TikTok Influencer Outreach: 3 Templates + Strategy Tips to Help

TikTok outreach is a top priority for so many brands today.

That's because the app's audience is always hunting for new products. The proven marketing power of TikTok creators has led to a gold rush of brands looking for influencers to partner with.

Thing is, conducting creator outreach isn't as simple as firing off a DM.

As more brands flock to TikTok, competition for influencers' attention is fierce. Standing out in a sea of collaboration emails means having a compelling pitch.

And making sure your pitch gets seen means knowing where and how to contact TikTok influencers.

Communicating with creators one by one is a huge time-sink for brands trying to scale their presence or earn more content. That's why anything you can do to speed up the process is a plus.

In this post, we share tips and templates to level up your TikTok influencer outreach.

3 TikTok Outreach Templates (Email or DM)

Below are our sample outreach messages you can adapt for your brand.

We encourage brands to use their own voices when using any template. You're not tied to a script!

Thankfully, there aren't too many hard "rules" when it comes to TikTok outreach. When in doubt:

• • Keep your messages short and sweet. Especially if you're reaching out via DMs, you can't be wasteful with your words. If your message is longer than ~150 words, try to trim the fat.
    
    
  • Personalize your messages. This can be done by referring to influencers by name or complimenting specific details of their content or style.
    
    
  • Be clear and concise. Don't leave influencers scratching their heads. Be specific about why you want to collaborate, what they'll receive in return and how soon you want to start.

Note:  These messages can be adapted for creator outreach via email or DMs. Keep in mind that you must be mutual followers with someone on TikTok to DM them. Also, DMs don't require subject lines. If you need help customizing these templates, grab talking points from this post.

1. General TikTok Outreach Message Template

This template is a short, all-purpose partnership pitch that gets right to the point.

2. TikTok Collaboration Pitch Template

Here's a comprehensive collab pitch that invites influencers to post content in exchange for products.

3. TikTok Brand Ambassador Invitation Template

This template serves as an invitation for your brand's TikTok ambassador program.

How to Build a Better TikTok Outreach Strategy

We'll bite: creator outreach involves a lot of moving pieces.

Heck, we've seen more influencer pitches than we can count. The good, the bad and the ugly.

The tips below can increase your response rate and grab the attention of your recipients.

1. Define Your Outreach Goals Before Sending a Single Message

Think about your brand's TikTok presence and what it needs.

More content featuring real people? More followers? More content to support your TikTok SEO?

Given the legwork involved, outreach campaigns aren't something to do "just because." Before contacting influencers for potential partnerships, define the purpose of your messages.

Below are key questions to answer to help guide your strategy.

Why Do You Want to Collaborate with TikTok Influencers, Anyway?

This shouldn't be a trick question! For example, you might reach out to influencers for the sake of:

• Increasing your share of voice on social media
• Hyping up a product launch
• Boosting your TikTok engagement
• Earning more influencer and user-generated content
• Generating content to run as TikTok ads or whitelist

Your goals will ultimately shape your messaging and what you offer influencers in your pitch. 

What Type of TikTok Influencer Campaign Will You Run?

From what to say to who you'll reach out to, the type of campaign you run is crucial. Options include:

• Seeding campaigns where you send products to creators in exchange for TikTok content (see below).
  
  
• Brand ambassador campaigns where you recruit creators as long-term partners to represent your brand in exchange for perks. For example, you might give your TikTok brand ambassadors exclusive discounts, products and promo codes.
  
  
• Paid collaborations where creators post about your brand in exchange for compensation. In most cases, this means cash and products.

Source: @kendallalfred

For example, targeting brand ambassadors usually involves reaching out to people already familiar with your brand. This means existing customers and brand advocates.

On the flip side, gifting campaigns are fair game for creators of all sizes regardless of their follower count or history with your brand. The drawback of gifting is that content isn't guaranteed and seeing results (let alone content!) can take months.

2. Be Clear About Why Influencers Should Say "Yes" to a Partnership

Consider that our pitch will likely be an influencer's introduction to your brand. Brainstorm ways to make your brand look like a million bucks before conducting creator outreach.

With so many brands promoting products on TikTok, how do you stand out? Start by answering the questions below. Then, think about how you can integrate those answers into your messages.

What Are the Benefits of Working with Your Brand?

