How to find micro influencers on Instagram

This blog post will teach you how to find micro influencers on Instagram. Of course, you can apply the methods below to other platforms like TikTok, Twitter or YouTube, or with their help, you can discover macro influencers on any of these platforms.

But why would you want to work with micro-influencers?

There are several reasons why working with micro-influencers is more advantageous:

• better engagement rates
• more targeted audience
• micro-influencers are more affordable
• The number of posts
• more authentic

Are you looking to understand more in-depth why micro-influencers are a better fit for small, boutique brands? Then, read this article, where we shared our thoughts on this topic.

What goals do brands have when working with micro-influencers?

• user-generated content for their marketing channels
• build brand trust and awareness in the long-term at relatively small costs
• conversions

Are you looking to understand better how micro-influencers can help your brand? Then, make sure to check this guide, where we discussed in-depth the goals we just mentioned above.

How to find micro-influencers on Instagram

To find micro-influencers on Instagram, you can use any of these methods below, or for better results, a mix of them:

• Hashtag search
• Search through followers and following
• Use a dedicated software

We will go through each method and discuss it in depth below.

Before we start, we advise you to create an Excel doc. (or any other software you are familiar with) similar to this one. Keep this Excel document updated at all times; it will help track your progress with this channel.

Hashtag search

The first method to find influencers is to search for them using hashtags relevant to your brand.

Open the Excel document we created and brainstorm five to ten hashtags relevant to your brand. For example, if your brand makes and sells skin care products, a few relevant hashtags look like this:

• #skincareuk
• #handmadeCream
• #skincareroutine
• #antiwrinkleserum
• #skincareproduct
• #skincareinfluencer
• #skincareblogger

After you have a few hashtags, head over to your account on Instagram and then to the Explore tab; in the search box, type in the first hashtag on your list.

Then, head over to the Accounts sections. It will show you all the relevant accounts for the specific hashtag and, therefore, for your brand. Sure, not all of the accounts there will be influencers or meet your criteria, so you will need to filter manually through them and add them to the list.

When you plug in a hashtag in Instagram Explore, make sure to check both the "Accounts" section and the "Tags" section.

The main difference here is that via "Accounts", Instagram will show you the accounts using that hashtag, and via "Tags", Instagram will show you all the posts using the hashtag. Now, when you start to do a proper dive-in, there might be some crossover between the two sections, but we still advise you to check them out both and find all the influencers.

Disadvantages:

• time-consuming
• a lot of manual work
• Instagram will block you from performing searches, and you have to wait to be able to do it again
• repetitive work

Want to skip the manual work and save time? Start a free trial with Social Cat and we'll discover and engage with the relevant influencers on your behalf.

Want to learn more before starting a trial? Book a demo.

Search through followers and following

If you have exhausted some of the hashtags or want to change tactics, another great way to discover creators is to look at the ones you already have on the list and see who they follow or by whom they are followed.

Head over to any influencer profile → Followers or Following → Suggested Tab

The "Suggested" function from Instagram is quite effective, and it will reveal some hidden influencers you might have missed with hashtags.

To save time, don't wait until you have a more significant number of creators on your list. Instead, you can mix this with the first method we showed you, and for each creator, check what Instagram suggests you.

Using a dedicated software

There are many influencer marketplaces and tools that aim to help brands leverage this channel into their strategy. While we will not dive into each of them here, we noticed a couple of challenges for small brands to access them.

Disadvantages for small brands:

• Expensive - many platforms are yet too pricey for small brands to afford, or if they have cheaper subscription packages, they usually limit the features available, encouraging upgrades
• Inaccurate metrics for influencers - because these metrics are automatically calculated from publicly available data, sometimes they are either inaccurate or simply outdated
• Time-consuming - most of the platforms are databases with influencers, so you need to filter and review all the candidates. In general, these platforms are dedicated to more prominent brands that have both budgets and dedicated teams for Influencer Marketing
• Engagement - another challenge for small brands is engagement. After you have built a decent list of potential influencers, you still have to do all the reach out yourself, which is not ideal, and of course, the reply rate will be low

Small, emerging brands lack the time and financial resources to leverage influencers in their strategy. At Social Cat, we designed a product that saves you both time and money.

At Social Cat, we designed a product tailored to small brands, where we understand that time and resources are limited for small business owners. Our product matches your brand with relevant influencers and engages with them.

and we'll match your brand with engaged micro-influencers that actually like your products.