There are approximately 64 million Instagram influencer accounts worldwide. So, how do you reach the right one? 

Reaching out to your potential customers through the right Instagram influencers is crucial for making the most of your influencer marketing efforts. 

9 Key Factors to Consider While Choosing Instagram Influencers

The success of your IG influencer marketing campaign heavily depends on the influencers you choose to collaborate with. Hence, it's critical to ensure that they align with your brand values and resonate with your target audience.   

Here are some crucial factors you should consider -

1. Target Audience: 

Define your campaign's target audience clearly. Know who you want to reach, including demographics, interests, and behaviors. 

Look for influencers whose followers closely match your target audience. Their content should resonate with the people you aim to reach. 

2. Relevance: 

Ensure that the influencers you consider are relevant to your industry and niche. Their content should align with your brand and what you offer. Review their past posts and collaborations to see if they have worked with similar brands or products. 

For instance, a company selling software to marketing heads of companies or business owners should reach out to B2B marketing influencers. 

3. Engagement: 

Calculate IG engagement rate and prioritize it over the follower count. A high engagement rate indicates that the influencer's audience actively interacts with their content. A good engagement rate on Instagram depends on the type of influencer you seek. 

For example, for macro-influencers with over 100k followers, a good engagement rate is between 1-3%. At the same time, the ideal engagement rate for micro-influencers with fewer than 10k followers falls between 5-8%. Calculate average engagement rate for every influencer you want to work with.

You can use our free chrome extension - SocialiQ to get instant access to influencer engagement rate. See the image below:

4. Authenticity: 

Assess whether the influencers come across as genuine and authentic in their content. Their audience should trust their recommendations. Read comments and interactions on their posts to gauge the authenticity of their engagement.  

Learn how you can spot fake influencers and avoid potential risks during your campaign. 

5. Values: 

Ensure that the influencers' values align with your brand's values. Partnerships with influencers who share your beliefs and principles can be more effective and credible.  

6. Content Quality: 

Evaluate the quality of the influencer's content. It should be visually appealing and consistent with your brand's image and aesthetics. Look for influencers who maintain a high standard of content production.  

7. Frequency: 

Consider how often the influencer posts new content. You'll want to partner with active influencers who consistently engage with their audience. Regular posting helps maintain audience interest and visibility.  

8. Reliability: 

Check the influencer's track record of working with brands and meeting deadlines. Reliability is essential to ensure your campaign runs smoothly. Seek recommendations or references from other brands they've collaborated with. 

 9. Audience Quality: 

Verify the authenticity of the influencer's followers. Avoid influencers who have bought followers or have a high number of fake accounts as their followers. Tools and platforms can help you analyze influencer audiences and determine the authenticity of an influencer's following. 

Focusing on these factors can help you narrow down your search for Instagram influencers who are a strong fit for your campaign. Careful consideration of these criteria will increase the likelihood of a successful influencer partnership and a more effective campaign.

Once you've figured these out, you can start the next step: Finding the right influencers!

5 Easy Ways to Find Instagram Influencers Manually 

Here are some ways in which you can manually search for Instagram influencers: 

1. Search for Relevant Hashtags:  

One of the simplest ways to discover influencers in your niche is by searching for relevant hashtags. Instagram allows you to explore content associated with specific hashtags. 

Start by identifying the hashtags relevant to your industry, products, or services. For example, if you sell fitness equipment, you might search for hashtags like #FitnessTips or #WorkoutInspiration.  

Review the top posts and accounts associated with these hashtags. Pay attention to the influencers who consistently appear in these searches, as they are likely active in your niche. 

2. Look at Your Brand's Followers:  

Take a close look at the users following your brand on Instagram. Among your followers, you may find individuals who are influencers in your niche.  

Explore the profiles of your followers, identify those with a significant following, and post content related to your industry or products. These users can be potential influencers to collaborate with.  

3. Monitor Brand Mentions:  

Utilize social listening tools to track mentions of your brand on Instagram. These tools can help you identify influencers already talking about and engaging with your brand.  

Look for influencers who have positively mentioned your brand or created content related to your products or services. They may be interested in formal collaborations.  

4. Check Out the Explore Page:  

Instagram's Explore page is a valuable resource for discovering new influencers. It curates content from accounts that align with your interests and the content you engage with.  

Visit Instagram's Explore page regularly to discover content creators and influencers whose posts resonate with your brand's values and target audience. You might come across influencers who are a perfect fit for your campaign.  

5. Engage and Build Relationships:  

Once you've identified potential influencers using these methods, take the time to engage with their content and build relationships. Like, comment on, and share their posts to establish a connection.  

Send direct messages (DMs) to express your interest in collaborating or to inquire about their partnership guidelines. Building a rapport can make your collaboration outreach more successful.  

