Awin Influence: In conversation with @sulsworld

Former professional footballer turned influencer, Sul created his platform to inspire others. With a full portfolio of brand collaborations across fashion, fitness and lifestyle, including the likes of Nike, Reiss, M&S, Carphone Warehouse, Sul resonates with a highly engaged audience.

Influencer Partnerships Executive Nicola Wellington catches up with him to understand how he successfully developed his following.

Let us start with introductions. Tell us a bit about yourself.

How’s it going! My name is Suleman but everyone calls me Sul, @sulsworld on the ol' gram! I’m a men’s lifestyle content creator from London Town.

What inspired you to become an influencer?

I’d say two things. Firstly, I’ve always had a passion for marketing and content creation. I studied marketing at university and that kind of sparked the interest to initially get into blogging. I also then started seeing a female influencer, there weren’t many males around at the time and she suggested that I give it a shot as I was helping her with some of her content too. So, you could say it was a natural progression of sorts!

Have you always used affiliate links on your platform?

Yeah, I use affiliate links, I find it’s a great way to allow my audience to easily shop some of the things I’m wearing.

What do you look for in a brand collaboration?

As I’ve grown, I’ve become a little pickier and I say no just as much as I say yes to collaborations. I think I look for something which feels like a natural alignment with my brand but also a collaboration my audience can really benefit from.

What advice do you have for brands looking to start working with influencers?

I think it’s important for a brand to understand the influencer they want to work with and their aesthetic before approaching. I appreciate most brands have specific briefs but it’s important to allow for some freedom within that brief for the influencer to communicate to their audience in a way which feels more organic.

Side note: I also think it’s important for the influencer to look through the brand’s socials to get an idea of their aesthetic and find a happy medium. When I first started out, I was looking through the platforms of the brands I wanted to work with and tried to produce similar content which fits with both their page and mine. That really paid off and a lot of the brands I work with today are some of the ones I took inspiration from early on. So, keep that in mind any aspiring content creators and influencers!

What has been your favourite collaboration of 2020?

Good question and it’s hard to pick one! Although, it’s not a campaign but ahead of Christmas a brand sent a dancing man in a Santa costume to my house with gifts ahead of their virtual Christmas party. I mean A+ for originality, effort and delivery.

Thanks Sul! Check out @sulsworld on Instagram.

As brands look to leverage influencer marketing within 2021, Sul reminds us that authenticity is key for collaboration along with respecting a creator’s freedom to produce content that resonates and engages their audience.

For more information about how to develop your influencer strategy, you can reach out to the Awin Influencer Team here.