Throughout 2021, I went from posting pictures I love on my instagram weekly for my own pleasure, to posting pictures I love on my instagram weekly for money.
This year I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to apply to be a brand ambassador for BEARPAW. As a child I would sit and watch YouTube videos for hours. I would often see the YouTubers working with different companies. Ever since then, I knew I wanted to work with companies just like all of my favorite influencers.
I first heard about this opportunity through a friend who did it last year. She knew I was interested in social media and working towards partnerships and she recommended that I apply. The application process was followed by a few interviews through Newbridge Marketing Group, who helped with the program alongside BEARPAW. It was a few weeks later that I received an email that I, alongside students from schools across the nation, had gotten the position as a campus ranger for BEARPAW.
After going through brief training, I started posting once a week– switching off between stories and feed posts. Throughout this 10 week program we were also asked to plan two events, visit two clubs, collect surveys, do product reviews and complete a few incentivized tasks. This allowed me to let other students know about what BEARPAW has to offer. For these events and visits, I was given a variety of BEARPAW merchandise to hand out to students and for my posts, I was given BEARPAW shoes and merchandise.
Throughout the weeks of this program I was able to learn more about myself and about how to make my instagram more personal. Each week we were given an idea of what to post which allowed me to plan each post and customize it to my own feed. I was able to see what my followers loved and what they didn’t resonate with. I was able to connect with students around the nation and with my own followers.
Being a BEARPAW campus ranger has helped me achieve a dream I never thought I would while still teaching me how to run a better and more personal instagram.
With the fall semester coming to an end and the New Year almost upon us, students who, like me, have the dream of working with brands, may be setting new goals of becoming a campus ranger. What helped me to achieve this goal was realizing that I was capable and worthy of getting a partnership. Another thing that helped me was talking to other accounts as well as the BEARPAW team to hear their advice on this program. Another secret that helped me to achieve this goal was pushing myself out of my comfort zone to apply to these companies.
Even though I had no experience in marketing or brand partnerships, I was still capable of representing a brand that I was passionate about. No matter the amount of followers, if each of my posts represented who I was and what I was passionate about, I would succeed.