These strategies are good but time-consuming. So, what's the alternative? Influencer marketing tools.  

Invest in robust influencer marketing tools like impulze.ai to find, vet, and manage influencers. Keep scrolling to know how!

How to Find the Right Instagram Influencers with Impulze.ai 

Impulze.ai is a highly-intuitive influencer marketing tool with over 250 million influencer databases. It's easy to use and has features that can help you find the right influencers; the tool helps you manage them, track the progress of your campaign, and even measure its success [ROI]. 

So, how can you use impulze.ai to find the right Instagram influencer? Keep reading!

But before we jump into finding influencers, sign up on impulze.ai for free if you don't have an account yet. Those with an account can log in and follow each step below to find the right Instagram influencers. 

Step 1 - Curate the Influencer List

As discussed, impulze.ai has over 250 million influencers on their tool, so filtering them based on your requirements is the first step.

Filter #1 - General

Here, as shown in the figure, you need to first ensure that the list of influencers shown is from Instagram [the arrow top right corner]. 

Now, on the left side, you will see the filter option, where you can filter the influencers by location, engagement rate, followers, and niche. 

We advise that you don't add engagement rate and followers for the time being. Yes, we know adding those would give you a more focused list, but it's best to first understand the type of influencers in a specific niche.  

And now, finally, click to select these three metrics.

This is to ensure that the curated list includes verified influencers who offer contact information and have a history of collaborations with brands.  

Click “Search” 

Filter #2 - Creator

Here, you can curate influencers based on their niche, gender, the number of pieces of content they have created, and more. Select the options that best suit your needs and hit search.

Filter #3 - Audience

This option lets you find Instagram influencers with your target audience as their followers. Add in all the necessary details and hit search for the last time. 

Now that you have the list of Instagram influencers, it’s time to choose the right one. 

Step 2 - Influencer Analysis

Examine each influencer's follower count and engagement rate. Look through their description, followers, and engagement rate, and save them. 

Keep this in mind: just because an influencer has a high follower count or engagement rate, it doesn't guarantee suitability. Take the time to thoroughly review their profile descriptions to understand their focus.

If you look at the screenshot below, you'll see a black sheep in the list of influencers. Initially, we added 'Coffee and Beverages' as the focused niche. But as you can see, one influencer who happens to have followers who are interested in this niche doesn't create content in this particular niche.

Once you have saved the influencer, navigate to the 'Home' section and access their profile. You may find some missing details but don't worry, it's supposed to be like this. The missing data are first-party data that no one else offers. 

You can retrieve all the necessary information by utilizing our audience insights tool Chrome extension, SocialiQ. 

To get a comprehensive view of an influencer, generate a report [the screenshot shows 'View Report' because we already generated one].

The generated report will give you insights into the authenticity of the influencer's followers, notable followers, gender and age distribution among their audience, sponsored content they've previously created, and more.

Here's a sneak peek into the report -

Follower types -

Sponsored content by the influencer -

Analyzing all this data lets you spot the right Instagram influencer for your marketing campaign. 

And that’s it. Pretty simple, right? 

Why Should You Use Impulze AI for Influencer Management? 

By using the best influencer search tools, you can stay on top of trends, make data-driven decisions using analytics, and connect with the right influencers. You can also monitor what your competitors are doing and develop better influencer marketing strategies.

Impulze AI can help you save a lot of time in finding the right influencers and tracking your campaign performance. Watch how Impulze AI can help you do this in a few easy steps. 

Still not sure? Get a14-day FREE trial of Impulze.

Bonus: If you are wondering how to go about your Instagram marketing, you can download our free Instagram marketing checklist guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to find the right Instagram influencers?

You can find the right Instagram influencers manually or using an influencer management tool. To manually find the right Instagram influencer, you can search using hashtags, previous brand mentions, or the app's explore page. You can also use the best influencer analytics tools to find the right Instagram influencers. 

What is the best influencer search tool?

Impulze AI is one of the best influencer search tools. You can use it to get instant access to influencer insights, find the right influencers in a few minutes, and measure your campaigns in real-time. 

Is there a free app to find influencers?

You can try SocialiQ, our audience insights tool Chrome extension, to find influencers for free. SocialiQ, an audience insights tool chrome extension, can help you find influencers for Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch. 

How to choose a micro-influencer? 

Search using specific hashtags to discover micro-influencers. You can also find microinfluencers by searching your existing follower base. Find microinfluencers with a good following of the people you want to reach out to. You can also use one of the best influencer search tools like Impulze AI to find microinfluencers. 

How do I find local influencers on Instagram? 

You can use geo-tags and local hashtags to find local influencers or Instagram. Or you can use an influencer marketing tool to access their database of influencers.