How to Collaborate on Instagram in Four Simple Steps
I see many businesses hesitate to collaborate with bloggers and brand influencers on Instagram because they don't know how to go about it. I've got a few (successful!) collaborations under my belt and learned the ins and outs of working with a blogger or brand influencer for collaboration on Instagram. And let me tell you something: each one can vary. Because each blogger works their business differently in terms of choosing and styling products, posting on Instagram, and of course, everybody's favorite topic, payment, that means each collaboration can differ.
The basics of collaborating with a blogger or brand influencer stay the same. Collaborating with a blogger or brand influencer doesn't have to be difficult. Now is easiest that ever with the new instagram collab feature.
Collaborating with another instagram account can look different for everybody, it could be:
posting joint posts
having a guest host on your stories, reel or igtv
hosting a giveaway
reviewing products or including product placements in your posts
In fact, with the following four easy steps to collaborating on Instagram, your next collaboration should be a breeze.
Step 1: Define your collaboration goal
When you are looking to collaborate with a brand it can be difficult to know where to start! But, defining your goal will help you stay focused on what matters most and avoid wasting time scrolling down without purpose.
Your goal is the reason WHY you want a collaboration.
Think about immediate goals such as:
increasing followers
increasing profile visits
increasing sales
increasing subscribers to your email address
Your goal needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
For example: Make a Collab that helps my business/blog/profile to increase engagement on Instagram by 5%.
Once you have a clear goal, you can start filtering profiles that do not meet your specifications!
ACTION ITEM: Define a clear goal!
Pssst, if you need help – Diana posted an Instagram carousel on how to set goals.
Step 2: Research possible influencers of brands with whom you can collaborate to reach your goal.
It's important to find someone you want to work with, right? You can just scroll through your Instagram feed and pick anybody, right? Well, that's not exactly how it works. You can't just pick anybody. You need to pick someone that works well with your products and your business and someone that can help you reach your goal.
It doesn’t make sense for a pet blogger to suddenly partner with a fitness blogger right?
For example, if your goal is to increase followers, then you may want to look for someone who has a large following and can help you promote your page.
Or maybe, your goal is to increase profile visits, so you might want to look for someone with an engaging audience that may post content similar to you.
For instance, if you sell clothing and accessories for women who rock the boho-chic style, you wouldn't want to work with a city-style blogger.
The two wouldn't mix well. The pictures wouldn't look right and that blogger's Instagram followers wouldn't be interested in your business at all because they are probably interested in the same city style as the blogger, not the boho-chic style.
Rather than finding someone on the opposite end of the spectrum, focus on finding a brand influencer that has a similar style and aesthetic to you and your business.
Remember similar style and audience!
The number of followers you have matters.
I'm not one to really care about how many followers I have. Yes, of course, I like to grow my social media following, but I focus on my social media account's engagement as opposed to the number of followers I have. That said, when it comes to collaborating, your numbers do matter.
When looking for bloggers or brand influencers to work with, you need to make sure their style and personality will work with your brand and that you have a similar amount of followers.
Resources:
If you’re hoping to work with another influencer, then you can begin searching through your followers for possible collaborations.
But, what should you do when you want to work with brands?
There are two options:
Look at the brands you love and see if your audience is a good fit with them!
Look for PAID brand collaborations on existing websites!
If you don’t know where to start check out the following websites: hearthbeat, cohley, aspire or octoly.
ACTION ITEM: Make a list of your potential collaborations in an excel spreadsheet.
Step 3: Choose your ideal collab
Pick someone who has a similar style, audience, and interests so you can grow together and bring in more people who share your interests. You can also consider that their messaging and tone aligned with yours.
Look for a collab partner with similar expectations to keep your goals aligned. Remember, collaboration needs to mutually benefit both parties.
There are Instagram accounts where you can find which brands will pay to collab such as @fypm.vip
ACTION ITEM: Back to that list of bloggers you would like to collaborate with and pick the right one.
Step 4: How to contact the blogger or brand influencer!
First, I want to make a public announcement. Please stop asking to collaborate with people through direct messaging! Not everybody checks their DMs consistently, so your message can go unread. You are trying to wrap up a business deal — and a business deal is rather professional, so a collaboration request should be coming through a professional e-mail address.
Go the extra mile and look for their e-mail address. Some post their e-mail address in their Instagram bio for easy collaboration access. Others host that information on their website. Head over there and check out that blogger's contact or work with me page to find the e-mail address. And if all else fails, ask the best way to reach them about a collaboration. Maybe it will turn out to be direct messaging and if that's what the brand influencer chooses, that is definitely ok. However, if you as a business are making the first contact or reaching for a collaboration, it should come from a professional e-mail address.
What should an outreach email contain?
Let's see a few things you can include in the reach-out email that can help you to almost guarantee a response!
Compliment + personal detail you noticed
A brief of who you are, what you do, your brand, blog, or business.
Why them? Make sure you add why you'd like to collaborate with them in your message!
For example, if you want to work with a makeup company because they have an audience that's similar to yours and their products are something that your audience would be interested in, then say so!If you have a similar audience, that's a great reason. If they have something else that could benefit your followers (like a product), that's also great.
Just make sure they can see what value they'll get out of it too!
Offer a collab proposal including the benefits that both parties will receive.
It's important to remember that you're not just asking for a favor.
You're offering them an opportunity to reach your audience and get new followers. Being upfront and clear about what they get and what you want.
You can also suggest a collaboration format and include an example of what you are looking for such as:
Reels
Stories
Post
IGTV
Instagram Live
Ask about rates!
Include a link to your profile or where they can find more information about you.
Add the best way to contact you.
ACTION ITEM: Contact the blogger or brand influencer you would like to work with via e-mail. It looks way more professional!
Copy and edit the following template for your next outreach email!
Hi [insert name],
I saw you on Instagram and love your [Insert compliment]. Your recent [Insert personal detail you noticed] looked amazing!
[insert your name + who you are] My name is and I am a fashion and lifestyle content creator. [add information about your brand/business/blog] My content is all about being a representation of curvy women.
[Why them] I have been a consistent customer for years and I would love to collab with your brand. I think you’re a perfect fit for our brand goals so would love to collaborate with you.
I have been thinking about content similar to the following reel [propose content + include example]
I have linked my social media platform and UGC so you can get a better feel of who I am and what I have created. [add link to your profile or where they can find more information about you].
Looking forward to hearing back from you,
Signature! [add your signature]
¿Did you know about instagram's new collab feature?
With the new collab feature on IG you can collab with creators or brands and the reel is shown on both accounts. This is a huge opportunity as you get to share the engagement. Because it means that comments, views, likes, and shares increase since both account audiences can see the reel.
If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry! I’ll show you a step-by-step on how to make a reel collab on Instagram.
Before sharing your reel click on “tag people”
Then click on the “Invite Collaborator” Option and type the account name of the collaborator.
Make sure you add the correct one as you can’t change it once is posted!
Once you share the reel, the account you are collaborating with will receive an invitation that needs to accept in order to show the reel on his account.
And that’s all, you are ready to share the Collab on instagram reels!
Let’s see the collaboration feature in action!
Collaborating with other Instagrammers can be a great way to expand your reach and grow your business.
But it can also feel daunting, especially if you're new to the game.
With a little research and the right actions, though, this new tool is sure to expand your reach organically.
This method won't just add to your numbers and credibility--it will help you connect with other people who share your interests and values, which means you'll be able to build a community around your brand!
