How to Attract Brands as an Influencer

As an influencer, getting a brand’s attention requires a lot of work. So how do you do it? While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, there are many proactive ways to up your noticeability on your social platforms. Whether you’re fielding negotiations yourself or you’ve got a kickass team handling it for you (shout-out to you, CookIt Talent Team!), here are our top 5 tips for attracting brands as an influencer.

1. Define your personal brand

Find your niche and stick to it. Optimize your bio to reflect your niche. Create consistent, high quality content that fits your niche. Don’t be afraid to (politely) turn down sponsorships if they don’t align with your current content strategy. Brands are looking for influencers whose values align with their own, so make sure to market yourself with clear motives in mind.

2. Post organic content

Not everything needs to be sponsored! In fact, too many branded partnerships can decrease your engagement rate and make you appear less authentic. Instead, consider creating organic content that incorporates (and tags) brands you love and use all the time. Organic content helps the brand see how much you truly value their product! When you tag the brand, you (or your management team) can see how the post performed with your audience. You’re able to use those stats to reach out to the brand with the message that you are already an ambassador for their product, and that they would be smart to see you as a partner for future paid collaborations.

3. Participate in trends

Take advantage of trends, from songs and hashtags to trending foods (remember that viral baked feta pasta?) and seasonal flavors (looking at you, pumpkin spice). This will help you stay relevant and make your content appeal to the masses. Brands want to be a part of the larger conversations and trends that are happening in social media. Working with a creator who understands their audience’s interest in current trends/holidays/seasonal moments will better ensure their product becomes a part of those conversations.

An easy way to do this is to use trending audio on an Instagram Reel or TikTok. Don’t know what’s trending? Later posts monthly roundups of the top Instagram Reels and TikTok trends on their blog. If you’re looking for hot topics for your editorial calendar, check out our monthly trends blog posts.

4. Engage with brands on social media

Love a brand? Let them know! Brands’ social teams are always paying attention to who is engaging with their social pages. It’s an easy way to get noticed. Tag them in your content, leave meaningful comments on their posts, reply to their stories, and use their branded hashtags. Pay attention to the aesthetic of the brands you’d like to work with and post content that falls in line with that aesthetic. As we mentioned earlier, posting about brands authentically is a great way to get their attention for paid partnerships in the future.

5. Pitch yourself

Who said you have to wait around for brands to notice you? Get out there and shoot your shot. Target brands that you are genuinely interested in working with, send them a thoughtfully crafted DM or email, and get your media kit ready. Make sure to let the brand know the value you bring to the partnership, how your following aligns with the brand’s audience goals, and your authentic connection to the product (brands love to know when a creator really does love them!).

Do you have any hacks for getting brands’ attention? Let us know in the comments!