The most time-consuming part of working with influencers in-house is outreach, or communication with influencers. It's important to have an efficient outreach strategy with the goal of achieving a high response rate. Email and Instagram DM are the primary communication tools. There are some guidelines to consider, regardless of which channel you choose.

Stalk influencer

To stalk an influencer, get to know them by following, liking, and commenting on their content. However, don't overdo it to the point that it feels spammy. A good start is to follow them with your own private account. If you think they would be a good match for your brand, you can start interacting with your brand's Instagram account. This step is more common for mid- and macro-level profiles. For smaller profiles, it's enough to know what they like by checking what they post.

Be personal

To be personal when reaching out, try to understand why you haven't answered certain emails by checking your own inbox. Automated, long, and selling emails won't work. Our attention span is shorter these days due to the overload of information we consume. You need to get their attention with the first sentence.

The number one rule is to use their real name, not their Instagram username. The first sentence is also very important. If the influencer has been to the Bahamas, you can write "I hope you had a great time in the Bahamas..." Make it short and don't write an essay. For smaller profiles, it's okay to write a more general first sentence like "I love your content..."

Follow up

To follow up, send a kindly follow-up message as there's a chance that your message was missed and will never be seen. This will increase your response rate. A simple draft could be: "I don't know if you got my email, but..." and then add your message.

Right type of collaboration

When considering the right type of collaboration, gifting is not the right approach for working with larger profiles. Similarly, you shouldn't pay high rates to smaller influencers. The key is to understand whether the influencer genuinely likes your product or just wants money.

Be transparent with your goals

When you've established the right type of collaboration, it's important to communicate your goals clearly. An experienced profile will give you different suggestions and explain what has worked in the past. If you're skilled, you probably already know what works, so optimize for that during negotiations.

For example, if your goal is to drive traffic and conversions to your site, you should work with micro-influencers (those with 10,000+ followers). The focus should be on stories, as this is the best format for driving traffic, particularly because you can add a link in the swipe-up feature (which is only available for profiles with over 10,000 followers). It's a good idea to ask for at least two stories, with the second one posted three days after the first as a reminder.

Long term

In your communication, make it clear that you want to work with the influencer on a long-term basis. Experts in the field don't rely on one-off collaborations. One-off collaborations are often less successful, while long-term relationships are beneficial for both the brand and the influencer.

Sebastian, co-founder at Scope, summarizes it well: "Work with micro-influencers and grow with them. Influencers that have been with a brand for years understand its culture and stand behind its products. These influencers attract their circles to follow their decisions. The more loyal your influencers are, the more frequently they will mention you. Finding people like this is invaluable for any business. You should not work with anyone who doesn't want to work with you in the long haul."”

Meet in person!

If it’s a bigger profile that will be a part of a big launch, yes. Otherwise it isn’t worth it. Influencers that deliver and love what you’re doing can be invited to events or trips.

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