How to Contact TikTok Influencers & Creators in 5 Easy Ways

Influencer marketing is what’s trending in the advertising industry. 

You’ve seen brands similar to yours use it to:

• Get more engagements
• Grow their follower count
• Increase their brand awareness
• Get more sales

And so you decided it was time to start collaborating with influencers so you can get similar results. 

But you’re not sure how to contact creators and influencers, especially on a relatively new social media platform like TikTok. 🤔

Don’t worry!

This guide explains different ways you can reach influencers and creators you’d like to partner with on TikTok. 

 So without further ado, let’s roll! 

1. Try TikTok Creator Marketplace

According to TikTok, the TikTok Creator Marketplace (TCM) is the collaboration platform for brands and creators.

It’s the virtual meeting point where you can find influencers and creators to work with. 

The collaboration between both parties can be reward-based or paid. 

How does it work?

Well, first you need to create an account on TCM or, if you already have a TikTok Ads Manager account, simply sign in. 

Then, you can start searching for creators whom you think are the right fit for your campaign.

You can search for creators or influencers using different filters such as: 

• Region
• Niche/Topic
• Average video views
• Audience region

Once you’ve identified creators you’d like to work with you can add them to your campaign shortlist after viewing their core metrics. 

Brands can view the creator’s or influencer’s demographics and engagement rate including: 

• Performance trends
• Video completion rate
• Average shares and comments
• Followers’ growth rate
• Brands they’ve partnered with

Essentially, you’d see every available data or metric that would enable you to choose a creator who’s the perfect fit for your campaign. 

Now, how do you contact them?

You can do that by inviting them to collaborate on your campaign via emails or other collaboration tools on TCM.

If you decide to contact creators via TCM, you can be certain that you’ll get only vetted creators and influencers to work with. 

Why? 

TikTok has strict eligibility criteria for TikTok users who want to apply to TCM. 

So, you'd collaborate with influencers who’ve got experience creating engaging content and working with brands.

And on we go!

2. Use a TikTok Partner Platform

TikTok partner platforms are agencies in partnership with TikTok that help brands streamline the creation of user-generated content (UGC) to grow their business. 

Simply put, they help you find creators to collaborate with and launch influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok from their site. 

One such site is our very own platform, Insense.

How can you find TikTok influencers on Insense?

Let’s show you how:

First, you need to register on Insense by tapping Get Started or Log In if you have an account with us already. 

This will give you access to our dashboard where you’ll see the +New campaign button. 

If you’ve seen it, click the button to be taken to the creative brief page.

The brief is a document you need to fill out and indicate what type of creator you’re looking for and the kind of content you want them to produce. 

You know, something that’ll help us curate the best influencers for your digital marketing campaign. 

Now, there are five sections on the creative brief you need to fill out and the first is the campaign info:

In this section, you’ll need to input details about your campaign such as: 

• Choosing or adding a brand for your campaign
• Assigning a name for the campaign
• Choosing campaign type - Influencer Partnerships or Just Content 

Then, select TikTok as the platform on which you want to use the content.

You‘ll also need to choose the number of creators you want to hire and select a campaign goal—Conversions or Reach.

The next section is about your product.

Here you’ll: 

• Upload quality product images 
• Send your product to creators (if it’s a physical product)
• Write a brief description of the product or service for creators

When you’re done with that, you can then define your preferred creator’s profile by selecting different filters such as:

• Location
• Engagement rate
• Categories or niche
• Follower count
• Video views
• Age
• Gender etc.

As stated earlier, you’ll also need to provide some details about the kind of influencer content you want.

That leads us to the Creative Assets section. 

Here, you’ll be:

• Selecting the type of ad creative asset you want
• Indicate if you want the content produced to be posted by the creator
• Choose the video length
• Let creators know whether you want raw or edited content 

Once you’re done filling out the brief, tap the Send to review button at the top right corner of the page to get it approved.

You should then start receiving applications from relevant influencers and creators. You can then contact them using the chat feature on Insense. 

What else?

There are other partner platforms aside from Insense or TCM on which brands can contact creators. 

They include:

• Upfluence: A platform that supports influencer marketing, creator management, affiliate programs, and more to grow your business. 
• Aspire: Uses a proprietary algorithm to help you find creators. 
• Influencer: Helps brands get TikTok influencers who can engage with their audience.
• Fanbytes by Brainlabs: Leverages machine learning and neurolinguistic programming to help brands find influencers.
• HypeAuditor: Helps you carry out a detailed analysis of creator profiles so you can choose efficient ones that fit your campaign.

What other ways can you contact creators?

Let’s go on!

3. Look for Their Email Address

Another way to contact influencers to work with on TikTok is to search for their email addresses. 

Using this method allows you to send them direct messages about your campaign and how they fit in. 

You can use this method if you already have the names of influencers and creators you want to work with. 

All you have to do is enter the name of the creator or influencer in the search bar of your TikTok account  as shown in the screenshot below:

Then tap on the creator’s or influencer’s profile to see if they added their email address in their bio.

Sometimes they don’t and in that case, you’ll just have to keep searching. 

But if they have added their email address, it will look like this: 

From there, you can send them emails to gain insight into their pricing and how they operate,  and if you feel they’re the right fit, begin what might be a long-term relationship.

In some cases, the influencer can embed their email address and other relevant details about themselves in a microsite. 

What are we trying to say?

If you don’t see their email address in their bio, click the bio link you found there to uncover their contact details. 

You just might find it there. 

That’s what micro-influencer Alisha Donnell did with her contact detail:

By clicking the micro-site, people will get to see more details if they want to reach her.

Alright, let’s continue!

4. Comment On Their Videos

Now, if they didn’t add their email address to their bio, we’ve got another alternative for you…

Drop a comment on their videos! 

