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How Do I Get Influencers To Promote My Brand?

Influencer Marketing
How Do I Get Influencers To Promote My Brand?

Influencer marketing is a powerful method that more and more brands are using as a pillar of their marketing strategy. This promotional strategy involves forming a partnership with a digital content creator and providing compensation or branded merchandise in exchange for them posting positively about your brand. 

The first steps to any social media marketing plan must involve campaign building and research. Influencers are both effective marketing tools and professional content creators – you don’t want to reach out to one without a plan in mind of how to utilize them to drive sales. 

After conducting thorough influencer research and finding a few possible candidates that match your target audience, it’s time for outreach. 

Let’s walk through a few of the channels brands can use to reach out to influencers, the best way to approach an influencer for collaboration, and a few top tips for nailing outreach on that channel. 

How Do I Reach Out To An Influencer? 

Many brand marketers new to the social media marketing game wonder “how do I get influencers to promote my brand?” It’s not impossible, or even that hard, but there are many considerations and a few best practices to keep in mind.

Here are a few of the popular methods for reaching out to an influencer to form a collaboration:

  • Direct Messages. A popular way of reaching out to influencers is to do so directly on the platforms where they create content through a direct message (DM). While these can be effective, some influencers do not prefer to be DM’d, because it is the same way many of their followers reach out to them, making it hard for a branded message to stand out. 
  • Emails. People can talk all they want about the rise of social media and SMS marketing, but email is still the primary channel for conducting business transactions, which a branded partnership definitely qualifies as. Lots of influencers place their email (or their social media manager’s email) in the bios of their accounts, so that brands can easily reach out to them to collaborate. 
  • Influencer Marketing Agencies. Many of the more sophisticated and highly-followed influencers, such as macro-influencers, have social media representation. This means that they work with an agency to protect and promote them, acting as the middleman for their brand partnerships. To reach out to these influencers, you’ll need to contact their social manager, not them. 

What Is The Best Way To Approach An Influencer For A Collaboration? 

As previously stated, there are a few ways that you can reach out to a content creator to form a collaboration. Most marketers and influencers agree, however, that the best platform for influencer outreach is email.

It may be counterintuitive at first since emails are an off-channel messaging option from the social media platforms that influencers are using to build their personal brands. But, actually, that is the point. Influencers are bogged down with responding to DMs on most of their accounts and don’t have time to respond to every single follower. Emails are a separate messaging tool for a reason and are still perceived as the go-to professional medium.

How Do I Reach Out To An Influencer Through Email? 

There are a few best practices for email marketing outreach to influencers.

Firstly, your subject line is an important way for you to grab an influencer’s attention. Consider personalizing this and including keywords such as “collaboration” or “paid partnership.”

In the introduction, you should introduce yourself and explain why your brand team was drawn to working with this influencer. Personalize the message by referencing a piece of content they’ve recently created or something specific about them that only someone paying attention would notice. 

In the bulk of the message, you should include a broad overview of the campaign details and objectives. Some influencers get annoyed when it takes lots of emailing back and forth to nail down the marketing information. Brands should come prepared with their ideal deliverables and deadlines. 

For the ending, it is recommended to thank them for their time and include your contact information, so they can reach out to you immediately or later down the road.

Finally, keep in mind that following up with an influencer may be necessary. These professional social media stars are typically busy and may not always have time to sift through the many partnership offers they receive. So, be prepared with a follow-up message, either via email or through a DM, that you can send to get their attention after a week or more of no response. 

How Lionize Can Help You Develop An Influencer Marketing Strategy 

Lionize’s platform uses artificial intelligence to make finding and managing creators your new superpower. Book a Discovery Call today to find out how Lionize can help your company make the most out of your influencer marketing campaigns.