Good news: There’s an estimated 64M+ influencers on Instagram ready to help your business make a splash online.
But how do you find the right ones for your campaign?
From Micro influencers to those with millions of followers, the options are endless.
To help you avoid overwhelm, we’re breaking down how to find Instagram influencers that’ll help you reach your goals.
Table of Contents
The Importance of Defining Goals & Influencer Personas
The most important step before you venture into influencer marketing is knowing what you’re trying to accomplish — AKA creating SMART goals.
Do you wish to drive traffic to a specific web page? Generate buzz for an upcoming event or product?
Next, you’ll need to have a clear understanding of who your “ideal influencers” are:
Who is their audience? What topics do they care about?
What’s their personality type? How does it align with your brand?
What type of content do they create most?
For example, if you work in the food and beverage industry, you might want to partner with "foodie" or lifestyle influencers.
You could then focus on those with less than 100K followers who primarily create video content related to reviews, hauls, and recipes.
Setting expectations at the outset will be key to achieving your desired outcome.
TIP: If you’d like to hand the reins over to experts, Later’s influencer marketing services team are trusted by top enterprise brands to manage their campaigns. Schedule a call to learn more.
3 Ways To Find Instagram Influencers in 2024
Influencer marketing may be the “new kid on the block” compared to more traditional ads, but it is a worthy investment in 2024 (and beyond).
And Instagram remains a top channel for driving leads, engagement, and awareness due to its variety of content formats like Reels, Stories, and carousel posts.
Still, many enterprise businesses point to not knowing how to find (and choose) the right influencers for their Instagram campaigns.
Here’s how (don't overcomplicate it):
Tip #1: Check Your Brand Mentions, Tags, and Relevant Hashtags
A good rule of thumb: When in doubt, start with your account (and feed) first.
"When you find influencers who are already talking about your brand, it makes it easier to reach out for a potential collaboration," says Later's Influencer and Partner Marketing Manager, Kurtis Smeaton.
"Of course, you'll need to vet them first. And if they're a brand fit, it'll make their endorsement more genuine," explains Kurtis.
TIP: Set time aside to frequently monitor your tagged posts, comments, DMs, and search relevant hashtags to find influencers who could be a good fit. Then, reach out via email.
Tip #2: Follow Industry-related Podcasts, Newsletters, and Events
Not all influencers have high follower counts — and that's okay!
What's more important is finding influencers who have an engaged following who trusts their views and opinions. Similar to a thought leader or expert.
Keep an eye on podcasts, events, and newsletters related to your industry: What do they talk about? Who do they interview? Who speaks on their panels?
Someone spotlighted (or even the creator of the podcast or newsletter themselves) could make for a great potential Instagram partner.
Tip #3: Use An Influencer Marketing Platform
If you’re looking to automate and scale your influencer marketing campaigns, using a platform like Later Influence is the way to go.
With it, you can:
Search our influencer index (with over 10M influencers and counting!)
Access discovery tools that filter by industry, primary platform, and more
Manage outreach and communications — all in one place
Streamline payments, budgets, and reporting
And if you want to take it a step further, you can let our marketing services team lead your influencer marketing campaigns for you.
This means we’ll handle everything from strategy to finding Instagram influencers to execution and tracking results (including ROI).
Partnering with the right influencers can make or break an influencer marketing campaign.
So, sourcing (and vetting) them is an important step of the process. With these key tips, you’re well on your way!
FYI: Leading enterprise brands, like Clif Bar & Company, have used Later’s influencer marketing platform to drive traffic. Schedule a call for more details.
