A recent study shows that 88% of consumers make purchases based on an influencer’s recommendation, demonstrating the undeniable power of influencer marketing. In this context, influencer whitelisting is emerging as a highly effective strategy for brands to amplify their social media marketing efforts, particularly on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Whitelisting allows brands to promote ads directly through an influencer’s account, leading to higher engagement rates and more organic, trustworthy content that resonates with audiences.
For brands, this means greater ad performance, more authentic connections with potential customers, and expanded audience reach. For creators, whitelisting provides increased exposure and potential follower growth, as brands fund promotions that spotlight the influencer's content.
Setting up whitelisting involves giving brands access to the influencer's assets, often through tools like Facebook Ads Manager or other influencer marketing platforms. But the first critical step is reaching out to the influencer with a well-crafted whitelisting request email. This outreach is key to getting their agreement, as it highlights the mutual benefits of the partnership.
In this article, we’ll focus on how to structure an effective whitelisting request email, with templates you can use to get started.
Influencer whitelisting is a process where a brand runs a social media ad directly through an influencer’s account instead of their own. Followers tend to perceive this as organic content from the influencer, which typically results in higher engagement, greater credibility, and overall improved performance.
A whitelisted post appears as a "dark post," meaning it only shows up in the news feed of targeted accounts and not on the influencer’s public feed. It will appear under the influencer’s handle, and the content usually looks as unbranded as possible. That’s why brands should select content to whitelist that integrates the product in an organic way.
According to Forbes, organic content on social media typically reaches only about 5.5% of a user's followers. However, using a dark post with a budget behind it ensures that more people see the content, leading to one of its key benefits: an increased ROI (return on investment) from the ad spend.
The goal is for the post to be perceived as authentic and to blend seamlessly with the influencer’s style and typical content. If you see the post and can’t immediately tell whether it was posted by the brand or the influencer themselves, the whitelisting has likely succeeded.
Let’s take a look at the example below.
The influencer @forevertanoya is a Fashion, Family, and Foodie creator who shares, among other things, experiences in Denver. Her collaboration with a gaming experiences venue can come across as a genuine recommendation for her followers to visit a fun place in the city with their families or friends.
Through whitelisting, brands can leverage the influencer’s audience by running highly targeted ads, which allows them to reach wider and more customized audiences. Creators, in turn, benefit from the increased exposure of the ad, potentially growing their follower base and boosting engagement—all while the brand covers the costs.
Check out the full benefits of influencer whitelisting for both brands and creators and learn how to set it up.
Deciding which influencer to collaborate with for whitelisting is crucial in determining its effectiveness. It’s important to begin this type of partnership only with influencers who align with your brand’s values and overall messaging.
A mutual alignment between the brand or product and the influencer ensures that the promoted content appears authentic and resonates with the target audience, which is the primary objective.
Some key factors to consider when selecting influencers for a whitelisting partnership include:
You can easily check audience demographics and other key metrics of an influencer on each social media platform through our free Influencer Audit Chrome Extension.
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For example, a home decor brand could partner with a designer or influencer who shares DIY inspiration and home decor tips, such as @simplysanfordco. A whitelisted post from this influencer could appear as a genuine, helpful recommendation for a favorite product to redecorate the home. Since their followers are likely seeking this type of content, and it's why they follow the influencer, the post would seamlessly align with their interests.
Once you've decided to work with a specific influencer through whitelisting, the first step is to create an effective outreach email with your proposal to get their agreement. Here are a few tips you should consider for doing this:
End with a call to action: Since whitelisting requires some setup on the influencer’s end, confirm if they have a Facebook Business Manager to make the connection. Their response will help determine your next steps—whether it’s guiding them on how to set up a Business Manager or instructing them on how to add you as a partner or accept your partner request.
An outreach email template is a draft you can use to request whitelisting from influencers, which can be tailored to your brand and campaign specifics.
You can use the template below as a first approach. Personalize the highlighted text and adjust as necessary.
SUBJECT: {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }} | VIP Invitation Whitelisting
Hi INFLUENCER’S NAME,
We are currently building our Whitelisting program and I wanted to discuss this opportunity with you! Whitelisting entails paid advertising through your account directly and has the following benefits for you:
- Get your account in front of new people and audiences paid for by ENTER YOUR BRAND’S NAME
- Growth in fan base: increase in following and engagement with your account.
