It takes one to know one, so the adage goes and never more so than when referring to the incredibly diverse and mysterious roles played by the green beauty influencer. To help shed light on how new indie and niche beauty brands can make the most of collaborating with green beauty influencers, we invited Callie Lions of The Green Beauty Mom fame to the podcast.

Callie, a graduate of Formula Botanica, straddles the green beauty influencer world. She started out in 2011 blogging and running her social media as a way to indulge her passion for all things green beauty as she learned the practical formulation skills on our diploma course.

Driven by a desire to share news and reviews of often lesser-known yet brilliant new green beauty products with other mums and mothers to be, Callie says her mission was and and still is to help them step-by-step transfer their beauty and personal care regime to green beauty. However, all along Callie knew she eventually wished to launch her own brand, which she did this year.

Callie has therefore been on both sides of the green beauty influencer fence; working with brands but also being a brand needing her own social clout and help from influencers. She occupies a unique space in the green beauty influencer world as she still shares information on fellow green brands; coopetition and cooperation are her watchwords as Callie feels that the more that's out there on all green beauty trends and brands, the better for all involved in making a living from this sector of the beauty industry.

In fact, a leitmotiv running through our fascinating interview with Callie is the need for constructive collaboration in which everyone gains. Listen in for Callie's highly practical advice and tips on just how to create, manage and benefit from meaningful relationships with green beauty influencers, in particular on the do's and don'ts of Instagram collaboration.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• why it's imperative to work with influencers who are passionate about your space but that finding partnerships outside of your regular zone can be rewarding and mutually beneficial too;
• that polite persistence and perseverance in connecting with influencers pays off; don't be put off because you don't hear back immediately;
• why approaching accounts with less than stratospheric follower numbers can be the best way to dip your toes into working with green beauty influencers;
• why and how Instagram remains a preeminent social space for PR, marketing and potentially sales for any beauty brand with great visuals and prepared to work it hard;
• about how face-to-face networking at events such as trade fairs and green beauty shows can help you cement online connections with influencers; and
• why local connections with retailers, media and like-minded groups, are valuable to growing online influence too.

Key takeouts on how to collaborate with green beauty influencers include:

• Do be prepared to talk legalities and deliverables up front. If things get formal with a green beauty influencer, it is best practice and advisable, especially if you are paying reasonable fees, to talk through the paperwork and even sign a contract.
• Ensure you and the influencer have good communication channels. Don't leave unanswered questions or any doubts lingering in your collaboration.
• Do try working with more than one influencer and don't put all your eggs in one basket. Review performance, research the influencer market and monitor the results you get from working with several.

Watch our Meet the Entrepreneur webinar with Callie and join The Green Beauty Mom on social media:

The Green Beauty Mom website. The Green Beauty Mom on Instagram. The Green Beauty Mom on Facebook. The Green Beauty Mom on Pinterest. The Green Beauty Mom on Twitter.

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Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Formula Botanica: Green Beauty Conversations podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on iTunes or Stitcher so that more people can enjoy the show. Don't forget to follow and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.