Sounds clichéd but it’s a pretty good way to find influencers and contact them. 

How?

Well, micro-influencers or creators are generally known to have great engagements. 

That means they’re almost always in their comments section engaging with their TikTok community. 

So there’s a good chance that when you comment on their videos, they’ll see it. 

Here’s an example of what we mean:

In this TikTok video by Alisha Donnell, she engaged with almost everyone’s comment by liking or responding to it which means she saw it.

So if brands also indicated that they'd like to work with her in the comment section, she’ll also see it. 

You get the point, right?

Let’s move on!

5. DM Them

Another thing you can do is send potential influencers or content creators a direct message (DM). 

It’s a pretty straightforward approach. 

Here’s how to send DMs:

First, you need to have a list of social media influencers you want to reach. 

Then, tap Inbox at the bottom of the screen of your TikTok app. 

Next, click on the direct message icon at the top right corner and input the name of the creator in the search bar. 

‍

Tap their name to send a message. 

And that’s all!

However, remember that you’ll only be able to send DMs to creators and influencers you’re following and who are following you back. 

Another thing to note is that you won’t be able to send DMs to people who have set their direct message private settings to No one. 

As a result, it’s safe to say that this option isn’t the most effective one. 

Up next, let’s show you things to keep in mind when seeking influencers to work with. 

5 Tips to Follow When Reaching Out to TikTok Influencers & Creators

There’s one major reason you want to learn how to contact influencers and that’s so they can become part of your influencer marketing strategy.

You’d also like to get positive responses when you do reach out, right?

How can you ensure that happens regularly?

We’ve added some tips to help you out.

Tip #1: Before the outreach, establish your needs

What does this mean?

You need to define why you want to contact TikTok influencers and creators.

Whatever your goals, you need to be clear about them. 

Here are some questions that can probably help:

• Do you want to drive sales?
• Wanna increase engagements? 
• Want to capture people’s attention with UGC?
• Increase brand awareness?

Figure out what you want them to help you with before thinking of how to contact them. 

This will help you to frame your request and offer.

Almost every time brands were able to define their goals before reaching out to influencers, they got amazing results. 

We’re not just saying this because it’s what experts think, we’ve got proof!

Before Shufersal, an Israeli supermarket chain, carried out an influencer search, they decided their objective was to reach a target audience between the ages of 18-30. 

So it was only logical when they were contacting creators that they go for creators whose audiences are in that age range. 

See what we mean?

As a result, their campaign had a 51% view-through rate which is on track considering their objective. 

Tip #2: Be specific

Be clear about what you want before visiting an influencer database. 

You wouldn’t want people in your DMs hoping you can guess what they need. 

It saves you a lot of back and forth if they know what they want and can communicate it effectively.

The same applies to you when contacting creators. 

That’s why the previous tip about defining your needs is very important. 

Using the same example as before, Shufersal knew what they wanted to achieve and as such, were specific in their requests. 

First, they knew that considering their objective, they’d need to work with multiple creators to get a variety of content that suited the needs of their audience. 

So they began with one and specifically requested four items of organic TikTok content.

The creator went on to produce content that was the ‘perfect fit for TikTok.’

And when they partnered with the other creators, the videos produced performed so well that Shufersal promoted them as Spark ads. 

What are we trying to say in a nutshell?

Simple, be specific!

Now, to do that, you’ll need to ask yourself and probably your marketing team certain questions such as:

• How many videos are needed for your campaign?
• What type of video do you want?
• What should creators avoid?
• How long should the video be?

You’ll also need to keep your sentences short and use simple vocabulary.

These questions and any others that you can come up with will help you to be as specific as possible when reaching out to influencers and creators. 

Let’s continue!

Tip #3: Be respectful and friendly

Being respectful is another thing that you need to do every time you contact a creator or influencer. 

There are various reasons why it’s important, but the truth is everyone deserves to be treated right.

You’d be surprised how far people can go for you just because you’re being respectful and friendly to them. 

How can you do that?

• Take the time to explain what you want even if it’s frustrating
• Give them creative freedom
• Ask for their opinions about the campaign
• Listen when they talk
• Pay or compensate them at the right time

Now, here are some things you want to avoid:

• Trying to control them or how they work
• Looking down on them, especially micro-influencers without a huge follower count
• Making them feel like you own them
• Trying to replace payment or compensation with promises of ‘exposure’

Also, being respectful gives them a good impression of your brand. 

Tip #4: Mention what’s in it for them

Remember to talk about payment and what creators stand to gain from their partnership with you. 

So as you’re giving them details about what their deliverables should look like,  you also need to talk about what’s in it for them. 

What’s more?

If you intend to run Spark ad campaigns, inform them that, as well as the agreed-upon compensation, their profile will also be exposed to more people, for example. 

As such, there’s a good chance that they’ll get more followers and increase their engagement rate by partnering with you. 

Tip #5: Avoid generic messaging templates

Personalize the messages you want to send when reaching out to influencers. 

This way you can be certain that you’ll get a great response rate from creators and give them a good impression of your brand. 

 How do you do that?

• Start with the creator’s name, e.g., “Hey Ashley!”
• Briefly talk about your brand
• Explain why you feel they’re the right influencer or creator for the job
• Outline what you expect from them
• Wrap up with your name so they know who’s reaching out to them

Alright, let’s tie this up! 

Now Over to You

We’ve come to the end of our guide.

You see, reaching out to creators or influencers for your campaigns isn’t so difficult after all. 

Think you’re ready to contact them for your digital marketing campaigns on TikTok?

If you are, feel free to book a demo with Insense so we can help you get started in no time. 

Well, thanks for reading, and good luck!