Everything You Need To Know About Attending Influencer Events

Wherever you live, there are opportunities to attend local events and fun gatherings as an influencer or content creator.

It could be the opening of a new café in a small town or an event with a national beauty brand in a big city. Influencer events are a great opportunity to meet other people in your community and network.

Today we’re covering attending brand events from start to finish and addressing:

• How to get on a brand’s radar

• Finding local PR agencies

• Reaching out

• Event prep

• What to do when you’re there

• Following up after an event

Everything You Need to Know About Local Influencer Events

Get on the radar

Make sure that your Instagram is set up to be on the radar of brands and agencies in the area. In the name field on Instagram, add your location and your title—like influencer, creator, or blogger.

When brands search for influencers, your name field is searchable and can make you appear in results. You can also add hashtags like #NYCBlogger, #ChicagoInfluencer, or #LosAngelesCreator to your posts. Brands still use Instagram to find creators, and hashtags help them discover you for events.

If you want more details on how to set up a great Instagram bio as a creator, check out this blog post.

Know who is involved 

Next you’ll want to look up local PR agencies in your area and send them an introduction email.

PR companies love hearing about when people are interested in their brands and in the companies that they represent. That intro email is a great way to express your genuine interest before you start asking for anything.

Time to do some research

So where can one find these PR agencies?

I believe Google and Facebook groups hold answers to most questions. Start by Googling PR agencies in your city. Search Facebook groups for influencers, bloggers, and creators to find major PR agencies nearby.

You can also post in groups asking who hosts the best local influencer events. Then, Google the contact information for those events on your own.

PR Newswire is a site that publishes press releases so you may be able to find some contacts on there or by doing some research on LinkedIn (you can search for brand contacts in influencer relations, PR, or marketing.)

If you’re in NYC I included a list of a few places that represent fashion and beauty brands in the area in my blog post about building relationships with agencies.

Shoot your shot

As I mentioned, once you find a PR agency that represents brands you’re interested in, I recommend sending an introductory email.

In your email I’d be sure to mention:

• Who you are

• Where you live and what type of content you create

• Any of the brands they represent you’re particularly interested in (shows you did some research and checked out their website)

• That you’d like to be added to their PR email list to stay on top of launches, collaborations, and events

• Link to an example of a piece of content you’ve created either at an event or after attending an event

• Thanking them for taking the time to review your request

Also, if you don’t live near a major city, you can always plan a visit and send these emails ahead of your trip.

I know lots of influencers who book an annual trip to New York or LA to meet brands IRL and who check in every few months via email to maintain the relationship.

Event prep

Before attending, I always re-read the event email to know what to expect when I arrive. Check the start and end times, transportation notes, Uber codes, and if food or drinks will be available.

I like to look up the venue on Google or Instagram to plan my outfit and photo spots. To recognize the person who invited me, I search for them on LinkedIn.

I use Google Maps’ “arrive by” feature to plan travel time and choose the best transportation method.

Attending the event

Whenever possible, I like getting to events right when they start so that I can get in and take photos or videos without a ton of people already crowded in.

This is also a great opportunity to introduce yourself to the PR person who invited you if you haven’t met them yet and to get some face time with them before things get crazy.

Be sure to take note if there are any signs that call out Instagram handles or hashtags of the brand or agencies that are hosting the event and include those in any stories or posts that you create from the event so the PR agencies can easily find them.

If you want to enjoy the event in real time, I recommend taking all photos and videos in your camera roll and then going through and editing when you get home and distributing across your different platforms.

Typically for event posts, I do recommend sharing those within 24 hours so that they’re still timely.

The morning after

No, not that kind of morning after!

The following day, I think it’s always nice to follow up with the brand and send them a quick note thanking them for inviting you to the event.

This is also where I like to share any content that I did create from the event so they can check it out, so I’ll link to any posts or reels I created and also mention if I created stories content since that will expire if they want to check it out.

Sometimes the brand may beat you to it and send out an event recap or press release in the morning and you can also reply to that email to say thank you if they reached out first.

If a brand gives you products, create content to share with your audience and update the agency so they see your ongoing support.

I have a separate guide to help you with how to create great content at events too!

I hope you found this guide helpful! Do you have other questions about attending influencer events or connecting with brands in person? Leave me a comment and let me know.

yours,

Austen