Sourcing Instagram Creators: A Guide to Authentic Brand Partnerships

We’ve set the stage for creator partnerships and the types of programs you can choose from. So, it’s time to start diving into platforms. First stop: Instagram!

Instagram is traditionally thought of as the aesthetics-driven platform. But manicured, curated profiles are a thing of the past. Consumers are craving authenticity, relatability, and a sense of belonging to a community or group—and this has left the door wide open to a flourishing creator economy.

Today, Instagram is home to super tight communities, where recommendations from creators hold a lot of credibility. If you can source the right creators to talk about your product and direct their followers to your channels, you can build an incredible source of referral revenue.

A well-themed and organized Feed can be a reflection of strong brand ethic in a creator. But the REAL test of a Instagram influencer’s community reach and resonance? That lies in their content.

We’re going to dive into how you can source the best Instagram creators for your program

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Define the communities you’re targeting—and why

When sourcing, it’s crucial to have a defined strategy. Before diving into Instagram to search for potential influencers, you need to know what you’re trying to achieve in partnering with them—and therefore, what kinds of creators you’re trying to source:

"For me, it's always that customer acquisition mindset. So, really thinking about the different customer subsets I need, right? So, if I work at a food company that only has men purchasing it, I know that I need a really specific demographic that I need to unlock, right? Whether it's that millennial mom, whether it's chefs, whether it's athletes."

- Liv Soibelman, Head of Ecommerce at Blueprint.

When defining the specific niches or communities that your brand trying is to target on Instagram, think about whether there any particular types of creators you should be trying to leverage to engage those communities more easily. As Kendall explains, investing time into this pre-sourcing work on Instagram allows for much more targeted (and effective) creator discovery, where partnerships are more likely to bear fruit.

“If you have community goals from day one, you want to insert yourselves in the conversation with our product in this specific community, right? That obviously narrows down where you want to be sourcing.”

- Kendall Dickieson, Head of Social and Influencer at Graza.

Try monitoring who is interacting with who in those niches on the platform, so you can follow the proverbial trail of breadcrumbs from one community member to another. This helps you to understand which creators have a lot of sway with potential customers, which means higher conversions and ROI.

Successful creator programs launched by competitors can also provide inspiration for what communities may be interested in your products—they have done some of the sourcing work for you!

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Align creators (and their content) with your brand

It’s important to dig into a creator's content for quality and to look for strong brand alignment. As Ali explains, this doesn’t just mean what placements they typically use, but also the storytelling methods they rely on:

“What types of storytelling or what kind of content do they lean into? Is it voiceover only? Do they talk to camera? This is really helpful when you're trying to think through what your end deliverable is.”

-Ali Applebaum, Influencer Marketing Leader at Tonal.

How important is authenticity in Instagram creator partnerships? In a word: EVERYTHING.

An influencer’s content should always communicate a real sense of investment in their community and area of interest. Looking at how they leverage different content placements on Instagram will give you sense of:

1. ‍Whether their content complements your own marketing and branding efforts‍
2. How strong their connection is to their community

The above is key for generating strong awareness, but especially if your goals are geared towards direct response. As Milan explains, being able to prove a strong ROI is key when programs are young or looking for more investment:

“Those influencers we would want to have partner with for a smaller brand or a brand that's just starting, those would be the influencers where we would definitely want to make sure would most likely convert if we were to partner with them.”

-Milan Freeman

Here’s what to consider when looking at a creator’s Instagram use:

• ‍Stories: Is a creator posting actively to Stories? Do they make use of native features like polls, Q&As, or reactions? These features are super engaging and are prioritized in Instagram’s algorithm, which is a good indicator that a creator is trying to reach as many people as possible.
• ‍Highlights: Highlights are a great way to find out about previous partnership history. A well-organized influencer will have Highlights for “Links” or “Codes.” This allows you to see how they execute partnerships and who they’ve worked with before - including any competitors. Plus, Highlights give you a sense of what a creator’s main interests are and whether the content they prioritize is aligned with your brand’s category.
• ‍Reels/Posts: Is a creator posting a mix of Reels and Posts? A sophisticated creator will prioritize Reels to optimize their community reach, but will balance that content with static or video Posts (specifically as carousels). This indicates they are using the algorithm to their advantage.
• ‍Sponsored content: Is there is a significant difference between a creator’s organic content and their sponsored content? Are sponsorships woven into content, or do they suddenly go from an organic video of them making their morning matcha to a spot about deodorant? You want Instagram creators who can make sponsorships feel like an organic, natural part of their content, ideally with a “lead-in” frame that prefaces sponsored frames. Comparing engagement and comments between sponsored and organic will tell you how skilled a creator is in making sponsored content ‘feel’ like regular programming.

