How to find influencers that perform for your brand? (Ultimate Guide 2026)

What is the purpose of an influencer?

Prior to exploring how to find influencers for your brand, it’s crucial to understand what benefits influencers can provide.

So picture it like this: Influencers are like your coolest buddies and top-notch experts rolled into one!

Just like you trust your friends’ recommendations more than boring ads, influencers have the magical power to win you over with their genuine opinions.

But if you are looking for a more formal definition:

-> The purpose of an influencer is to use their online presence and following to sway their audience’s opinions and purchasing decisions towards specific businesses, products or ideas (political space).

View this post on Instagram A post shared by charli (@charlidamelio)

Influencer recommendations can feel more relevant than a standard ad because the message appears in content the audience chose to follow.

That relevance still depends on audience fit, creative quality and a clear disclosure when the relationship is sponsored.

Plus, they know how to hit the sweet spot with niche audiences, making their endorsements super relevant and interesting to their followers.

Sponsored content also carries a compliance job. The FTC's endorsement guidance says material connections between a brand and an endorser should be clear and conspicuous.

Put the disclosure with the endorsement itself, and include it in the video when the endorsement appears in video. Platform disclosure tools are not a substitute for a clear disclosure.

But how do you find influencers in your niche on Instagram? First, let’s see where they hang out…

Where can I find influencers?

You’re probably wondering, how many influencers are there?

Click Analytic currently indexes 400M+ creator profiles across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, so the useful question is not how many creators exist. It is which audience and content fit the campaign.

Creators publish across many social platforms, and the right place to search depends on the audience and content format in the campaign brief.

Depending on your brand objective and target audience, different platforms can apply.

For ex. For gaming products, Twitch & YouTube would be the best platforms.

Choose the platform from the audience and the content format. Instagram may suit visual product discovery, TikTok short-form demonstrations, and YouTube longer explanations or search-led content.

Do not treat that as a fixed platform ranking. Check where your customers spend time, what the creator publishes there, and whether recent content reaches the market you need.

Other communities may sit on X, Snapchat, Twitch, LinkedIn or a niche forum. Use them when the campaign audience is genuinely active there.

Remember, the right creator can wield incredible influence over their audience, so take the time to explore various platforms to find the perfect match for your brand!

What are the different types of influencers?

Influencers come in various types, ranging from beauty experts and gamers to food bloggers and travel enthusiasts, catering to different interests.

Each type brings its own special powers to the table, casting spells on their followers and taking them on thrilling journeys through different content and stories.

But, what can they do for my business?

For a business, influencers bring three key benefits to level up your marketing game.

Here’s how they can support your business:

1. Boosting Awareness & Visibility:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Helen Owen (@helenowen)

2. Creating Engaging Content:

@charlidamelio dont forget your sunscreen @CeraVe #faceitlikeaderm #cerave #ceravepartner ♬ original sound, charli d’amelio

3. Driving Sales & Product Testing: a creator can send their audience straight to your product with a link or promo code, and their honest reaction shows how the product lands.

However, getting results with influencers is dependent on two key aspects:

Having a proper influencer strategy

Finding the right influencers to collaborate with

💡 Don’t forget understanding your target audience and their interests is the key to finding influencers who will truly resonate with your brand and deliver exceptional results.

Will any type of influencer work for my business?

NO! And be attentive. This is important!

It’s not only about how to find the influencers, but more how to find the right influencers for your brand.

Choosing a good influencer for your brand is like finding the right superhero for your team. Not all capes fit!

Not every influencer will jive with your brand’s vibe.

You have to be super picky and find the ones who fit with your message and charm your audience.

A common failure is choosing a creator from the headline numbers alone.

The practical test is whether the creator reaches the right people with content that can carry the campaign message.

Start with audience location, age range and interests. A creator can live in your target country while most of their audience lives somewhere else.

Then inspect recent views, engagement and comment quality. One large post is not the same as consistent performance.

Check whether sponsored posts feel natural beside the creator's usual content, and whether the audience responds to the category you sell.

