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      Getting Started Guide for Brands & Agencies

      High-level guide of getting started on Trend (5 min. read).

      Table of Contents

      1. The Basics of Trend + Brand Guide

      2. Creating Your First Campaign

      3. Navigation Panel

      4. Applications

      5. Messaging

      6. Shipping & Tracking Your Product

      7. Approval Process

      8. Downloading content

      The Basics of Trend ✅

      Trend is a content creation platform that connects you with talented creators who produce high-quality, fully licensed content for you.

       

      On Trend, you don't search through databases or reach out cold to creators. We simplify things by having creators apply to work with you, with zero negotiations, and simplified workflow. All while getting you licensed content to grow your brand.

      We have a simple pay-as-you-go credit system to engage with creators. Forget getting nickeled and dimed on software fees, subscription fees, and/or other hidden fees.

      Creators apply to you and you choose the creators you want to work with. Simple as that.

      Each topic that follows here should be considered a "step" in your Trend campaign journey.

      View this User Guide to best leverage our platform!

      ​

      Creating Your Campaign 💡

      Partial view of an example campaign

       

      Your campaign sets the tone of the post and the content you need. On Trend, you have the option for two types of campaigns:

      1. Social Campaigns = 1 Instagram (IG) Post + 1 Story Post

      2. Content Campaigns = 5 images or 2 videos (no social post involved, just content)

      In both cases, the Campaign Brief is where you share guidelines and expectations. It's important to be descriptive and clear about what you're looking for from each creator.

       

      Keep in mind, you are hiring a creative and talented creator. Let them add their personal flair to make you something special and unique for your brand to repurpose.

       

      Want to learn more about creating a campaign? Check out our Creating Your Campaign guide and Trend Templates.

      Navigation Panel (aka The Nav) 🔍

      The 'Navigation Panel' on the left side of your desktop login contains information to help you navigate Trend.

       

      The Nav includes:

      • Your Creator Credit balance + button to purchase Creator Credits

      • Your current campaigns

      • Button to 'Create a Campaign'

      • 'Earn Free Credits' referral section

      • Trend Help Center

      • Account Settings.

      Creator Applications 🌠

      Applications roll in as soon as your campaign goes live.

       

      This is the part that makes your life simple. Like a job posting, creators apply to work with you. Review creators based on the criteria you have available through Trend.

       

      Social Campaigns

      Keep an eye on the engagement rate, the follower count, and most importantly, head to their IG by clicking their profile image on their Trend Profile to review their IG Feed content aesthetic. Since the content is licensed to you once approved, you need to ensure the content they make aligns with your brand so you can repurpose it.

       

      Content Campaigns

      When reviewing applications, you'll want to review their content aesthetic under 'content style'. Considering you're not focusing on their audience for this campaign, you need to ensure their content aligns with what you need.

      Messaging 📨

      Building relationships is key in all types of business, including when working with influencers and creators. So, break the ice with creators via the messages tab on Trend!

       

      Share your excitement about working with each creator, confirm they've read the campaign guidelines and their shipping address, update them when you've shipped your product, and congratulate them on a job well done.

       

      The folks you work with could end up being great ambassadors for your brand over the long run.

      Shipping 🚚 & Tracking Your Products 📦

      The Shipments Made tab

       

      Long gone are the days of us asking and waiting on address information. Address information is a part of each content creator's profile and is provided to you when they are activated on your campaign.

       

      Export the list of the address's via the button in the top right of the tab (Download Shipping CSV).

       

      Once you've messaged creators and shipped out the product, enter in the tracking information for each creator on the 'Shipments Made' tab via the 'Mark as Shipped' button (see above). Once the product is delivered, the Trend software will assign a due date window to each creator 7-14 days out for their post.

      Content Approval Process 📸

      Content Approval Process in Action

       

      The approval process is different based on the campaign that you're running:

      • Photo or Video Campaign: You have 96 hours (4 days) from when the content is uploaded by the creator to review and approve. Any content that hits the 96-hour mark will be 'auto-approved' by the Trend Software.
        ​You're allowed 1 revision per creator.

      • Social Post Campaign: There are two levels to approving content for a social campaign

        • 1st Approval: Your first level approval on a social post campaign is just the content itself (photo or image). You have 96 hours (4 days) to approve this content. Any content that reaches the 96-hour mark will be 'auto-approved' by the Trend software. You're allowed 1 revision per creator.

        • 2nd Approval: Your second level approval on a social post campaign is the approval of the social post on their IG Feed. This post is live when you go in for approval. You have 24 hours to approve this 'live post' on Trend from when the creator uploads the post through their portal. After 24 hours of no approval, the content will be 'auto-approved.' You're allowed 1 caption revision per creator.
          ​

      You will be notified via email, and browser notifications if enabled, every time a post is ready for approval. It is a best practice to keep an eye on these and not wait to let things get auto-approved.

       

      Important: It is critical that you include all of the information required to complete a post in your campaign guidelines for the creator to produce what you're looking for.

      Downloading content 🖼️

      Downloading the content made simple

       

      Content is the backbone of eCommerce and DTC brands. You need it to stay relevant to current and future customers while also preventing ad fatigue. On Trend, once you approve the content, the licensing rights to the content are now yours!

       

      You can hover over the content to download the approved content individually or you can download all approved content by clicking the 'download all' button.

       

      Leverage the content produced for you on Trend in your paid ads (to 4X ROAS), email marketing, your brand homepage, your product page, your social channels, and however you see fit!

       

      Put this content to work to grow your brand and outshine your competitors with social proof. 😎