Where to Find Influencers in Your Niche (Without Wasting Time)

Let’s be real here: not all influencer marketing is created equal.

Working with the right influencer (a.k.a. the one who lives and breathes your niche) can be the difference between a total flop of a campaign and one that gets you all the clicks, conversions, and customer love you want and deserve. 

Why? Because niche influencers come with a built-in audience that’s already primed for your message. Their followers trust them and, when they talk about your brand, it feels more like a warm hug from a friend than a cold, slapdash sales pitch.

Take athleisure wear brand Lululemon as a prime example. 

They could have partnered with big-name celebs and generic lifestyle influencers (there are plenty of them!), but instead they chose to work with niche creators, like yoga instructors, gymnasts, and choreographers, and… it was a hit. 

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Why Finding Influencers in Your Niche Matters

Like anything in marketing, there’s no point working with influencers if it’s not helping you hit your goals. 

It can be tempting to go for the big guys (you know, the accounts with millions of followers, because more followers mean more sales, right?), but if an influencer’s audience isn’t interested in what you’re offering, you’re going to have a bad time. 

If you want real results, not just vanity likes and views, working with niche creators is key. 

These are the people already talking to your ideal customers. They know what matters to them, what content they engage with, and how to show up in a way that feels genuine. 

Here’s why that matters: 

• You reach the right audience. Instead of casting a wide net, you’re getting in front of people already interested in your products and services. 
• You build trust faster. A niche creator’s audience already trusts them, so your brand gets credibility by association. 
• Your content hits harder. Niche creators know what works in their space, so they’re better at crafting content that speaks to your audience’s needs. 
• It drives better results. You're more likely to see higher engagement, better click-through rates, and stronger conversions when the content is relevant and the audience is aligned. 
• You spend smarter. You're basically paying for relevance rather than massive reach. 

Steps to Find Influencers in Your Niche

Ready to find your tribe of influencers? We got you. 

Define Your Niche and Goals

Before you start scrolling TikTok or diving into influencer databases, take a beat to get clear on your niche and what you actually want from influencer marketing.

Clarify your niche

You can’t find your people if you don’t know who you are. 

“Wellness brand” is a start, but it’s not enough. 

Are you slinging adaptogenic snacks? Running a gut health revolution? Creating skincare for hormonal teens?

The more specific you are, the easier it is to match with creators who get it. These are the ones who already talk to your dream customers and can do it in a way that feels totally natural.

Tip: Check your comments, DMs, and tagged posts. You might already have customers who double as creators.

Set influencer marketing goals

What do you actually want from this?

More traffic? 10 killer user-generated content (UGC) videos? A product launch that doesn’t flop? Be honest about what “success” looks like, and build backwards from there.

A few examples:

• Build a library of modular UGC for paid ads
• Test product-market fit with real customer feedback
• Increase click-through rates on TikTok Spark Ads
• Get 100 honest reviews via product seeding

Psst… Insense lets you choose a campaign goal so you can find the right creators for your brand. 

Identify the type of influencers you need

Follower count is only part of the story. A good match goes beyond numbers.

• Nano (1K–10K): Tiny but mighty, and often the most trusted.
• Micro (10K–50K): Ideal for niche campaigns that need trust and relatability.
• Mid-tier (50K–500K): Good for visibility, with a mix of scale and authenticity
• Macro (500K+): More reach, but less personal.

Also, vibe-check their content. 

If your brand is cheeky and casual, avoid creators who sound like a dry PowerPoint presentation. You want someone who speaks your brand’s language (and your audience’s).

Tap Into Customer Insights to Discover Trusted Influencers

There’s a very good chance your customers are already following the best influencers for the job (hence why they’re the best influencers for the job). 

Listen in: 

• What names pop up in product reviews?
• Who do your customers tag in their posts?
• What TikTok videos are they sharing? 

Try running a poll, asking in your Instagram Stories, or even dropping a Q in your next email campaigns that simply asks: “Who do you love for [niche] tips/content/inspo?”. 

Explore Social Platforms Using Hashtags and Trends

Sometimes the best way to discover niche influencers is good old-fashioned social sleuthing. 

Search platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for niche hashtags your audience might already be using. 

For example, you might try hashtags like: 

• #GutHealthJourney if you’re a wellness, supplement, or probiotic brand.
• #PetCareTips if you’re in the pet food, toy, or grooming space.
• #CleanBeautyReview if you’re a skincare or sustainable beauty brand. 
• #MomsWhoLift if you’re selling fitness gear, activewear, or nutrition products. 

Once you’re in, don’t limit yourself to the top-performing posts. Scroll through recent posts, too, which is where you’ll find up-and-coming creators actively posting in your niche. 

For best results, look for consistent posting, a clear voice, engaged followers who leave genuine comments (not just likes or 🔥emojis), and natural product recommendations. 

This niche influencer discovery method can be great if you know what you’re looking for, but it can also be time-consuming. If you want to skip the scrolling, Insense’s Creator Marketplace does the heavy lifting for you. 

All you have to do is plug in the filters you care about (like platform, location, niche, engagement rate, etc), and instantly get matched with creators who fit the brief. 

