Influencer Outreach: The Best Ways to Find Nano Influencers

The power of influencers continues to rise, and brands and businesses worldwide are taking advantage. In 2024, influencer marketing has become a pivotal part of the digital landscape. 

For startups and smaller businesses, targeting nano-influencers is a far more realistic goal than going for mega or macro influencers. A nano-influencer is an influencer with between 1K to 10K followers.

So how do you go about finding nano influencers? From browsing through hashtags or using one of the many influencer marketing tools, there are plenty of ways to discover nano influencers to work with your brand. 

Nano-influencers can help you generate UGC, drive brand awareness, and build a sense of community around your brand. We’ve gone over some of the best ways to identify and reach out to nano-influencers to help you out.  

Finding Nano Influencers 

Organic search

Going old school and searching for nano influencers via Google or Bing may not be the best method of finding nano influencers, but it can still be effective. 

You’ll have to be smart about how you run the search. If you’re just typing in “best fashion influencers”, results will probably be full of mega and macro influencers who are probably outside of your price range. 

If you search “fashion trends and tips YouTube videos 2024”, you’ll probably come across loads of videos, and many of those will be from lesser-known content creators.

Consider using non-influencer search terms. Nano-influencers often don’t refer to themselves as influencers and many of them won’t pop up in “influencer” search results at all. 

Rather look for reviews, tutorials, or tips within your niche, or use search terms such as “open to collaboration”. 

Organic searching takes more time, and you’ll need to review and verify every nano-influencer you find. 

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Check hashtags and trends

Jumping onto socials can be a more direct method of finding nano-influencers. The hashtag system on Twitter and Instagram makes it easier to find nano influencer posts across the platforms. 

Browsing through some of the influencer posts within your industry gives you an idea of the common hashtags that nano-influencers are using. You can explore the hashtag #nanoinfluencers and add your niche to find relevant accounts. 

Always check the profiles you find for activity. An account with plenty of followers, but not many recent posts, is likely to have far less engagement than active accounts. 

Checking recent posts' comments, likes, and views can give you a clearer idea of engagement rates. The last thing you want is to partner with a nano-influencer who struggles to drive engagement. 

Browsing through social media platforms to search for nano-influencers can be time-consuming, but it does help you find authentic connections. Once again, you’ll need to review and verify every nano-influencer you find. 

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Use influencer marketing tools 

The most reliable method of finding nano-influencers is through one of the several influencer marketing platforms out there. The best platforms make searching for nano-influencers an effortless process. 

The platforms usually have an influencer finder tool with a range of filters to help you instantly identify nano-influencers within your niche. You can filter your searches by follower counts, engagement rates, industry, country, and more. 

Using an influencer finder tool means you don’t need to trudge through hundreds of mega influencers before you find an appropriate nano-influencer option. The platform itself usually reviews and verifies influencers so you don’t have to. As such, you don’t have to worry about fake followers. 

We’ve briefly gone over some of the best influencer finder tools to give you a clearer overview of what they can do. 

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TrendHERO

TrendHERO is an influencer marketing platform with a powerful influencer outreach and search function. The popular marketing platform lets you find, track, analyse, and connect with nano-influencers all in one place. 

The platform also includes influencer email outreach and automation tools to help you easily send briefs and offers to multiple nano-influencers at once. 

A few of TrendHERO’s best features are: 

Influencer Search & Outreach: Instantly find nano-influencers within your niche with robust search filters and intuitive outreach tools. Filter by metrics of your choice and send briefs or offers to the most suitable options. 

Fake Follower Check: Avoid getting fooled by fake nano-influencers with a fake audience. Quickly analyse followers to find bots and/or paid-for followers. 

Audience Analytics: Review audience demographics by gender, city and country, check follower growth rates, and compare your audience interests to potential partner influencers’ audience interests.

Email Automation: Boost your response rate by reaching out to multiple influencers instantly, using preset templates, and automating processes. 

Overlaps: Quickly find nano-influencers with common or unique audiences across five accounts at a time. 

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HypeAuditor

HypeAuditor is an all-in-one influencer marketing solution set up to help you manage the full lifecycle of your campaigns. The platform includes powerful tools for finding influencers, analysing key data, managing campaigns, and exploring markets. 

HypeAuditor’s influencer finder tool makes it quick and easy for you to find nano-influencers who may be willing to partner with your brand. From outreach and briefing to analytics and payments, the platform covers you every step of the way. 

A few of HypeAuditor’s best features are:

Influencer Discovery: Quickly find nano-influencers in a database with over 124M+ verified influencers. Filter by audience demographics and quality, and find nano-influencers within your niche. 

Influencer Analytics: Get access to over 35 in-depth metrics to analyse Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and Twitch influencers to find suitable potential partners. You can effortlessly review audience demographics and identify fraudulent accounts. 

Campaign Management: Take control of your influencer marketing campaigns, monitor every step, create a media plan, and get estimates for key campaign KPIs. 

Competitor Analysis: Get insights into how your competitors run influencer marketing campaigns by reviewing budgets, influencers and performances. 

Market Exploration: Perform global market research and compare campaigns from multiple brands in a specific market and country. 

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Storyclash 

Storyclash is an AI-powered influencer marketing platform you can use to discover influencers and content creators, measure performances, and manage data in one central dashboard. 

Storyclash makes it easy to review and analyse every single brand collaboration to determine authenticity and suitability. The management tools are seamlessly integrated to help you plan, set up, and execute your campaigns. 

A few of Storyclash’s best features are: 

Influencer Discovery: Browse through every active influencer across Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, and other social media channels and receive personalised recommendations based on your brand’s needs. Filter by country, language, gender, follower size and engagement rate.

