The world of influencer marketing can be a wonderful one; if you know how to navigate it. Influencers these days are in-demand people who have excelled at what you need: reaching their audience and connecting with it. Of course, you can be a part of their success story as well, but they are busy, so knowing how to approach them is a huge benefit. Allow us to help.

It can be hard to find the right influencer for your brand, and if you do, it’s another thing to set up and run a successful collaboration. 

It’s already a lot easier, though, if your communication is on par. Therefore, here are Influo’s 5 expert tips on how to approach an influencer, from start to finish.

Do your research

When you’ve found a good match and want to approach them, please create a personalized pitch. You want to show them that you’re familiar with their content and that you’ve already put some thought into contacting them.

Start by using their first name (not just their social handle). If they specify their pronouns on their socials, respect that throughout your communication. 

Next, sum up why they caught your eye or what you like about them. Tell them why you think they’d make a good match for your brand, rather than simply generalizing how big of a fan you are and how you’d love to work with them. Make it a bit more personal than that.

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Ensure a friendly, not overly professional tone

The key, always, is a friendly tone and transparent communication. You want to build a meaningful connection with this influencer because that always pays off. Don’t just stick to the professional back-and-forth. Show genuine interest and respect for what they do because they work hard to build and maintain the connection with their audience – that you’re getting access to.

Always be direct and transparent

We can’t stress this enough: it is essential to communicate your expectations clearly and early on. No vagueness, no generalizing, no embellishing. 

For example: what exactly do you need and by when? How many posts? Who should they tag? What link should they include? Is there a hashtag they need to use? Are there any words they absolutely need to mention? Does the post need to be approved? When is the deadline for approval? Do you want to make up a contract? Is there an exclusivity clause? 

The more you specify, the better.

The same goes when it comes to the payment. Make sure they know what you’re offering them in return. Some influencers want to be paid a fee; others are okay with another kind of compensation (e.g., free products). Whatever you want to offer, be direct about it; however, leave scope for discussion and negotiation. Remember tip 2 – don’t draw the line too firmly. 

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Allow their creative input

It’s a collaboration, not a dictatorship. Reach out, organize a brainstorm and ask the influencer for their input. If they have ideas, listen attentively. They are experts in what they do, so trust their experience. They got to where they are by knowing how to reach the right people. Respect that, learn from them and take the time to listen to them. Work together.

Give feedback 

Their time is just as precious as yours, so don’t waste it. Do you have doubts? Let them know immediately and have an open conversation about it. Don’t let them do all the work only to give negative feedback afterward.

At the end of your campaign together, they will report back to you. Share your thoughts as well. Was there something that could’ve been better? Or would you like to try something different? Do you want to stop the collaboration? Let them know what you’re thinking. They’ve put in a lot of effort – don’t just leave them hanging.

Looking for more help and/or educational tips? Head on over to our Hub filled with more concrete tips on influencer marketing, or contact us to see what we can do for you.

Join us 23/6 for our webinar on the topic of how young people in Belgium experience influencer marketing.

Register for the webinar here!

Whether it’s your full-time occupation or a lucrative side hustle: making money on social media sounds like a dream. Most influencers have to work years on their like and follower counts before they get to this stage, but we don’t think that’s necessary. We believe it’s all in the approach. Want to know how to reach out to a brand successfully? Keep on reading.

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Instagram – and social media in general – is often criticized for its effect on our mental health. In reaction to this scrutiny, the platform is trying to find ways to lift some of the pressure around their much-debated ‘reward system’: the likes.

More recently, they’ve been experimenting with hiding likes altogether. But what does that mean for the myriad of brands and influencers doing business via Instagram? Specifically: how does it impact their collaborations?

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Each June, we celebrate Pride Month to memorialize and pay tribute to those involved in the Stonewall Riots in 1969. What started as ‘the Gay Revolution’ in New York is now an annual worldwide event for all of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Wondering how you can use your social channels and show your support as well? These tips will help you become a great ally, even beyond the rainbow-colored month of June.

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Fashion and influencer marketing go hand in hand. In fact, they seem to be made for each other. The fashion industry has been one of the biggest players in social media since its beginning. On Instagram alone, fashion accounts for 25% of all brand interactions. Now, there are more opportunities and quality influencers out there than ever, so if you are a fashion brand, why not ride the wave?

Before you get started, allow us to give you a first quick glimpse into the wonderful world of fashion influencers.

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Staying authentic is crucial for influencers. The term ‘influencer’ says it all: you have influence. No matter if you have a thousand followers or a hundred thousand, whether you do it rather unconsciously or with a lot of purposes: you directly influence a lot of people’s minds. With a huge platform comes a lot of power, but also a lot of responsibility. You can actually impact someone, and who knows, even make a change in this world.

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There’s no doubt about it: if you want to work with cool brands, you need to have a kick-ass media kit.

Why? Your media kit is the main tool to show yourself, your work, and its results in the best way possible. If you pay attention to detail and present yourself professionally, you will stand out from the crowd and show brands you are serious about your activities as an influencer.

Brand collaborations will follow. Pinky swear!

This guide is packed with actionable tips and will teach you everything you need to know. We’ve done all the research, so you can focus on creating your own killer Instagram media kit that will get you brand collaborations.

Pro-tip: don’t skip our pro-tips, as they are filled with truly valuable tidbits. Trust us, if they weren’t, we would have just called them ‘tips’.

Let’s dive right in!

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It’s no secret that Instagram has been experimenting* with likes for a while. More recently, the ‘hiding’ of them altogether. It’s the latest in a series of attempts to ease the pressure around like counts. But what does this mean for our creators?

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Influencer marketing has quickly become the hottest form of marketing, but some brands still struggle with it. By partnering with influencers that complement your brand, you can grow your online presence, increase website traffic and even boost your sales. It looks and sounds easy enough, right?

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Has Instagram been giving you a hard time lately? Do you see your engagement drop? No matter how hard you try, your posts just don’t seem to be performing as well as they used to?

Fret no more because in this case, it (most likely) is a case of “it’s not you, it’s m…Instagram.” The app notoriously likes to switch up their algorithm and if you want to survive, nay, thrive, you’d better keep up.

These days, it’s all about engagement. Instagram wants to see your audience interact with you and vice versa. A high engagement rate indicates that your content is being well-received, which encourages the algorithm to keep pushing it. If you’re lucky, you could even make it to the ‘Explore’ page! But in any case, a high engagement rate will magnify your reach.

So how can you bend the algorithm to your will? We’ve compiled a handy list of tips that you can immediately put to work.

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