As per a 2010 Nielsen report, when it comes to purchasing decisions, 90% of customers trust the people they know, 70% trust online user reviews and ratings, and only 33% trust advertisements by brands. Now, the number of people who believe in their peers, i.e. friends, family, and influencers’ has increased to 92%.

As you can see, the time has long gone when traditional methods of marketing were the top preference of brands. Today, every other brand wants to collaborate with influencers to grow its customer base.

And Instagram seems to be the most preferred influencer network as 67% of brands use Instagram for influencer marketing.

This means Instagram influencers have a good number of brands to choose from to collaborate with, making it crucial for you to prepare before you contact the influencers for collaborations.

However, we do have certain ways by which you can make your impression and effectively contact influencers. For the influencers to take notice of your company, you need to come up with an innovative pitch. 

Have a look at these steps on how to contact influencers to promote your product:  

  1. Determine your ideal influencers
  2. Engage with the influencers
  3. Perfect your pitch
  4. Outreach influencers
  5. Pick an Influencer Marketing Platform 

1. Determine your ideal influencers

Pitches that are drafted inappropriately tend to get skimmed over and do not reach the influencer. Before actually moving forward with the process of contacting influencers, you need to be aware of the type of influencers you desire. 

Here are some parameters that you must analyze to determine your ideal influencers:

a. Industry-specific influencer

You must be clear with your company’s objectives and goals. Accordingly, you should search for influencers that belong to the same niche as you. An influencer with a similar niche can substantially increase your growth by onboarding new users to your company. 

Brands often make the mistake of collaborating with macro celebrity influencers unrelated to their niche and hence do not receive the output they require. To ensure that this does not happen, you need to be aware of the things you desire out of the collaboration.

Instead, you should find niche-specific influencers and analyze how they could help you promote your product. 

For example, if you run a restaurant, you should consider collaborating with influencers that are passionate about food.

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b. Hashtag research

Hashtags have become a crucial part of social media. They help you maximize your reach and also help you discover people with the same interests as you. Hashtags can help you come across all the people that share the same niche as you. 

Hence, to find your ideal influencers, you can go through the relevant and trending hashtags in your industry.

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For example, if you are looking for influencers with a deep love for traveling, you can do thorough research on all the relevant and trending hashtags related to traveling. Some famous travel hashtags include #travelphotography, #wanderlust, #travelgram, #travelblogger and #adventure. 

Tip: To identify relevant hashtags, you can look for the hashtags used by brands and influencers in your niche.

c. Analyze your target audience

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While searching for influencers, you need to analyze the demographics of your target audience who share similar interests with that of your ideal influencer. It helps build common ground between the influencer and your target audience. Later, this could act as a good way to onboard the influencer’s followers on your brand. 

d. Buyers research

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Your loyal customers can be your best brand influencers.

There might be a possibility that the ideal influencer that you are searching for has purchased from your company in the past. Therefore, you need to indulge in thorough research and make a list of people who frequently purchase from your company. Shortlisting some people and analyzing their social media presence could be a great way to discover your ideal influencer within your customer base.

e. Go through Influencers’ feed

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Any person on Instagram can be distinguished from one another by the type of content that they post.

Once you have shortlisted the influencers you want to collaborate with, carefully go through their content.

Tip: Do not judge an influencer based on the number of followers. Instead, have a look at how often they post, the way they interact with their followers, and the brands they have collaborated with in the past.

It would give you a fair idea of whether the person is the ideal fit for your company or not.

f. Determine the type of influencers you want to partner with

An influencer is someone who would represent your brand image on Instagram in front of dozens of people. Therefore, selecting the right person for promoting your product should be your topmost priority. You need to see if the influencer checks all the boxes and is the right fit for promoting your product. 

To identify your ideal influencer, you need to know about the various types of influencers. Here, are the 5 major types of influencers:

– Nano-Influencers

Nano-Influencers have a following of around 1K-10K on Instagram. These influencers are the ones who have just found their niche and are working towards it. These influencers are quite cost-effective and are the most preferred type for small businesses with limited resources.

– Micro-Influencers

Micro-Influencers have a following of around 10K-50K on Instagram. Compared to nano-influencers, these influencers are more niche-specific and have better engagement rates. Though less but these influencers also have a very strong connection with their followers. In fact, like the influencer, their followers are deeply passionate about the niche too.

