You have set up your social media, and you have a decent following that engages with your content. You definitely have an influence over them, and now you’re ready to reach out to brands for collaborations.
It’s one of the first questions aspiring creators ask themselves. “How to reach out to brands as an influencer?”
Navigating this world is daunting. What’s even more daunting is writing an email to a brand about collaborations. They are already inundated with collaboration requests. So, how do you stand out from the hoi polloi?
You find innovative ways to pitch a collaboration to brands. Short on ideas? We give you some.
What should I do before reaching out to brands as a micro influencer?
However, before you start wondering how to message brands for collaboration on Instagram, here are some things you should have ready.
1. Have an engaged community of followers
Having an engaged audience is one of the top qualities that brands look for in influencers. What matters here is not the number of followers but the number of people liking, commenting, sharing, tapping, and saving your content. To achieve an engaged audience, you need to have engaging content.
2. Know the brand you want to collaborate with
Doing prior research is never a bad idea. It shows the brand that you are genuinely interested in collaborating with them.
3. Have a media kit ready
Create a media kit that will show your social media stats and act as your resume. We’ve written about what a media kit should contain here and how to create one here. But here’s the gist:
- A short bio of your brand as an influencer
- The demographics of your audience
- Your social media statistics
- Some previous collaborations
How to message brands for collaboration: 5 creative ways
The two most common ways to message brands for collaboration are on Instagram and through email.
If you’re looking for a pitch email template on how to reach out to brands as an influencer, swing by here. We give you 2 samples in the blog post.
If you want to know how to write an email to a brand for collaboration, hop over to this article.
Both email and Instagram DMs have a small chance of working. But if you really, really, really wanna yes after you ask for collaboration on Instagram, here’s what you do.
1. Tag ‘em (everywhere in relevant content)
A blind date or a date with someone who has been on your radar – which one would you pick?
Barring the daredevils, everyone chooses the 2nd option because you know the date will not be a disaster of Herculean proportions.
It’s not much different with brands. A brand is more likely to collaborate with a creator they know. How do you get on a brand’s radar?
Post about them and tag ‘em in videos, photos, stories, statuses, and tweets that are relevant to them without expecting anything in return. That’s the first creative way to reach out to brands for collaborations.
P.S.: If brands see an increase in traffic or sales as a result of the tags, the chances of a collaboration happening skyrocket!
2. Make it easy (and personal)!
Ya think you’re lazy AF?
Think again. The ‘homo sapiens with full-sized aortic pumps’ working for the brands are just as lazy. They’ll collaborate with an influencer who makes the process as easy as possible (for them). How do you do that?
First, give them access to all your social handles and key metrics on a single page or document. Second, show them your talent. For instance, if you’re a food blogger, send some hunger-inducing samples of photos along with your pitch.
The brand will appreciate the personal gesture, and the sample will prove that you indeed care about building a long-term relationship.
3. Do a joint-pitch
If a brand can get two influencers for the price of one (or even one and a half), they are more open to the idea of collaborations. After all, 2 are better than 1.
What the eff are we hinting at?
We’re talking about two creators coming together to pitch one brand. Let’s say you are a travel blogger and you know a photographer. Don’t message brands for collaboration alone. Instead, send a joint pitch to hotels in Europe.
How does a dual-pitch help? Because both of you post about the hotels, the reach for the brand doubles. It lowers your odds of a brand rejecting the partnership.
4. Build a network through events
Yes, you can ask a brand for collaboration on Instagram. Yes, you can send an email saying, “Hi, I am a creator who’d love to collaborate with you. But no amount of DMs or emails can replace a face-to-face meeting.
So look for influencer meet-ups and events where you can network with brands. They are an excellent way to increase your visibility to brands and forge fruitful collaborations not only with businesses but also with other creators.
5. Be part of a creator community
Why does Tinder work? What makes Bumble thrive? Heck, how come Shaadi.com is still surviving after 24 years? Because matchmaking platforms make it easy for all parties involved.
So, that’s what you’ve gotta do to reach brands for collaboration. Find a creator community platform, like Do Your Thng.
These apps already have paid brand campaigns on them, meaning you don’t have to go through the hassle of learning how to reach out to brands for collaboration.
That’s all, folks!
That concludes our four creative and innovative approaches to approaching brands for collaboration as a nano- or micro-influencer.
Haven’t downloaded DYT yet to get brand collaborations? Snap up the app!