Influencer Tracking: The AI-powered tool lets you track keywords, hashtags, account names and swipe-up links in every piece of nano-influencer content. You can even detect your text logo in images and videos in Instagram Stories, as well as track all mentions of your brand.

Influencer Reporting: Quickly create reports and measure campaign performances, brand mentions, KPIs and more. You can also effortlessly share and communicate report details with team members. 

Influencer CRM: The CRM software allows you to build your own creator network, create lists, track campaigns, and manage all influencer data. 

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Traackr 

Traackr is a cloud-based influencer marketing platform designed for data-driven marketers looking to boost influencer marketing campaigns. They provide one of the world’s largest influencer datasets with market benchmarking and a team of experts to assist. 

With Traackr you can discover and reach out to influencers, manage your campaigns, and generate comprehensive reports. 

A few of Traackr’s best features are: 

Influencer Discovery: Use the data-driven discovery tool to quickly find nano-influencers that meet your brand’s needs. Access a database with millions of influencers worldwide across multiple channels.  

Influencer Analytics: Analyse potential partners and ongoing collaborations with extensive data insights. Get instant access to more than 2.5 years of an influencer’s content to assess the quality and performance of their most relevant posts.

Campaign Management: Boost your organic, affiliate and paid influencer campaigns with communications, creative briefs, campaign invitations, budgeting tools, content collaboration, and deliverables tracking. 

Data Reports: Generate reports instantly based on the metrics that matter most to your brand including conversions, clicks, engagement, and revenue. 

Influencer Payments: Traackr can handle influencer payments, tracking, and tax compliance. You can reduce payment costs by eliminating outsourcing fees and manual work. 

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Heepsy 

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Heepsy is a powerful influencer discovery platform with a database of millions of creators. It comes with robust search and analytics tools across all major social platforms. 

With Heepsy, you can simplify your influencer marketing campaigns with search, outreach, and campaign management features. The nano-influencer finder tool is perfect for discovering creators. 

A few of Heepsy’s best features are: 

Influencer Search: Browse through nano-influencers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and filter searches by category, niche, location, engagement, followers and more. You can also combine filters on the creator's specific traits, media variables and influencer audience information.

Influencer Outreach: Send bulk emails to influencers, directly download contact information, and manage conversations with ease. 

Influencer Management: Create, organise and manage lists of nano-influencers you’ve partnered with. Download lists in XLS and CSV formats and unlock detailed insights into influencers' contact details.

Statistics: Discover key influencer analytics for increased growth and engagement and review the authenticity of potential influencer partners. 

Payments: Securely pay for influencers and simplify the financial side of your partnerships. 

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Competitor analysis 

You can also use the age-old tactic of reviewing who your competitors are working with to help you find potential creator partnerships. Just going to a competitor's Instagram page and checking who’s tagged them in posts can help you quickly find who they’re working with. 

Many of these influencers are not contractually obligated to only work with one brand, and you may be able to reach out to a few to gauge if they’re willing to partner up. You can also check who those influencers are following and explore their network to find similar options. 

How To Vet Influencers 

We know that working with nano-influencers can do wonders for your brand, but how do you choose who to work with and how do you improve your chances of a positive ROI? 

We’ve covered some key tips to help you properly vet influencers and avoid disastrous partnerships. Before you dive into an influencer collaboration, ask yourself the following questions. 

Does their personality fit your brand? 

First and foremost, the nano-influencer you choose to work with should have a personality that suits your brand. Are they likeable? What are their values? Do they generally post positive content? Answering these questions can help you make the right decision. 

Review profiles across multiple platforms to make sure nothing stands out as something your brand does not want to associate with. 

Do they post quality content? 

High follower counts and views mean next to nothing when the quality of the posts is below par. Go through the profile history to review older posts or campaigns to make sure the quality meets your standards. 

You’ll need to consider what type of content you’re actually looking for. Do you prefer a more polished or more casual approach? Which resonates with your audience more? 

Who is their target audience? 

Of course, the target audience of the influencer should be similar to your brand’s target audience. Do their followers match the same demographics as your target audience? 

Consider the diversity and engagement rates of their followers, and do what you can to verify the authenticity of the followers. Remember, there are plenty of people out there trying to manipulate others with fake followers and bots. 

Ideally, their followers should be interested in your niche and have access to your products and services. For instance, if your products are only available in London, it would make zero sense to partner with an influencer from North America whose followers are mainly within that region. 

How much do they charge? 

Set your budget beforehand, and keep in mind that it may have to be slightly adjusted, depending on the state of the market. Paying too much for a collaboration with a nano-influencer can lead to minimum or zero returns on your investment. 

When you’re deciding how much you’re willing to pay, consider every relevant metric such as follower count, engagement rates, views, and more.

Are there any red flags? 

Do your due diligence. Research the nano-influencers you’re considering and make sure there are no red flags, immoral activities, or controversial opinions floating around online. 

A bad influencer partnership can bring more negative press to your brand than positive engagement. Always thoroughly vet every possible partnership. 

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Final thoughts 

As you embark on the journey of discovering nano influencers, remember that the key lies not only in numbers but in authenticity and relevance. 

Seek out creators and influencers who embody the essence of your brand, and whose voices resonate with your target audience on an authentic level. In this pursuit, don't overlook the power of niche communities and micro-interactions. Embrace diversity in perspectives and experiences.

Finding the right influencers may take time, but there are powerful tools to assist and a variety of more organic search methods. Always take the time to make sure the influencers you’ve chosen to work with are real people with genuine followers and high moral standards. 

At ttagz, we help brands generate authentic UGC with ease. To learn more about what we do and how we can help your brand, book a call with us today. 

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