- Opportunity to earn money: 10% commission on sales.
There is nothing required on your end as we can use creatives from previous posts.
Can I include you in this opportunity? And if so, could you please let me know if you already have a Facebook Business Manager account? That way I can guide you through the next steps!
Best,
NAME
P.S. For a detailed explanation about influencer whitelisting you can read the article here.
If an influencer doesn’t respond to your initial message, don’t give up! Influencers receive numerous emails and brand partnership requests daily, so it’s essential to follow up. Your message may have been overlooked, or it could have ended up in their spam folder.
Based on our extensive experience managing over 20,000 influencer relationships, sending 3 to 4 follow-up emails can increase your response rate by up to 40%.
Below, you’ll find a follow-up template to use:
SUBJECT: {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }} | BRAND’S NAME Whitelisting Partnership
Hi INFLUENCER’S NAME,
I hope you’re doing well.
I just wanted to follow up on our whitelisting proposal. We are running this program with a few selected creators only, and I think this could be a mutually beneficial partnership!
Through whitelisting we can boost your content and visibility by running ads through your account directly, which has the following benefits for you:
- Get your account in front of new people and audiences paid for by ENTER YOUR BRAND’S NAME
- Growth in fan base: increase in following and engagement with your account.
- Opportunity to earn money: 10% commission on sales.
We can use creatives from previous posts for this, so we’ll take care of everything!
Are you interested in being part of this? Please let me know so I can share more details!
Best,
YOUR NAME
If the influencer responds positively to your initial message, congratulations! You've completed the most crucial step: onboarding the influencer. Now, it's time to guide them through the next steps.
What comes next depends on whether they already have a Meta Business Manager account and how familiar they are with the platform. This is important because to gain access and permission to run ads on their social media accounts, you need to connect your Meta Business Manager account with theirs.
If the influencer mentions that they do have a Facebook Business Manager account,these are the steps to follow:
For further information on this, you can also check this step-by- step guide on how to send a partner request or grant access to a partner for whitelisting.
If the influencer, however, mentions that they don’t have a Facebook Business Manager yet, you need to instruct them on how to set it up. And setting up Facebook Business Manager also requires other previous settings such as:
So, for this case, you should follow the next steps during your communication with the influencer:
1. Provide instructions for the setup of each asset: Explain to them how to create a Meta Business Manager account, with additional instructions to make sure that they also meet all the pre-requirements.
2. Help with the process: Offer support if they need assistance during the setup. If they find the process too complicated, the deal may fall through. That is why an alternative solution to simplify the whole process of requesting access to the influencers accounts is using Leadsie.
3. Send a Partner Request: Once they confirm they have done everything which is needed and successfully created the Meta Business Manager, you can follow the steps described above: Request Access and Guide them through the process.
Hi INFLUENCER’S NAME,
Thanks for your reply! I'm thrilled that you're interested in a whitelisting opportunity with us.
In order to provide us with access to your account so we can manage the ads, you need to add BRAND’S NAME as a partner through your Meta Business Manager. Therefore, there are three things that you would need to have in place beforehand:
#1: Instagram Business Account (if you have a personal account, you need to convert it to a Business one)
#2: Facebook Page
#3: Meta Business Manager/Suite
If you already have a Facebook Business Manager, could you please share your Business Manager ID? That way we can send you a partner request from our end and guide you to accept it. You will receive an email notification which will direct you to your Business Manager to review the details, select the permissions for each asset type, and confirm.
If you don’t have a Meta Business Manager account yet, we can send you detailed instructions on how to set it up. I'm sure that setting up all this will be helpful for future brand partnerships as well
Looking forward to your confirmation.
Best,
ENTER YOUR NAME
Whitelisting can significantly boost your influencer marketing efforts. By running high-potential UGC directly from the influencer's social media account, you can expand your reach to a wider, highly-targeted audience, potentially increasing engagement and overall performance. This can lead to a higher ROI on your ad spend.
Once you decide to pursue a whitelisting partnership, there are several setup steps, but one of the most important is reaching out to the influencer with a proposal. And getting them to agree depends largely on the effectiveness of your outreach message!
Be strategic in your communication, emphasizing the benefits that whitelisting brings to creators, presenting it as a win-win situation. Use the tips in this article, along with the provided template, to craft a compelling whitelisting request and successfully onboard the influencer for this valuable partnership.
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