Match the creator to the job. Brand awareness, product education, reusable UGC and direct sales need different evidence.

A creator with fewer followers can be the stronger choice when the audience is in the right market and the content format fits the brief.

Audience quality matters too. Sudden follower jumps, irrelevant comments and a weak audience-location match are reasons to investigate before signing.

Creator location still matters for in-person work, local events and shipping, but it is not a substitute for audience location.

If the goal is reusable UGC rather than distribution, judge the creator on production skill, category knowledge, usage rights and the brief, not audience size.

This is why the selection criteria should be written before the search begins.

Write down the market, audience, niche, format, budget, timing and KPI that a creator must fit.

The next steps show how to turn those requirements into a shortlist and a consistent vetting process.

Build the shortlist broadly, then apply the same checks to every profile.

Here is the workflow used by experienced influencer marketing teams.

How to find influencers that perform for your brand?

Here are 10 ways to find influencers like a pro:

1. Define your Influencer strategy

2. Select your influencer niches

3. How to find influencers who are fans of your brand

4. Create a program for influencers to apply to

5. Build an influencer database for efficient tracking

6. Export influencers on your database

7. Steal influencers from your competitors

8. How to find influencers for FREE

9. Speed up your search with an influencer discovery tool

10. Vet the audience of an influencer

1. Define your Influencer strategy

Before you start looking for influencers, the first step is to define your influencer marketing strategy.

Would you spend money on ads with random audience targeting?

Surely not!

The same rule applies to Influencer Marketing. If you don’t have a clear plan, how can you select the right influencers?

A campaign with no clear strategy can make even a strong creator look like the wrong choice because the team never agreed what success meant.

However, if you have a clear strategy and select the right influencer to achieve your goals, you can generate amazing results.

Dunkin’ Donuts is a great example of setting clear goals to achieve incredible results.

They teamed up with Charli D’Amelio and had one clear objective = boost their app downloads from a younger audience.

Convinced?

Now that your influencer strategy is built, it’s time to identify your influencer niches.

2. Select your influencer niches

Okay, great.

Now, you have a strategy in place with clear goals. It’s time to learn how to find Instagram influencers in your niche.

But first, let’s define your niche profiles.

As we discussed previously, various types of influencers exist, but the key is aligning with specific niches based on your audience’s interests + campaign objectives.

For example:

If you are selling skin care products for women aged 25 to 35 with a focus on Instagram visibility, you should collaborate with the following types of creators

Skincare experts & dermatologists for credibility.

Mom influencers to reach busy moms seeking skincare solutions.

Lifestyle influencers to connect with broader audiences.

Make-up artists for expertise

This was just an example, but now you need to put in work and think of different types of niches for your business.

If you know your audience well, this should be easy!

3. How to find influencers who are fans of your brand

⚠️ Important: If you are launching a new business and don’t have social media accounts or customers yet…This section might not be relevant to you.

When starting an influencer search, many marketers tend to look at global rankings or directly use influencer finder tools. But they are wrong!

🧐 The truth is that you probably have influencers hidden within your own audience, fans or customers.

Think about it: influencers are normal people. Even if some are famous celebrities, they still go shopping and purchase products.

Maybe some already visited your website? Or follow you on Instagram?

But how can you identify them?

Here are some different ways (no one will tell you about this):

1. Scan your social media accounts

Here’s the few steps to do that:

1.1 Look at the tagged section

-> On Instagram, open the tagged section of your profile to find influencers who mentioned you.

-> On TikTok there is no tagged section, so check your mentions instead.

-> On YouTube, type your brand name in the search bar to find influencers who mentioned you.

Pro tip: You can also filter the results either by relevance, duration, upload date or performance (views, rating).

1.2 Search influencers with hashtags

-> On Instagram or TikTok, search your brand hashtags to find more influencers who mentioned you.

1.3 Check your follower list

-> Another great way to find influencers is to look within your followers.

