How to Find Influencers: Seven Ways to the Right Creators for Your Brand

Updated on 11 November 2026

Finding influencers is easy. Finding the ones who suit your brand, whose community is your target audience and who deliver reliably is the hard part. Here are seven routes that work well in combination, plus a checklist for deciding whether a profile is really a fit.

Before you search: what is the collaboration for?

Without a clear goal you end up judging profiles by gut feeling or follower count. Settle four things first:

• Goal: awareness, sales, content for your own channels, or reviews and trust?
• Audience: who do you want to reach – age, region, life stage, interests?
• Platform and format: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube? Reels, stories, longer videos?
• Budget and timing: what is available for fees, products and paid ads, and when should the campaign run? Our article What does influencer marketing cost? gives you a starting point.

If what you mainly need is video for ads and your shop, you don’t need reach – you need good producers. In that case UGC marketing is the better route.

1. Start with your own community

Look at who already knows your brand. Who tags you in posts, who comments regularly, who is on your customer list and runs a channel of their own? Creators who already use your product don’t have to pretend. It shows in the content, and alignment is quicker.

2. Search on the platforms themselves

Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are search engines in their own right. Search for topics, product categories and places rather than hashtags alone. Once you have found one suitable profile, the suggested similar accounts lead you further. Keep a simple list from day one: profile, topic, follower count, first impression, contact.

3. See who similar brands work with

Paid collaborations have to be disclosed, which makes them easy to trace. Look at the creators that brands close to yours are working with – not to book the same faces, but to understand which profiles and formats work in your category. Anyone currently promoting a direct competitor is off your list for now.

4. Use creator marketplaces and databases

The major platforms run their own marketplaces where you can filter creators by topic, country and size. There are also paid databases with details on who a creator’s followers are. Both save time when shortlisting. The numbers don’t replace looking at the content, though: no spreadsheet tells you whether someone suits your brand.

5. Ask for recommendations

Creators know other creators. If a collaboration went well, ask who they would recommend. Photographers, production companies and marketing teams you are on good terms with also know who delivers on time and who doesn’t. No tool will tell you that.

6. Let creators come to you

A call-out on your own channels, a short application form on your website or a line in your newsletter brings applications from people who already like your brand. The work lies in the screening. Decide beforehand what an application has to include (channel, topics, examples, a look at the analytics) and reply to everyone, including those you don’t choose.

7. Work with an agency or a talent management

If you are short on time or experience, an influencer marketing agency takes on the search, vetting, negotiation and handling. It knows creators personally, knows who is dependable and has a feel for customary fees. A talent management, in turn, represents specific talents directly, so you get a firm answer on availability and existing partnerships quickly.

Checklist: is this creator really a fit?

Before you get in touch, check:

• Audience: do the followers’ age, gender and countries match your target group? Ask for current screenshots from the channel’s analytics.
• Content: do topics, tone and visual style suit your brand – including the posts from recent months?
• Comments: are real people responding to the content, or is it only emojis and stock phrases?
• Growth: has the channel grown steadily? Question sudden jumps with no obvious reason.
• Ad density: how many partnerships run at once? Someone recommending something different every week loses credibility.
• Competitors: has there been recent advertising for a brand in your category?
• Disclosure: have previous collaborations been clearly labelled as advertising?
• Working style: how quickly and how clearly do they answer your first message?

Follower count is deliberately not on the list. It tells you how big a channel is, not whether it reaches your audience. Once you have found the right creators, read what belongs in the contract and the briefing.

How to approach creators

Keep it short and specific: who you are, why you are writing to this profile in particular, what you have in mind (format, timing, payment) and when you need an answer. Mass emails with no reference to the channel rarely get a reply. If a creator has a management, the enquiry goes through them – the profile usually says so.

How we work at W!

W! Influencer is an agency and a talent management in one. Since 2017 we have been running campaigns for brands in Germany, the DACH region and across Europe, while representing our own talents in management. For every enquiry we suggest suitable creators from our management and our network – and we explain each suggestion. You get a reply to your enquiry within 24 hours. Request a campaign