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Leverage platform-native features

Sourcing creators is one of the biggest challenges faced by influencer marketers when growing creator programs. For this reason, there’s a variety of different sourcing and creator discovery tools out there to assist.

But don’t forget: the Instagram itself offers some brilliant organic discovery tools that are built  into the platform itself! So, how can you use Instagram's native features to discover relevant creators?

Features such as Suggestions and Lookalike audiences (based on either your current followers or your competitors) are excellent native tools on Instagram to surface relevant creators. Hashtags can be very helpful in finding top performers within a particular niche or community that may be open to partnerships.

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As you grow, pay attention to inbound interest in your program

Remember that with cold outreach, it’s going to take a lot more effort to source creators - especially if they aren’t already familiar with your brand. Creators (and talent managers) will have more questions and bases to cover—if they even respond at all.

Who makes an ideal partner? Creators who are already familiar with and enthusiastic about your brand! So, don’t forget about all those followers that are already tagging you and talking about you. These represent some of your very best partnership opportunities, as their endorsement is 100% authentic.

“Working with inbound gives you an upper hand when you're approaching partnerships, because you get to set the terms of how you want to collaborate, as opposed to when you’re doing cold outreach.

- Bren Daniel, Associate Director of Partnerships at Caraway.

To increase outbound, you need to make it known that your brand is open to creator collaborations. For example, you should share info about your program on your social channels, so that new followers are always in the loop and have the chance to apply.

As your program matures, it becomes easier to leverage organic inbound requests to join your programs—and best of all, this gives your brand more sway over how that partnership functions!

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BUT… Never be afraid of personalized outreach!

What's the best way to reach out to potential Instagram creator partners? Sending a quick DM!

Engaging with creators on a personal level is a really fantastic way to set your brand apart from others who might be reaching out. Consider using a private Instagram account to DM creators you’re interested in partnering with. As Molly highlights, this feels a lot more personal than a company account and gives creators an understanding from of the outset of who they will be working with.

“I have a private Instagram that our creators actually follow, which is really cool. It's another way for me to interact with them. I'll shoot them a DM or an email if their email's readily available and just have like a casual chat and then invite them to our programs.”

- Molly Cole, Influencer Marketing Strategist + Partnerships at Epic Gardening

Sourcing creators is a never-ending game, so you want to keep filling your funnel with potential partners who are a good fit for many different types of campaigns. And as you start kicking off Instagram partnerships, pay attention to those top creators; look at who is in their network and sphere of influence. Remember: One solid, long-term partnership can unlock many others through referrals and generating interest in your program!

Now, that you’ve sourced a bunch of greater Instagram creators to partner with, let’s move onto the next step: vetting those creators!

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What are the key factors to consider when sourcing Instagram creators?

It's important to approach sourcing holistically to ensure Instagram creators can deliver on campaign or program goals. Focus on how creators are leveraging different content placements to maximize performance, and whether their overall aesthetic aligns with your brand. Check that their content reflects a genuine sense of connection and investment in their community, as this is more likely to result in a more engaged audience that trusts their recommendations.

‍How can I ensure a creator's content aligns with my brand values?

Have your team do a deep dive into a creator's Feed, Stories, and Reels to assess their overall aesthetic and values. Do they align with the same values that your brand cares about and champions in content? Also check whether their storytelling style and favored content placements make sense for your product and for the objectives of that particular campaign.

‍What's the difference between organic and sponsored content on Instagram?

Organic Instagram content refers to regular creator posts that are not commissioned by a brand to promote a product. Sponsored content, marked with #ad or "paid partnership", is a Story, Reel, or static post that a brand is paying a creator to publish that involves some form of brand mention.

‍Should I focus on inbound or outbound creator sourcing?

Inbound requests to join your creator program represent some of your most authentic partnership opportunities where you have more ability to dictate the terms. However, you’re unlikely to get these requests right away; it will take a lot of outreach and building your program before you’re going to receive any inbound at scale. For outbound sourcing, be selective and focus on creators who offer strong brand alignment.