Use Influencer Discovery Tools

If you don’t fancy spending an eternity scrolling through hashtags and scouring your customers’ following lists, try a dedicated influencer discovery tool. 

These are platforms that were made specifically to help brands find the right influencers in their niche, and they often come with handy filtering systems and stats. 

1. Insense

If you want a tool that does it all, from finding creators to managing briefs, content, payments, and performance tracking, Insense is a must-have (yes, we’re biased, but it really is that good). 

Here’s what you can do: 

• Access 68,500+ vetted creators in 35+ countries.
• Filter by platform, niche, engagement rate, TikTok Shop, Amazon Storefronts, and more. 
• Chat directly with creators and approve content in one place.
• Use it yourself (self-serve) or let the Insense team run the campaign for you (managed). 

Best for: Brands that want both discovery and campaign execution in one clean platform. 

2. Modash

Modash is an end-to-end influencer platform designed specifically for Shopify stores with a built-in discovery tool. You can search for relevant creators on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and get audience breakdowns, like age, location, and interests. 

Features include audience quality scoring, a solid filter system that sorts creators by niche and engagement, and a Chrome extension so you can analyze creators as you browse. 

Best for: Teams who love detailed insights and manual campaign building. 

3. Heepsy

Heepsy is an influencer discovery tool with strong filtering for smaller brands or teams just starting out. You can search by location, niche, language, and platform, plus you can access quick influencer overviews and a selection of campaign planning tools. 

Best for: DTC brands with limited time or budget looking for quick, reliable searches. 

4. Minisocial 

Unlike traditional discovery tools, Minisocial matches your brand with micro-influencers who create fully licensed UGC. The platform handles creator outreach, content coordination, and delivery with a specific emphasis on creators with small but mighty followings. 

Best for: Brands that want done-for-you UGC from niche creators. 

Reach Out and Engage with Potential Influencers

Now comes the human bit. 

Once you’ve found potential fits, it’s time to slide into those DMs with a friendly, specific pitch. 

This bit needs to be done right, or else you might blow your chance with a great creator before the convo even starts. 

Here are some tips: 

• Be clear about your offer: product seeding? Paid content? Affiliate model? 
• Personalize your message and mention why they caught your eye. 
• Set expectations from the start, including timelines, deliverables, content format, and usage rights. 

Reach Out to the Most Relevant Influencers

If you’re thinking, “This all sounds great, but… I literally don’t have time to manage all this,” we hear you. This is precisely why Insense’s Managed-Services were born. 

While you take your foot off the gas (and a hands-off approach), we’ll: 

• Build your influencer strategy
• Scout, vet, and brief your creators through our Influencer Scouting service
• Handle all the chats and approvals
• Deliver final, polished content on time 

Monitor, Evaluate, and Optimize Your Influencer Relationships

We’ll say this quietly… finding influencers is just the start. 

Once you’ve found the right fit, then it’s time to start building relationships, publishing campaigns, and generally getting great results from your efforts. 

But to get to the point where you’re absolutely killing it, you need to track performance and adjust over time. 

For starters, keep an eye on: 

• Engagement rate (likes, comments, shares)
• View count and watch time 
• Click-through rate (if you’re tracking links or UTM codes) 
• Content quality and relevance
• How responsive and professional creators are 

Good news! Insense’s Performance Analytics dashboard makes this bit really easy. You can track views, CPM, engagement, and spend all from one place. 

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Platforms to Find Influencers in Your Niche

Here’s the tea: you don’t need to be everywhere, you just need to be where your people are. 

Different platforms attract different types of creators (and audiences), so choosing the right one is half the battle. 

Here’s a quick breakdown to help you: 

• Instagram. Still the go-to for aesthetic content, lifestyle updates, and product placement. Perfect for beauty, fashion, wellness, pets, you name it. 
• TikTok. The land of trends, unfiltered storytelling, and explosive reach. Great for UGC and viral product reviews.
• Facebook. Less hot for discovery, but still valuable for community-driven content and targeting older demographics. Think parenting groups, local foodies, or niche hobby communities. 
• YouTube. Best for long-form content, tutorials, reviews, and deep dives. 
• LinkedIn. Yep, even B2B brands can get in on the action. Great for finding thought leaders, educators, and industry-specific influencers for niche brands. 
• X. Best for hot takes, real-time conversation, and niche experts. Think writers, tech folks, or commentators with a loyal following. 

And of course, the best of them all...

• Insense. A one-stop platform built specifically for eComm brands that want influencers and UGC creators who actually fit their niche. Whether you want to DIY your campaign or get full-service

Your Path to Finding Niche Influencers

Finding the right influencers isn’t just a case of chasing follower counts and hopping on trends before they’re yesterday’s news. The key is building real relationships with content creators who genuinely connect with your audience.

And… you guessed it, that means finding niche influencers. 

When you know your niche, define your goals, and use the right tools, you can skip the random outreach and beeline straight to building campaigns that convert. 

So, whether you’re just getting started or are ready to scale, remember: 

• Be specific
• Choose relevance over reach
• Don’t be afraid to get a little help from platforms that make the process easier 

Ready to find the right influencers? 

Insense is on hand to help. Book a demo today and see how easy it is to connect with vetted creators who get your brand and will get results.