source of probiotics, I thought you may be interested in my upcoming broadcast segment on gut friendly foods. We are scheduled to go live on X date here in San Diego. The show reaches 20k households on average with the primary audience being stay at home moms.  Let me know if a tv sponsorship would be something that you would like to learn more about… 


We hope these tips help you on your journey as you work towards helping health-driven brands share accurate nutrition information in 2021 and beyond!

We would love to know what tips work best for you or what you found to be the most helpful. Let us know by tagging us on Instagram @therdlink and #LINKRD! 

Happy connecting!

© 2024 Gorham Consulting Group. All Rights Reserved.

CDS