– Mid-Tier Influencers

Mid-Tier Influencers have a following of around 50K-500K on Instagram. These types of influencers have one of the most loyal fan bases. They post polished niche-specific content and are contacted by both small and big brands to promote their products.

– Macro-Influencers

Macro-Influencers have a following of around 500K-1 million on Instagram. These influencers consist of TV personalities, athletes, and opinion leaders. The huge Instagram following of these influencers is directly proportional to the amount they demand each collaboration. Therefore, they are generally approached by big brands. 

– Mega-Influencers

Mega-Influencers have a following of more than 1 million on Instagram. These influencers have the most visibility, engagement, and influence over their followers on Instagram. Working with these influencers can be quite fruitful for the growth of a brand. However, mega-influencers are also one of the hardest influencers to gain contact with.

2. Engage with the influencers 

Once you find your ideal influencers, do not directly rush in with your pitch.

The best thing to do before going forward with the pitch is to engage with their content. Influencers may appreciate honest gestures. It would help you build a connection with them before the pitch.

Here are some ways by which you can engage with them:

  • Follow their account on the Instagram that you wish to promote your product on.
  • Show that you are interested in their content by liking and sharing their content.
  • Comment on their posts as it could prove to be a good way to gain the influencers’ attention.

3. Perfect your pitch

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An influencer receives dozens of pitches regarding collaborations daily. So you need to put in a good amount of work for the influencer to notice your pitch. Apart from the pitch being unique and creative, it must consist of all the necessary details that the influencer must be aware of. 

Here are some details that you should care about:

  • Be clear about the terms and conditions of the compensation that you are going to offer.
  • Specify the type of collaboration you are looking for (shoutout, product giveaway, ambassador invite)
  • Notify them about the deadline and properly outline the requirements that you desire from the collaboration. 

Once you have the right pitch, the next step is to reach them out.

4. Outreach influencers

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Often influencers mention their preferred medium of communication in their ‘bio’ or ‘About me’ section. You need to take note of their desired communication method and must approach them accordingly.

Two of the most preferred mediums of an influencer consists of emails and Direct Messages (DM). Instagram is one of the top social media platforms preferred by influencers. Hence, when you think about how to contact Instagram influencers, you must think of some innovative yet clear ideas to put across through their DMs.

 To ensure that you leave just the right impression on these influencers, you need to be aware of the various dos and don’ts involved in the process of influencer outreach.

Outreach (Dos and Don’ts)

Here are some of the dos and don’ts that are involved in how to contact influencers:

– Dos

  • Brief yet crisp introduction of your company
  • Engage with their content on social media
  • Let them know that you like the content they post
  • Send them personalized messages to build a connection
  • Keep the pitch short and simple 
  • Stay as genuine as possible
  • Be clear with the compensation that you are offering
  • Highlight particular posts of the influencer that best suits your goals
  • Be upfront about the type of collaboration that you desire

– Don’ts:

  • Avoid using an informal tone
  • Do not over-explain the details in your pitch
  • Don’t spam them if they aren’t interested in the collaboration
  • Do not act rude if they aren’t up for a collaboration
  • Do not set hard to reach deadlines
  • Avoid the use of emoticons in your texts
  • Do not exaggerate the details in your pitch
  • Do not expect a follow-up right away 

5. Pick an Influencer Marketing Platform

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An influencer marketing platform refers to a tool or influencer marketplace that helps brands connect with influencers.

These platforms can help you search for the ideal influencers for your company. 

With the help of various discovery tools and a wide range of influencer databases on an influencer marketing platform, you can search for the type of influencers you desire to collaborate with. 

Influencer platforms can offer services such as influencer marketplaces, influencer content amplification, relationship management, third-party analytics, and campaign management.

Analyze the needs and requirements of your company and select the best-suited influencer marketing company accordingly. 

Conclusion

Finding the right voice for your company can get a bit tough at times. There are dozens of influencers on every other social media platform. Sometimes it can get a little tricky to find the best fit for your company. Even if you do find your ideal influencer, finding the best way to contact them is yet another hurdle. 

However, when you do finally find the correct way to contact your ideal influencer, it can work wonders for your business. Make sure to implement some of the above-mentioned steps to come up with the perfect pitch and get noticed by the influencers easily.

And you should definitely try an influencer tool like Happine.cc to boost up and automate the process. Create your campaign now.