Alexis Kestler
As a social media marketing expert with over 10 years of experience boosting brand growth through influencer campaigns, I‘ve developed an in-depth understanding of what it takes to identify and connect with impactful Instagram influencers.
In this comprehensive 2,300+ word guide tailored specifically for marketing professionals and brand builders, I‘ll provide targeted analysis and insights on the topic of how to find Instagram influencers the easy way.
You‘ll discover 11 proven influencer search methods, along with key data, expert perspectives, and actionable tips to streamline your process of discovering ideal influencer partners that align with your brand and campaign goals.
Let‘s dive in.
Why Instagram Influencer Marketing Should Be Your Priority
Influencer marketing on Instagram delivers compelling benefits:
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Drive Business Growth
According to a Linqia study of marketers, Instagram influencer marketing was rated the most effective channel for meeting key marketing objectives like increasing awareness, changing perceptions, and driving conversions.*
92% of marketers say ROI from Instagram influencers meets or exceeds expectations, the highest of any platform*.
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Expand Reach & Awareness
Instagram currently has 1.46 billion monthly active users, providing a massive, engaged audience for brands to tap into. The average engagement rate across all industries is 5.7% on Instagram posts, meaning your message resonates.
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Boost Engagement
The overall engagement rate with Instagram influencer content is over 4X higher than brand-created content. Users view influencers as more relatable and trustworthy.
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Increase Sales
One study by Rakuten Marketing found that over half of users have purchased a product after seeing it used by an influencer. This shows the clear power of influencers driving conversions.
Clearly, Instagram influencer marketing needs to be a core focus for brands looking to profitably scale their business and build authentic connections with consumers in 2023 and beyond.
Now let‘s examine 11 proven tactics that brands can apply to effortlessly discover and connect with relevant influencers on Instagram guaranteed to make an impact.
1. Leverage Influencer Marketplaces
Influencer marketplaces have exploded in popularity in recent years as an efficient way for brands to discover vetted Instagram influencers aligned to their niche and campaign needs. Top platforms include:
These data-driven marketplaces allow you to filter potential influencer partners by audience demographics, content niche/category, engagement metrics, follower count, location, and more to pinpoint the best match for your brand.
You can submit an influencer brief outlining your campaign goals, ideal influencer criteria, content guidelines, and compensation details and connect with relevant influencers who apply to work with you.
Pro Tip: Prioritize micro and mid-tier influencers under 100k followers, who offer better engagement rates and more affordable pricing.
2. Google Search
While a simple Google search of "fitness influencers Instagram" or "beauty influencers Instagram" yields a starting list of potential people to connect with, the hard work is vetting each profile.
As you evaluate Google search results, analyzing influencer accounts using this checklist:
- Niche Fit: Does their content closely align with your industry and offerings?
- Content Quality: Do they produce premium photos/videos that visually represent your brand well?
- Engagement: Are their followers actively liking, commenting on, and sharing posts?
- Audience Interests: Does their audience match your target customer demographic?
- Values Alignment: Do they advocate for causes or values you want tied to your brand?
Pay close attention to engagement over inflated vanity metrics like followers, which can easily be falsified. An influencer with 100k engaged followers often drives better campaign results than one with 1M disengaged followers.
3. Follow & Search Relevant Hashtags
Hashtags help Instagram determine the topic of a post and facilitate discovery. Follow hashtags like #fashionblogger, #skincarejunkie, #digitalmarketing, etc. to populate your feed with top posts using those tags.
You can then:
- Like/comment on posts from influencers you‘d want to work with
- Check their profiles to evaluate alignment
- DM potential partners about partnership opportunities
When searching hashtags specifically to find influencers, pay attention to:
- How regularly they post content using relevant hashtags
- Their level of authority within your niche
- How much engagement they drive from hashtag followers
Pro Tip: Search 2-5 hashtag terms per campaign for best results. Niche hashtags work better than broad ones.
4. Research Competitor Partnerships
Your competitors likely already work with influencers aligned to your space. To uncover these hidden collaborations, check:
- Tagged posts: Competitor company handles tagged in influencer content
- Hashtags: Branded hashtags like #adidas_partners used to denote partnerships
- Mentions: Influencers mentioning your competitor brand in posts/stories/bios
- Commenters: Loyal followers engaging with all of your competitor‘s posts
Identify standout influencer brand advocates through this competitive research to approach about your own collaborations.
Pro Tip: Use a social media listening tool like Mention to track competitors‘ influencer activity in real time.
