Figuring out how to find brands to work with on Instagram can be stressful and overwhelming, if you don’t know where to start. I have been working with brands for over a year now, and have collaborated with over 70+ brands to date! I learned through trial and error, the protocol to seek out brands, how to find brands you’re interested in, and more! For those who are looking to work with brands through collaboration and/or paid partnerships, I compiled this list through personal experience, researching my peers, and studying trends on social media. For example, my original Instagram is where I poured all my efforts into working with brands, but recently I made a new account to niche down! With that being said, follow my new instagram (nk.medani) to see the journey as I share more tips to working with brands!
SET UP YOUR ACCOUNT
Before we dive into how to find brands to work with on Instagram, we first and foremost need to set up your account for success. Optimizing your bio is crucial to being discoverable by other accounts and brands! The 5 items that you need in your bio are: name and niche, location city, business email, mission statement, and call to action (CTA) links. Check out my Instagram here to see an example of a fully optimized bio (& give a follow to support)!
THE DETAILS
Firstly, your name is what people will remember, so make sure it is the first thing listed! To sum up, your niche defines what your account entails, so tell the audience that immediately. It should be listed in the searchable bar next to your name to increase your exposure! Next, location city is vital for brands to be able to know where you’re located and where their potential audience can grow. After that, a business email is an important tool for brands to reach out with more details and in a more professional way than an Instagram direct message. This truly sets you apart and streamlines the process! For example, Lulus sent me an email to work with me, just off of seeing my account through the explore page (I fan-girled, but i also set myself up for success by adding the email clearly in the bio)!
A mission statement provides direction to your account. Specifically, besides the niche, what are you ACTUALLY going to post about? What are your content pillars? I suggest defining 3 main categories and create content around those. This will hook your audience immediately, and hold their attention, as they will always know what value you bring on a weekly basis. Lastly, call to action links are how to convert your current audience into customers! If you have a business, I suggest adding your website link. If you have other social media platforms you are trying to get exposure from, add those! However personally, I recommend a landing page such as a Linktree or Milkshake account to list multiple platforms and outlets all in one place. I created a landing page for my blog to increase blog traffic and also showcase all my other outlets I provide services and value!
HOW TO FIND BRANDS TO WORK WITH ON INSTAGRAM
Think about the brands you love based on your niche. It is important to work with brands that align with the content you are consistently creating and posting about. Make a list of these brands. Here are 25 brands within 5 different niches to help you get started! Moreover, all of these brands do in fact work with influencers.
CLOTHING
- Miss Lola
- Aerie
- Garage
- Verge Girl
- Nasty Gal
SHOES
- Dolce Vita
- Kenneth Cole
- Sarah Flint
- Steve Madden
- Just Fab
ACCESSORIES
- Coach
- Kate Spade
- JW Pei
- Monica Vinader
- Evry Jewels
MAKEUP
- Bite Beauty
- Merit
- Urban Decay
- Trestique
- Patrick Ta Beauty
SKINCARE
- Maude
- Good Molecules
- KNOW Beauty
- Kiehls
- First Aid Beauty
REACH OUT TO DESIRED BRANDS
Direct message the brands on Instagram that you’re interested in. In other words, I say DM first because we are all on Instagram and you will always get a faster response there. You can say something short and sweet such as “hi, I love your brand and I am looking for possible collaboration opportunities if available!” The PR team will either tell you the information in DMs or will respond to the message asking you to email, to further the conversation via email. You can also go to the brand’s website and scroll down to the bottom of the webpage. When browsing, you will usually find the PR email at the bottom, or an influencer form to sign up for opportunities there.
Remember that you will need to be persistent and follow up. Nothing will come super easily, and it takes time and effort to work with brands, no matter how big or small! I also suggest putting together a media kit! Check out these videos: Video 1 & video 2 of what to add on a media kit! When speaking to brands via email, always attach your media kit (it never hurts to be overprepared)!
I hope you enjoyed this guide on how to find brands to work with on Instagram, and found it helpful! Please comment with thoughts and questions, and share with someone who would benefit from this! Thank you for your continued support!
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