Recently, many of you have been asking how to find brands to partner up with. Today, I’m sharing a few ways to seek new brand contacts in 2022.
Use influencer networks
Influencer networks can be a great way to connect with brands who are looking to partner with influencers. I’ve written a whole post on this topic if you want to dive deeper, but here a few I’ve used in the past:
- AspireIQ
- ACTIVATE
- Social Fabric
- IZEA
- Sway
- The Plug
- Heartbeat
- Outfit Talent
- Koalifyed
- Popular Pays
- Collectively
- Obviously
- Octoly
- Statusphere
- Cohley
Look at who other influencers are working with
Take cues from other influencers you follow! If they are working with brands and you have a similar niche or following, chances are those brands might be interested in partnering with you as well. I have often asked other influencer friends to share or trade contacts with me and 9/10 times they will! You can also just use this as a jumping off point –– find brands that are partnering with other influencers you follow and use my method to find the right contact:
- Search in LinkedIn for the company
- Search for influencer marketing-related terms to help you locate a potential contact:
- Common job titles/keywords in influencer marketing are:
- Account Executive
- Marketing Coordinator
- Marketing Associate
- Influencer Relations
- Public Relations
- Marketing
- Review search results and consider who the best contact may be
- Find the email format for the company by searching in Hunter.io
- Pitch
Pitch PR companies
Pitching to PR agencies can be a great way to land yourself on some gift lists for new products. It can also be a great way to bring awareness and attention to your brand. That way, when a PR associate is managing a new campaign for their client and they need influencers, you’ll be top of mind for the gig!
Just like brands, there are many PR firms that specialize in different niches. From real estate, to the financial industry and banking, to fashion, home decor, or lifestyle, there is a PR agency for just about anything. Brands use specific PR firms for their EXPERTISE.
I like to pitch to PR firms specializing in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle since those areas align well with my niche and audience. You can find PR firms on Instagram, LinkedIn, or by simply searching for them on Google. When I can, I use my method above to search LinkedIn to try to find a specific contact at the firm to make a stronger, more personalized connection.
Use Instagram to Find Similar Brands
Use the above methods to find brands you want to pitch! Once you find a brand you want to pitch, use Instagram to your advantage and search for similar brands using the “suggested” arrow on the brand’s profile –– screenshot below!
Once you see the suggested brands, flip through them and see which ones you might want to pitch! Then, I use Instagram again to find emails for brands I might want to pitch. I do this by tapping the “email” button and “drafting an email.”
One the email pops up, I’ll just add a subject line so I’ll remember what brand it is. I do this until I have a bunch of emails in my drafts and I’ll typically pitch them all at once when I have time. This helps me remember all of the brands I might like to pitch!
Ready to pitch?
Check out some pitching tips here! You got this 🙌
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