5. Discover Influencers Amongst Your Own Followers/Customers
Start by evaluating your existing social media followers and current customer base to find proven brand fans to formalize influencer partnerships with at a grassroots level.
Consider loyal customers who:
- Proactively promote you through UGC and word-of-mouth
- Comment and engage with all your IG content
- Have strong presence/influence on their own social channels
Empower these enthusiastic supporters with exclusive early access to products, affiliate codes, and formal influencer partnership perks in exchange for their continued brand advocacy.
Pro Tip: Hashtag brand campaigns to encourage User Generated Content from your community. Repost their best branded posts.
6. Monitor Your Brand‘s Instagram Mentions
When your brand handle is mentioned by Instagram users, you‘ll get notifications. But it‘s wise to use advanced social listening technology to monitor all brand conversations happening on IG beyond direct mentions.
Tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Linktree enable this expanded brand listening capability.
Analyze Instagram accounts frequently discussing your company and integrate the most relevant voices into your influencer program to align them more formally with your brand through gifted product, affiliate links, early access, etc.
Pro Tip: Prioritize influencer search alerts for your branded products/services by name for the most relevant mentions.
7. Search Blogs/Videos/Podcasts by Industry Thought Leaders
To uncover influencers making an impact primarily through other media formats like blogs, podcasts, and YouTube, explore the ecosystems surrounding:
- Industry conferences
- Popular events
- Relevant publications
- Niche community hubs
Identify standout personalities that the community looks to for advice and perspective. Recruit recognizable names as formal brand partners, collaborators, or affiliates.
Pro Tip: Guest post contributions to an influencer‘s blog and podcast guest appearances help cement organic partnerships.
8. Ask Your Existing Influencers for Referrals
Your current roster of brand partners likely have their own professional networks full of industry colleagues who may be keen to work with you.
Prompt them by asking questions like:
- Who are 3-5 rising influencers we should keep on our radar?
- Who creates gold standard content we should draw inspiration from?
- Who do you personally look to for [industry] advice?
Request introductions from your influencers to help short circuit the relationship building process with referral prospects.
Pro Tip: Always return the favor by connecting your influencers to relevant opportunities and brand partnerships you discover.
9. Explore Instagram‘s "Suggested For You" Section
Instagram‘s algorithm actively recommends accounts for you to follow based on past activity. The "Suggested For You" section provides a simple way to uncover influencers already tuned to your interests and engagement habits.
Assess each suggested profile using my evaluation checklist from tip #2 before following or contacting potential partners.
Pro Tip: Instagram suggests the accounts most likely to resonate with you specifically, so rely heavily on these algorithmic recommendations in your research.
10. Set Up Google Alerts
Google Alerts allow you to receive automated notifications whenever specific keywords or brands appear online across news sites, blogs, videos and more.
Valuable Google Alerts to set up include:
- "Instagram influencers [Your Niche]"
- "Top Instagram influencers 2023 [Your Niche]
- [Your Competitor Brand] + influencers
Review Google Alert results regularly to stay apprised of rising stars, industry trends, competitor activity, and breaking news that may uncover ideal influencer partners.
Pro Tip: Click "Show options" under the search bar on alerts.google.com to filter by source type, language, region, search terms, etc for better matching.
11. Survey Your Audience
Finally, don‘t underestimate the value of directly asking your current social media followers and email subscribers to name the Instagram influencers they engage with regularly around topics related to your brand.
Survey questions to include in your digital touchpoints or email newsletter:
- Which Instagram fitness pros with under 100k do you trust for advice?
- Tag the #1 Instagram interior design guru you adore below!
- Reply with 1-2 lesser known food/recipe influencers we should check out on Instagram.
Crowdsource these micro-influencer recommendations from your highly engaged super fans.
Pro Tip: Make sure to thank/reward respondents by featuring them in your IG Stories or sending exclusive promo codes.
Key Takeaways: Finding Instagram Influencers
Those are 11 proven tactics any brand can apply today to effortlessly discover and connect with qualified, credible Instagram influencers guaranteed to amplify awareness, trust, engagement and sales.
As you build out your influencer partnerships, remember to:
- Prioritize niche alignment over vanity metrics
- Vet influencers thoroughly using my checklist
- Set clear expectations and campaign success metrics
- Compensate influencers fairly for their value
Now dive in and start uncovering incredible Instagram influencers with ease! I can‘t wait to hear which of these influencer search methods works best for your brand.
What tips do you have for brands hoping to find the perfect content creators to partner with? Share your top influencer discovery strategies in the comments below!