To do it manually, open your brand’s follower list, check relevant bios and recent posts, and save suitable handles in a shortlist for consistent review.

If you want to automate the search, start free and filter by creator location, audience location, niche and recent performance.

Pro tip: Click Analytic's Superfans workflow can surface creators who already follow or engage with your brand, then save them to a list for review.

2. Ask your clients directly

Another way professionals in the influencer space discover influencers is through asking their customers directly.

Here’s how it works:

-> When customers log in to a company website, they often receive a lead magnet like a promo code or newsletter signup.

-> By simply adding a request for their social media handle in the lead magnet or during the checkout process, you can identify potential creators among your audience.

-> Recording customers’ social media handles helps you spot potential brand ambassadors and turn them into influencers for your brand.

-> Your customers can be your first brand ambassadors, and you’ll be surprised to discover hidden influencer gems within your audience.

If you’re asking yourself, “how to find influencers who are purchasing my products?” Well, here’s your answer.

Recording the social media handles of customers will help you detect potential creators within your audience and turn them into brand ambassadors.

4. Create a program for influencers to apply

Once you have manually identified influencers within your audience, it’s time to let them come to you.

How will creators come to me??

It’s fairly simple: you can create your influencer program.

-> It’s a digital form that can be generated with either Google Forms, Mailchimp or directly with your CRM or E-com platform (Shopify, Magento etc.)

You might be wondering what to include on your form…

That will entirely depend on your brand and the objective of your influencer program.

If you need information regarding the type of products to send (E.G: For skincare, you might need to ask about the skin type) or you want to use this program to seed influencers / only to gather contacts, that might impact the questions to ask.

The mandatory elements are:

-> An explanation of your program’s benefits

-> Email

-> Full Name

-> Social media handle

Once you created your form, share it on your website & social media pages.

Boom! You’re all set to start generating automatic requests from influencers!

5. Build an influencer database for efficient tracking

By now, you should have between 10 to 100 influencers listed as potential partners for your brand. This process should have taken you a few days.

You are becoming an expert at spotting the right creators.

Before going further and expanding your influencer search, we need to take a step back.

It’s now time to manage your influencer database like a professional.

I will teach you how to build a trackable database to save all the influencers you would have found from reading this article.

Ready? Build the database as one row per influencer.

I advise including a link to the profile, engagement rate, number of followers, email address and campaign status.

6. How to export influencers on your database

I have shared with you some of the key tips on how to find influencers for your business and build your influencer database.

Now, let me share a quick secret trick to gain hours.

I will show you two options to import influencers into your influencer database automatically:

Option 1: Use Folk.app as your main CRM and download their Google Chrome App.

Option 2: Save creators to a Click Analytic list with their current profile and audience data, then export the shortlist when the team is ready.

7. Steal influencers from your competitors

Now let’s jump back into finding influencers.

Your next challenge is this: how to find influencers who are rooting for your competitors.

Why those influencers? Because they are already interested in your product niche and interacting with your competitors.

Their audience is already aware of your kind of products why not share a better alternative with them?

But you know the best part? It’s easy to find those influencers!

Look at the tags, mentions, and hashtag feeds to detect influencers who are directly mentioning your competitors.

8. Expand your influencer database

You probably identified 10-20 more creators to collaborate with using the competitor search.

Let’s now see if you can become a pro on how to find Instagram influencers for free.

It’s time to broaden your influencer search and discover profiles that can be the right fit for your brand.

I created a list for you of FREE tactics to identify influencers for your business.

Here’s 5 tactics on how to proceed:

Use hashtags

Find online rankings

Use ChatGPT

How to find influencers who are lookalikes?

How to find local influencers?

On both Instagram and Tiktok you can run advanced hashtag searches to discover influencers.

Simply use auto-suggestion found on both platforms to generate related hashtags from your main topic. Then discover influencers through the content.

Most of the content will be of bad quality. It should be easy to distinguish professional influencer content among the mass.

Online rankings are not super precise, but if you find the right articles (ideally of authority in the space, E.G: muscle and health for fitness,) you can find great creators.

