Brands can get many benefits from influencer marketing: Increase brand awareness, gain new followers, boost website traffic and drive sales. But, collaboration with the right influencers is key to a successful campaign.
And collaborations are dependent on whether you can locate the right TikTok Influencers, get in touch and negotiate to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.
Negotiating with influential people can be difficult. Here are some tips to get in touch with TikTok influencers and negotiate collaboration agreements with them.
Tip 1: Get in touch with more influencers then you actually need
It is important to reach out to twice as many influencers that you want to work with. Do you want to recruit 5 influencers? Reach out to at least ten people.
Why? Because not everyone can or wants to collaborate with you. You might not get a response from everyone. Some influencers won’t even open your email.
These are common open rates based on our experience:
- 70 to 80% of emails get opened
- 50% of emails will be clicked on a link by clicks
- About 30-40% people will respond, although some will be no’s
A few factors affect these rates. The first is the type and influencer to whom you are reaching out. It’s more likely you’ll get a response if you reach out to a top influencer. But this is because it will be their manager who responds with their fees.
Micro influencers, on the other side, might not reply as much. These influencers, who have less than 50K followers, may not be full-time and may have other jobs in addition to their social media duties. They definitely don’t have managers who are working round the clock to answer their emails. So micro influencers might miss your email, or simply not have the time. That said, the closer your product fits into their content niche, the more likely they are to respond.
Tip 2: Create a personal and friendly pitch
A boilerplate template is not the best way to get noticed by influencers. Your pitch should be as personal as possible so influencers can see that you took time to review the profile and explain why they are a good fit to your brand.
Automation is still possible. A mail merge tool allows you to add custom fields so that you can modify the name, description, and compliments for every email you send to influencers. This way, each person receives an email addressed to them by name with some information about why you like their profile.
It’s better to go even further if your goal is to contact a key opinion leader, or KOL. KOLs are very busy and in high demand so it is best to create a unique email by hand if you wish to have a chance to work with them. Make sure to explain the benefits they’ll get from collaborating with you.
When sending out your pitch emails, keep your tone friendly and open, no matter what method you use to send them. Although influencer marketing can be a serious business, it should also be enjoyable. It is important for influencers to feel comfortable enough to openly express their creativity and ideas with you.
Tip 3: Contact influencers via DM if they aren’t available by email
No email? It’s not a problem! As a note, an influencer marketing platform is one of the best ways to efficiently get influencer contract information. Alongside content performance analytics, the software can tell you an influencer’s email address.
However, if you cannot find an influencer’s contact information, but really want to connect with them, then you can use TikTok to reach out directly. Send them a DM to let them know that you would like to connect. And ask for their contact details if you prefer to transfer the conversation to another venue.
Also, you can contact influencers via TikTok to try to get around managers. Although managers can help you with brand collaborations, it is sometimes frustrating to have a gatekeeper between you and the influencer. Depending on who’s managing the account at the moment, TikTok DMs can potentially help you bypass the manager and get in front of the TikToker themself.
Tip 4: Answer questions and give information during negotiations
Negotiation is the time when everything must be laid out. You need to agree on the key details, including the deadlines, incentive, and content creation. It is important that both sides are clear about what the brand is paying, what the influencer is offering, and when deadlines are.
Also, review other details of the campaign, like:
- Do you want an influencer to include a hashtag in their content?
- Do you want them to share an influencer discount code?
- Are there any particular points you’d like an influencer to make about your product or service?
- Do you have any musical preferences or vague aesthetic guidelines?
Finally, consider how you will disclose the collaboration to followers. The Federal Trade Commission in the USA and other regulatory bodies around the world are more vigilant than ever in fighting unfair advertising. They’re also cracking down on the brands that influencers collaborate with.
So talk about whether the ad will be disclosed in the video’s audio, with hashtags, both, or in some other manner. And ensure this meets all the requirements of the regulatory body that oversees advertising issues in the area where your campaign content will be visible.
Tip 5: Do not assume that you need a contract
Contrary to what some might believe, a contract doesn’t need to be signed for 100% of influencer partnerships. The rule of thumb is that you should use a contract when paying influencers money. A contract is not required if you’re just paying influencers with products, unless it’s something highly valuable like a new motorcycle.
In fact, contracts can sometimes” kill the conversion” for influencers with little experience. Bureaucracy, paperwork and contracts is something that nano and micro influencers aren’t yet quite used to. You might lose a contract if they are overwhelmed or intimidated by a contract. So if you’re working with a lower level influencer and a contract is necessary, take the time to go through it with them.
If you need a contract, you can download an influencer contract template online and then edit it to define the terms and conditions of your collaboration. If you don’t require a contract, you may simply agree to the details of the collaboration via email. In this way, if there are any misunderstandings, both parties can refer to what they previously agreed to.
Conclusion
With these five tips, I hope it will be easier to reach out and negotiate with influencers. And don’t let it discourage you if you reach out to influencers but no one responds. It is possible that they have not received your email, were too busy, or simply forgot to reply.
It’s not an indication that your brand or products aren’t valuable. So back to the drawing board and look for other influencers, and then try again.
