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How Do I Reach Out to Micro-Influencers?
Influencer Marketing
When developing an influencer marketing campaign, one of the most challenging tasks is often finding the right influencers for your brand. The influencers you choose will play a huge role in determining your campaign’s success, so it’s vital to understand how to find and reach out to influencers that meet your criteria.
Increasingly, brands are turning toward micro influencers to participate in their influencer marketing campaigns. Working with micro influencers over influencers with larger followings has many benefits, and in this blog, we’ll break down how to reach out to them, so you can launch your own micro influencer marketing campaigns.
What Are the Best Ways to Find a Micro Influencer?
It’s common for marketers who have never run influencer campaigns to wonder how to find micro influencers. If you’re interested in running a campaign on TikTok, for example, you might be curious about how to find micro influencers on TikTok. There are several methods you can use to find micro influencers across major social media platforms, including:
Method #1- Google Search
One way to find micro influencers in your niche is to conduct a Google search with terms like “influencers in [your niche/industry]” or “[your niche/industry] social media personalities.” This method may be somewhat time-consuming as you’ll have to manually comb through all the results, but it can yield some great potential partners for your brand.
Method #2- Hashtag Search
Another way to find micro influencers for free is to conduct a hashtag search on a given social media platform for hashtags related to your brand’s niche. For example, if you’re trying to find micro influencers on Instagram, you would search Instagram for hashtags you think influencers in your industry might use.
It may take some trial and error, but this method will likely help you find influencers you wouldn’t be able to find from a Google search alone.
Method #3- Work With an Influencer Management Agency
If you don’t have the time or inclination to conduct manual searches for micro influencers, there is another option. Perhaps the best answer to the question “How do I find good micro influencers?” is — you let the experts do it for you.
Influencer management agencies specialize in locating and reaching out to the best influencers for your campaigns, whether that’s micro influencers or mega influencers. Using artificial intelligence, agencies can identify the ideal influencers for you. You give the agency your criteria and the agency returns a list of top candidates that meet that criteria. All you have to do is select the influencers you like best from the list.
What Is the Best Way to Contact an Influencer?
Once you put together a list of influencers you’d like to work with, the next step is reaching out to them to ask them to participate in your campaign. The two main ways brands can contact influencers about possible partnerships are through direct messages (DMs) and email.
Before choosing one of these contact methods, check to see whether the influencer has specified how they prefer to be contacted. Influencers often include a website on their profiles that has details about their brand partnership policies, including how brands should reach out to them about partnerships.
Email is a tried and true contact method, but how do you write an email to reach out to influencers? If you decide to reach out to potential influencer partners through email, make sure to spend some time crafting the best possible influencer outreach email, including a strong influencer collaboration email subject.
Some subject lines you can modify for each influencer include:
- [Influencer name], we’d love to work with you
- [Influencer name], your followers will love this product
- [Influencer name], interested in working together?
In the body of the email, keep the message short and to the point. Avoid generic language and display genuine interest in working with the influencer. The goal of these initial outreach emails should be to open a dialogue that eventually leads to a productive partnership. You don’t need to finalize everything immediately.
Direct Message
Direct messages are generally more casual than emails but are still effective for starting partnerships with influencers. If you’re wondering how to message influencers to promote your product, you can apply the same guidelines for reaching out to influencers’ emails. Personalize the message, keep it short and sweet, and conclude by asking the influencer to get in touch with you if interested in a partnership.
How Do You Connect with Micro-Influencers?
Engage with Their Content
Building a relationship with micro-influencers often begins with authentic engagement. Like, comment on, and share their posts where relevant. This initial engagement shows the influencer that your brand is genuinely interested in their content and helps get your name on their radar. Make sure your interactions are thoughtful and add value to the conversation.
Personalize Your Outreach
When it’s time to reach out, personalizing your message can make all the difference. Start with a genuine compliment about their work or a specific post that impacted you. This indicates that you’ve taken the time to understand their content and brand. Whether you’re reaching out via direct message or email, a personalized approach increases your chances of getting a positive response.
Email Example
- Subject: [Influencer Name], We’d Love to Collaborate with You!
- Body: Hi [Influencer Name], I’m [Your Name] from [Your Company]. I’ve been following your [specific content] and am really impressed with your [specific compliment]. We think you would be a great fit for our upcoming campaign and would love to discuss potential collaboration opportunities.
Offer Value Upfront
Micro-influencers are more likely to collaborate if they see the value your brand provides. Be clear about what’s in it for them—whether it’s compensation, free products, or exposure. Make sure your offer aligns with the influencer’s values and audience for a mutually beneficial partnership.
Tap into Networks
Use platforms and agencies specialized in influencer marketing, such as Lionize, to identify and contact potential candidates. These platforms use AI and data analytics to match your brand with influencers who best fit your campaign’s objectives and target audience, saving you time and ensuring a good fit.
Be Clear and Professional
When discussing collaboration details, be clear about your expectations and willing to listen to their ideas. Outline the campaign goals, deliverables, deadlines, and compensation to avoid any misunderstandings. A professional and transparent approach fosters trust and sets the foundation for a successful collaboration.
What Is the Most Effective Way to Approach an Influencer to Collaborate?
The most effective way to approach an influencer to collaborate is “warm them up” over time rather than cold pitching them. That means engaging with their posts, following their content, and building some familiarity between your brand and the influencer.
If you use this method, when you finally reach out with a collaboration message to influencers, they’re much more likely to be receptive to your proposal.
How Lionize Can Help
Lionize can simplify the process of finding and contacting micro influencers. Our AI-powered platform will find the best influencers for your brand and handle outreach for you.
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