Top 5 Tips For Brands Reaching Out To Influencers
Following on from my post which included tips on how content creators can grow their instagram, I was asked many questions. One of these questions was how smaller or independent brands should reach out to content creators or influencers they would like to try or promote their products. It’s easier for bigger brands, they get to demand more because the brand is more ‘famous’, but some smaller and independent brands may be unsure how to reach out and feel they have to work a lot harder. So here are my 5 dos and 5 don’ts of what content creators (or at least I) would like to to see from brands that are reaching out.
Let’s Start With What Not To Do…
Unfortunately I see a lot of smaller brands doing these things which are both annoying and not the best way to promote their brand on social media. Ultimately, it’s a waste of time and any that do this to me tend to get ignored.
Stealing Pictures
If you have followed me for some time, you’ll know this is my ultimate bug bear, whether you’re a brand or not. I do tend to see this more in smaller, newer brands. They may only have a small selection of products and they want to fill their accounts with pretty pictures to grow their following quickly. Let me be clear, whoever you are, it’s never OK to steal someone else’s content and pass it off as your own. If you don’t have permission you’re breaking copyright law. Just don’t do it. It won’t win you friends in the beauty community and ultimately it won’t help your Instagram or your brand.
Irrelevant Comments On A Creator’s Post
I struggle to see the logic here, but this is probably the most common mistake I see from small brands. I post a picture talking about say other brands, mental health or the beauty community in general and I get a comment from a brand saying: ‘You should really follow us, you’ll love our products’. What’s even more irritating is when they’re not even following me! In what world, as a brand, do you think the fact that you have not interacted with my actual caption, have not bothered to follow me or care about engaging with me, would I go and follow your page? It’s a waste of time and it’s quite frankly disrespectful. Stop it.
Terrible Intro Messages
Another thing I see very often is a message from a brand which literally says ‘Shoutout rates’ or ‘Promotion for my product please?’ or ‘Can you shout me out?’. I get so many of these I delete them immediately. The fact you cannot take the time to write a polite message means I won’t take the time to reply. I could technically have made a lot of money promoting some really crappy products by now!
Being Overly Demanding
If you do make contact in a normal, polite manner the next mistake tends to be making heavy demands. In 99% of cases I will agree to try a product but because I don’t like to post negative reviews, I won’t make promises about any posts. I am not going to lie about loving products I don’t - even if you’re willing to pay! So if you expect a post, a story or an IGTV video it’s not going to happen - at least not from me! This also stops (most of the time) the constant ‘when are you going to post’ messages which can be ridiculously quick considering it takes at least a month before you know if a skincare product actually works for your skin. Most of the brands which have contacted me, small or otherwise, gift me products because after discussing my skin type or what I am looking for, they are confident that their product might just work for my skin.
Not Actually Contacting A Relevant Creator
And the final common mistake brands make (and this is not just small brands) is contacting completely irrelevant creators. The main problem here is that they don’t actually engage with them, understand their audience or understand their skin type. Just because they have a lot of followers does not mean their audience is right for your product. I make it very very clear in everything I review that my skin type is dry and sensitive, so getting in touch to send me a harsh scrub or a really strong exfoliator is never going to be right for me. Do your research!
Moving On To What Smaller Brands Can Do…
Right, now that’s over, let’s move on to the good things brands can do. I have learnt this from some of the amazing smaller brands that have gifted me products and the good ones have done all of these things and more! Most of these you’ll probably have got from just doing the opposite of the don’ts, but I wanted to be super clear:
Reach Out Personally
It doesn’t take a lot to check a creator’s name and reach out with a personal message. Even if this has been sent to a mass of people and you’ve simply changed the name, make it as personal as possible. I understand not everyone has time for this but making the message more personal is not only nicer to receive, it also means the creator feels worse about not replying. I always reply to personal messages because I feel too guilty not to!
Tell The Story
I also think if you’re a small brand it’s a good idea to tell the story, both the story of the brand but also the story of why you’re reaching out. A few brands have messaged me recently and on first glance I though ‘nah not for me’, but after hearing about the fact they are donating some of their profits to mental health charities or they have an amazing ethos behind what they’re doing, it’s completely changed my mind and it’s something I want to be a part of promoting (as long as I like the product of course).
Follow Them
If you’re not following the creator I would question why you want them to promote your product? If you don’t think their content is pleasing enough that you yourself would follow them, why would your audience and therefore how would they sell your product? Also, if you have not followed them for a little while and looked through their content, how will you know if they’re right for you?
Get To Know If They Are The Right Creator
Following on from the last point, if you don’t follow the creator and you don’t know what they’re about, why would you want them to promote your product? Many of the brands that gift me products say they have followed me for a while. This is just good sense. What if I suddenly said something awful in a story or what if I said ‘I hate nail varnish’ and you were a nail varnish brand? There would be no point in reaching out. Spending a little time getting to know the creator might save you time and certainly wasted product in the long run.
Trust In Your Product
Ultimately, if you have reached out to the right creator, sent a nice message, told your story and still not had any luck, it’s probably them, not you. The creator might be overwhelmed with products or just not reviewing right now. But if you do send anything out, trust in your product. If you have done your research and sent it to the right person and they try it like they promise and it’s good - they might love it. I post extensively about the products I have been sent and actually loved and I often repurchase.