As a budding creator, there are a few boxes you need to tick to work towards a burgeoning career. Once you’ve started the process of growing your social media platforms, establishing yourself in your niche, and crafting a pitch-perfect media kit, you’re probably going to be looking to expand your horizons with new opportunities. More specifically, you’re going to want to collaborate with brands you love in your field. Now, this is easier said than done, especially with the plethora of influencers in the landscape today – but that doesn’t mean you can’t get ahead of the curve by making the first move. In this article, we’ll be outlining the steps you can take to find brand contacts on your own. This way, you’ll be able to get the conversation going and get yourself one step closer to landing your dream brand collaborations.
Why should you look for brand contacts?
Now you might be thinking: “Why should I be the one to find a brand’s contact details?” Well, the answer is quite simple. Brands are faced with more influencers in the scene than ever before, and deciding who to work with is becoming harder as more talented creators surface. This makes it harder to spot you from the crowd, so you need to take the initiative and make yourself known.
Looking up brand contacts means you can kickstart the collaboration process by reaching out to brands and introducing yourself, letting them know exactly who you are and why they should work with you. Among a range of other things, it indicates to the brand that you care enough to put in the work to start the conversation yourself. As a bonus, it also means you can control their first impression of you by creating a great initial email or message that contains all the info you want them to know.
Before you begin finding these contacts, it’s best to nail down a list of brands you’re interested in within your field. This will make it easier to begin your search, as finding something is always easier when you know exactly what you’re looking for.
7 ways to find brand contacts
Start off with their website
One of the easiest ways to find a brand’s contact details is to take a look at its primary website. If the ‘Contact’ section isn’t available in the main heading section or the navigation menu, it may be hidden in the footer of the website. Sometimes these details only contain the brand’s primary help or customer service email address, but you might be able to make contact with this to get more details about a PR contact for the company.
As a bonus, visiting a brand’s website can give you additional insight into the brand, its values, and any other crucial details that can help influence your proposal or pitch to them. It always helps to be well-informed!
Look into past press releases
Press releases are a great resource for contact details, so they shouldn’t be ignored. A brand’s previous press releases can be found either by conducting a quick Google search, or you may even find them on their website in the PR or news section.
The handy thing about this method is that the contact details you’ll find on press releases typically relate to the brand’s PR team, who are often involved with influencer work in some capacity too. This means you’ll be more likely to get your message into the right inbox from the outset.
Visit their Instagram, Twitter, or other social media page
Not every brand lists their contact details on their website, and some might not even have a formal website up and running! In the influencer age, plenty of brands run most of their activities simply via their Instagram page, making it the primary point of contact for influencers and anyone else looking to reach them.
Most brands have their DMs open, so be bold and shoot your shot by sending them a direct message on their Insta, Twitter, Facebook, or other social media platform. Many social media managers will respond this way and can forward your message to the relevant party, or even put you in touch with the right person via an email address or otherwise.
Check out LinkedIn for brand contacts
LinkedIn is becoming a highly relevant platform for influencers to take note of, so it’s no surprise that it’s also a valuable resource for finding the right contacts at brands. Simply look up the brand you’re interested in and take a look at their list of employees: usually most of them are listed with their respective job titles.
Here, you might find PR managers, influencer marketing managers, partnership managers, and other similar roles. These are the people who would be best to contact for collaborations as they are most likely to have a connection to the collaborations and influencer segment of the company. If the brand is particularly small, you may want to reach out to the main player in the marketing department or just the owner themselves. It can’t hurt!
Make use of specialized services
If you’re struggling with finding the right point of contact for a brand, you can always look to tools specifically made for the job. These services allow you to find and connect with professionals across a range of industries thanks to their database of contacts. If you’re worried about the quality of their email database, rest assured that they offer email verification for both the contact you’re seeking as well as your own email to protect both parties in the communication process.
Some prominent options in this space include Hunter.io and Snov.io, but there are a range of others suited to different purposes and budgets.
Attend industry events or activations
Hitting up major events in your industry is a great way to meet a whole bunch of important players that can aid you in your influencer career. Networking is a vital part of the job, and these events act as a congregation of all the people you’d want to get to know most.
The benefit of meeting people in this way is you get to build authentic relationships face-to-face where the other person can read you better. This has an advantage over trying to convey yourself properly over text as a first impression, so be sure to attend events wherever possible. Events don’t always have to be in person, either – some workshops or online conferences give you the opportunity to chat with the hosts or other attendees, so be sure to use these opportunities to your advantage!
Ask your influencer friends
When in doubt, your friends are always there to come to the rescue. If you’re particularly social in your influencer scene, you might have fellow content creator buddies that are already working with some brands that you could see yourself collaborating with too.
It’s important to do this in a way that doesn’t come across like you’re stepping on their turf, but more often than not, brands want to work with multiple people. Friends would likely be happy to put in the word if they believe in your ability, and then one day, you can return the favor!
Conclusion
Finding brand contacts as an influencer is an essential step toward building successful partnerships and monetizing your online presence. By following the approaches listed above and leveraging the power of digital platforms, you’ll be able to connect with brands that align with your niche and audience. It may take time and effort, but when you find the right contacts for brands that are ready and willing to work with you, it’ll make the hard work worth it!