Pro-tip: It will be harder to find nano/niche accounts using this method.

I know, I know… everyone is mentioning ChatGPT… BUT I was happily surprised.

I was recently looking for influencers within a specific niche, and the results were quite precise.

Therefore, I would recommend trying it.

Instagram’s suggested-account recommendations can help you branch from one relevant creator to similar profiles.

Let me tell you how it works:

On a relevant creator profile, review the suggested or similar accounts when the platform offers them. Repeat the process from each strong match, then vet every profile against the same audience and performance criteria.

It’s a fantastic way to discover quality accounts automatically, and it’s free!

Pro-tip: You can also do that easily using the Click Analytic search lookalike filter, which is not only available for Instagram, but also TikTok and YouTube.

If you have a super local business and need to reach an audience within a specific region or city, you NEED to learn how to find influencers in your area.

However, finding niche and local influencers is more challenging…

Without a discovery tool, combine the city and niche in Instagram and TikTok searches, review location tags and local hashtags, then save suitable profiles to a manual shortlist. Verify each creator’s audience location before outreach. See the full local influencer search guide for the step-by-step workflow.

9. Speed up your search with an influencer discovery tool

Use a tool when you need repeatable filters, comparable profile data or a managed creator-application workflow.

Here are two current tools that solve different parts of the job:

1. Click Analytic

Click Analytic gives you access to 400M+ creator profiles across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

If you want to become a pro at finding influencers, this is the tool for you.

Search indexed creator profiles with 1,000+ followers across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube

Use 50+ filters to narrow the search by market, audience, content and performance.

Compare audience location, recent performance and the Audience Authenticity Score (AAS) before outreach.

Scan your competitors

Surface creators who already follow or engage with your brand.

Find the emails of influencers

Export lists of influencers with emails & data

Track your influencer campaigns automatically

Use the 14-day free trial to test the workflow on your own market and save a qualified shortlist.

2. Insense

Insense is built for UGC production, creator applications and paid collaborations rather than open-web discovery.

Publish a campaign brief and matched creators can apply through the platform.

The brief sets the budget, deliverables and technical requirements that applicants review before they apply.

Insense supports the campaign workflow through creator selection, content review and creator payment.

Review each applicant's portfolio, audience data, proposed price and fit with the brief before hiring.

A marketplace only searches its registered creator community, so use it when applications and managed production matter more than the widest possible database.

10. Vet the audience of an influencer

Finding influencers is also about making sure that they are the right fit.

But as we discussed, the challenge is also to find the right influencer.

If you don’t check the stats of an influencer, you risk partnering with someone who may have: low engagement, fake followers, an irrelevant audience or a mismatched content style…

And this leads to ineffective and potentially damaging marketing campaigns.

It’s critical to look at several key aspects of an influencer profile…

Let’s break it down.

I’m going to share with you the five-step essential criteria to make an informed decision when vetting an influencer.

Here it comes:

-> Gauge the level of engagement of an audience.

You can calculate it manually:

Engagement Rate for one post = ((Total Likes + Total Comments) / Total Followers) x 100

I would suggest doing it on at least the last 10 posts and doing an average.

A higher engagement rate indicates a more engaged and active audience.

Pro-tip: For TikTok & YouTube, instead look at the average views, that’s the most important.

-> Ensure they align with your target market, including: age, gender, location, and interests.

How can I get those stats? You have two options:

2.1 Contact influencers directly

Ask them to share their data with screenshots.

2.2 Use an influencer tool

For ex. Click Analytic, Hype Auditor, Creator IQ etc.

-> Even more important if you are looking to find influencers for UGC.

Evaluate the quality of the influencer’s content, including photos, videos, and captions to ensure it matches your brand’s aesthetic and values.

-> Review their previous partnerships to see if they have worked with similar brands or competitors and assess the effectiveness of those campaigns.

Pro-tip: I suggest looking either for official partnerships or spotting hashtags like #ad, #collab, #partnership etc.