No matter what type of influencer you are, your creator journey is unsuccessful without big brand collaborations. In earlier times, it used to be for celebrities. But today, an influencer having 1000 followers can work as a nano-influencer. To become a macro-influencer, one must have a strong understanding of marketing. Then only one can first gain a considerable number of followers and then work with more prominent brands. This article will give you an overview of how to find brands for collaborations to outgrow your influencer career.
Before jumping on to the procedure of finding brands for collaborations, here is a benchmark that you need to follow to keep you in the influencer game.
- Consistency – You need to be consistent with your profile’s frequency of posts and branding. Big brands always check whether you are posting regularly or not. If your profile seems inactive, then you can miss your dream collaboration.
- Display a Media Kit – Media kit is a short introductory document. It shows your follower count and engagement rates and tells everything about you as an influencer. Whenever any brand is willing to work with you, all the necessary information will be available in a single place.
- Create Engaging Content – Influencers who create engaging and high-quality content are more likely to be hired by the brands. So, it’s basic to post highly engaging content before reaching out to any brand. Moreover, have a clear target audience in your mind too.
- Make Connections with Brands Socially – If you connect with brands socially before reaching out to them will be a plus sign. Tagging your dream brands in the posts and talking about their product’s USPs will make you visible in their eyes.
- Be Clear – Brands and users are in love with influencers because of their collaborations. So, working with any brand, remember to disclose about them. Make use of Instagram Collab Feature to display your collaboration.
Top 3 Practices to Look for Brands for Collaborations:
To build trust amongst your audience and successful collaborations with brands. You need to follow different practices:
- Look for brands that have already engaged with you – Either you’re a content creator or a business, there will be some brands that have already engaged with you. Review the followers, likes, and comments to check if companies engage with your content.
- Be a part of an influencer marketplace – There are a variety of platforms where you can list your profile as an influencer. You can find various brands to collaborate with.
- Look for brands you like – Platforms like Afluencer will open a handful of opportunities to collaborate with brands you want. If you have already picked up a brand to work with, then look at which influencers are already working with that brand. If no influencer is working with them, you can contact them.
You are already aware of practices to build trust among your audience. Next comes pitching, the most important thing to reach out to a brand.
How to reach out to the brands?
Look for a contact form on the website or email address, or message them directly on social media.
What to include in the pitch?
Make sure to add all this information to your outreach:
- About yourself
- Your target audience
- Type of content you create
- Things you like about their brand and why you are willing to work with them
- A media kit containing your social media channel links, number of followers, website traffic, conversions, etc.
Make sure to keep your pitch as descriptive as possible. But make sure it should be readable and concise. As a token of advice, try using bullet points.
What is the importance of an influencer media kit?
In the above sections, influencer media kit has been discussed many times. An influencer media kit is like a business card, artist portfolio, or resume. A solid media kit helps brands showcase your true potential, the type of content you like, and the impact it has made. While creating the media kit, keep the information and design simply aesthetically.
How to create your Influencer Media Kit?
When preparing your influencer media kit, add these 4 things:
- Your BIO – A short bio will work wonders for your influencer media kit. Show your name, type of content, contact information, and a headshot. Include your email, social media URLs, and your phone number. You can put your general website and a blog.
- Social media stats – Showing numbers will change the influencer game. Your subscribers, engagement rates, number of likes, and followers on social media platforms will make your profile outshine. If, case, you have less number of followers but a good engagement rate, then also you can look for brand collaborations.
- Display your followers’ demographics – Mention your demographics like sex/gender, race, age, religion, and location. Make sure that your demographic should look simple.
- Past testimonials and brand collaborations – It’s beneficial to show your past work as it boosts your profile. If in case there will a lot of brand collaborations, the better your profile will be. Do mention the engagement rate and the number of conversions you made for them.
Follow the above 4 things to create a rocking Influencer and see how brands welcome you as their next influencer.
Pro tips for a better response:
Whenever a brand reaches out to you, here is a way to respond professionally:
- Information should be clear – Ask if they have any ideas or want full creative control.
- Discuss time commitments – Sometimes, a brand looks forward to much work in return for less compensation.
- Take advice – If you have any friends who are already creators, you can take advice from them on the proposal, whether it looks appealing to them or not.
The concluding lines!
You can rely on shared information if you are just starting as an influencer or micro-influencer. We assure you will get to work with your favorite brand soon if you follow every word carefully. Rest it is in your hands how to reach out to brands for collaborations.