Remember: influencer marketing campaigns represent a value exchange. Your TikTok outreach template should have a sentence or two dedicated to the value you're offering. This might include:

• Free products. Consider the popularity of PR packages and free product bundles for influencers. 
  • • Ex: "As part of our collab, we'll ship you a product bundle valued at $100. Totally free, no strings attached."
      
      
• Reach, exposure and credibility. For smaller creators, the opportunity to partner with an established" brand is super compelling.
  • • Ex: "We'd love to share your post and introduce you to our 50k followers..."
      
      
• Exclusivity. For example, you can inform creators that they'll be receiving a product that hasn't hit the shelves yet. This instantly makes your partnership seem more meaningful.
  • • Ex: "We think you'd be the perfect fit for promoting the launch of our winter product line."

What Makes Your Brand Different?

Ask yourself: what do you bring to the table that your competitors don't?

Think about your brand's elevator pitch, tagline and value proposition. Make it loud and clear in your message. For example, consider how you can entice creators with your...

• One-of-a-kind product (think: special ingredients, materials)
• Unique or niche audience (think: millennial vegan moms, Gen Z fashionistas)
• Voice and values (think: your sense of humor, company principles)

Many of the best brands on TikTok put what makes them different front and center in their bios. This not only makes them memorable to potential partners but also cements their voice and values.

Source: @purlisse

3. Increase Your Response Rate by Messaging the Right Influencers

You need to be selective in terms of who you actually reach out to.

Again, you're spoiled for choice. From beauty and fashion to CPG and beyond, there are creators from all walks of life promoting products on TikTok. There's a non-zero chance your niche is there.

The challenge? Honing in on creators that are the right fit for your brand and goals. Figuring this out means combing through profiles, bios and videos. 

How to Tell if a TikTok Influencer is a Good Fit

We'll say it again: there's no shortage of creators to choose from.

But that's what makes influencer outreach on TikTok so daunting.

Our advice if you absolutely have to message creators DIY?  Don't be afraid to be picky.

Start by looking at your notification for accounts @tagging your brand or posting about your products already. Then, branch out to your follower list and people using your brand's hashtag.

From there, assess potential outreach candidates based on the following:

• Follower count and engagement rate. Followers aren't the be-all, end-all of TikTok influencer marketing. In fact, our top-performing creators are often micro or power-middle influencers. 
  
  
• Audience. Do the accounts following and commenting on the influencer's post resemble your customers? If they're authentic and enthusiastic, that's a great sign.
  
  
• Style and tone. In short, do they pass the vibe check? Imagine how they'd talk about your product if it was in their hands. Does their content's style align with your own?
  
  
• Effort and creativity.  Are you impressed by their content? For example, see if they take advantage of editing tricks (think: jump cuts) and TikTok trends? 
  
  
• Experience working with brands. Do you see them posting about brands already? Working with creators that already know how to show off products is a huge plus. That means they're comfortable being pitched, too.

The more authentic and entertaining a creator is, the better. That's why a lot of brands work with creators that have a distinct sense of humor (see below).

Source: @kendallalfred

Figuring Out Where to Send Your TikTok Outreach Messages

As noted in our post on messaging Instagram influencers, the "best" way to reach creators really depends on what they want. 

Most creators will have a collaboration email published in their TikTok bio. You can also use the dedicated email contact button on TikTok, too.

Source: @saritacuer

Remember that you have to be mutual followers to message influencers on TikTok. Chances are you'll be reaching out via email. That said, you might run into situations where creators only collab via DMs. If so, you'll need to follow each other first.

How to Streamline Your TikTok Outreach Strategy

You need a thoughtful pitch and an understanding of how to reach creators if you want to nail your outreach.

The templates and best practices above can help for sure!

Still, creator outreach on TikTok (or any platform) eats up so much of your schedule. This is especially true if you're trying to earn content from hundreds of creators. Personalizing and managing each and every pitch isn't realistic or efficient in-house.

On the flip side, Statusphere's micro-influencer marketing platform eliminates the need for TikTok outreach by hand. We match brands with creators from our vetted network using 250+ unique, first-party data points. This ensures a perfect fit and no legwork when it comes to communication.

Statusphere saves brands 98% of the time they'd otherwise spend running influencer campaigns themselves. From shipping and fulfillment to matchmaking and reporting, our software handles it all.

Want to learn more about how our platform works? Get  in touch with one of our experts to see how we can scale your influencer marketing on TikTok in a fraction of the time.