Have you ever manually searched for influencers before?
How did that go?
Let’s take a wild guess…
Stressful? Traumatizing? 😩
Those are likely words that you’ve used to describe that experience.
The truth is, finding influencers to collaborate with on a campaign can be hard work. Especially when you’re doing it the traditional way. You know, trying to build a relationship with influencers from scratch.
But, there’s a better way to embark on this quest.
And that’s by leveraging influencer databases.
So in this guide, we’ll walk you through some of the best databases. Here, you get to find fantastic creators for your marketing campaigns.
But before we jump right in, what is an influencer database? Is it something you build or what exactly?
Let’s explore that.
Is There One Influencer Database?
Er, no. There’s no singular influencer database that has every influencer or creator listed.
However, there are influencer databases (plural!).
Yup, there’s more than one. Created by different brands.
And all of them have one goal — to help you find influencers you can work with.
You see, an influencer database is like a digital white page.
But instead of the names and addresses of people living in an area, it contains information about social media influencers.
Their niche. Follower count. Engagement rates.
Basically, everything you need to know about an influencer before hiring them.
Also, unlike a white book, you won’t have to manually search for creators.
Most influencer databases have different filters that can help you streamline your search. You get to filter creators based on their gender, age, location, active social networks, etc.
That’s what an influencer database can do for you.
Some can even help you:
- Manage your relationship with influencers.
- Communicate with them seamlessly.
- Launch and manage an influencer marketing campaign.
- Create a community of influencers you like working with.
- Amplify paid content so it has more reach.
But just so you know, not every database can do all that.
If you want one that does, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with what an ideal database looks like.
How do you do that?
That’s what we’ll talk about in the next section.
How to Find a Reliable Influencer Database
You’re on the hunt for high-quality influencers. But your main goal is to set the stage for a marketing campaign, right?
Then, you want to go for an influencer database that can make your quest seamless — no work duplication. Everything done in one fell swoop.
Here’s what to look for when looking for tools like that…
Database size and diversity
The first thing you want to consider is the size of the database.
How many influencers does it contain? Is there scope for you to make the right choice?
An ideal database needs to have many influencers for you to choose from. Like a lot.
Insense, for instance, has over 35k vetted creators and influencers in its database. That’s a good number.
So, why is the size of the database important? Shouldn’t the focus be on quality?
Well, it’s so you have a large and diverse pool of creators to pick from. You can easily find people who align with your audience and brand values.
It ensures that you’ll find influencers to work with even after you use filters to streamline your search.
Filtering and search capabilities
The next thing you want to check is if the database has advanced filtering options.
You know, so it can help you streamline your influencer search.
As stated earlier, an ideal database should have a large and diverse pool of content creators.
But then, how do you scour through thousands of profiles on a platform like that?
That’s where search filters come in handy. They’ll help you streamline your search using options like niche, location, gender, age, completed campaigns, and more.
Here’s a look at what Insense’s filters look like:
There’s even an option to filter creators based on their follower count on Insense. And if they have pets too.
So, verify that the influencer database you choose has different filtering options to refine your search.
Influencer insights
This is another crucial feature to look out for in a database.
It’s not enough for the platform to have a diverse pool of influencers to help your quest.
The question you want to ask is:
Can it give you a peek at the influencers’ metrics in real time?
Their audience demographics. The average age of their followers. Where they’re located. Brands they’ve collaborated with in the past. Engagement rates — likes and shares. The percentage of fake followers they’ve got. And more.
Why is this important?
Well, it’s data like this that can help you determine whether an influencer is the right fit for your brand.
If their audience matches your target demographic. And whether an influencer will be as effective for your campaign.
Bottom line?
Influencer analytics can help you find the best influencers for your marketing campaign. So, you want to ensure that the database you’re using has it.
Influencer outreach and communication tools
You’re in this because you want to launch a campaign.
So, how will you proceed when you eventually find an influencer?
Start looking for their email address to contact them? Or perhaps send a DM hoping they’ll respond?
That’s not so sustainable now, is it?
But the good news is there’s a better option.
You can opt for influencer platforms that allow you to chat with influencers.
Some databases will share their email addresses so you can write to them there and then.
Others like Insense, feature an in-built messaging system where you can send a DM to the influencers directly.
All your communications are handled without switching tools.
Keep an eye out for tools with this option. They’ll streamline your outreach process. And in turn, ensure your campaign runs smoothly.
Campaign management tools
And then, last but not least, an ideal influencer database should feature tools that can help you launch and manage an influencer campaign.
It’s going to make life easier for you.
On Insense, campaign management includes features like:
- Contract management.
- Influencer payment.
- Creator ads.
- Monitoring campaign performance.
- Product seeding.
- Organic posting.
And more!
You find a database offering all these, you go for it ASAP.
Now that you know what an influencer database is and what to look for in one, you’re ready for the next phase.
A list of some of the top databases on the market. Handpicked by experts.
Let’s get into it.
Top 5 Influencer Databases to Consider
Just for the record, this doesn’t mean there are only five databases.
These are just our top picks.
And to help you streamline which database to choose, we created this comparison table.
It’s going to show which features each tool has or doesn’t.
Now, let’s unpack each of these tools in detail.
…Starting with our very own Insense.
1. Insense
Insense is a creator marketplace with over 35k vetted UGC creators and micro-influencers.
Here, you’ll find top influencers from social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
On Insense, users can find influencers either by using a creator brief or the Marketplace.
You can also use Insense to manage your influencer campaigns from start to finish.
Key features:
- Direct chat for easy communication with influencers.
- Campaign management to monitor all aspects of your campaign like budget tracking or launching multiple campaigns.
- Influencer Marketplace to find creators who fit your campaign.
- Creator licensing so you can run whitelisted ads from a creator’s profile.
Pros and cons:
So, what else is special about Insense? You can check out this graphic to see the advantages and disadvantages.
Pricing: Insense’s pricing structure is split into two — the self-service and managed-service options. For the self-service tier, you get to run things for yourself. And it starts at $400/mo.
For the managed-service option, Insense will help you manage a campaign. This begins at $2,800/mo for about six UGC video ads.
What customers say:
Here’s what one user said on G2:
“Insense has been incredibly easy to use. It has helped me connect with a bunch of creators, [and] build multiple campaigns at any time and they have an amazing support team ready to help with anything! Highly recommend!”
Another user Shivika D. said:
“The platform is great for finding creators, especially UGC creators with a great support system from the Insense team, who are constantly helping you out with creators and different campaigns.”
And on the flip side says that…
“There should be more macro-influencers with good views and engagement.”
2. Storyclash
Next, we have this AI-powered influencer marketing software — Storyclash.
In its own words, it helps you brand-fit creators using artificial intelligence.
The way it works is that the AI analyzes and finds influencers who’ve produced content that’s similar to what you want. Or you just describe the kind of content you want and the AI matches you with creators who can supply it.
Key features:
- Influencer discovery so you can find active influencers on Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms.
- Influencer reporting tool to measure the impact of ongoing collaborations.
- Influencer CRM to manage creators’ details in a single location.
Pros and cons:
Here are some of Storyclash’s advantages and disadvantages:
Pricing: Storyclash offers three pricing options — Light, Professional, and Enterprise.
Light starts at $870.59/mo. Professional at $1,742.45. And the Enterprise plan is custom-priced.
What customers say:
According to Daniel G., “The tool combines all functions clearly and simply on one platform. Campaign management with influencer tracking works extremely well. The discovery function with the data displayed for each influencer is also very precise.”
One user, a small business owner, said, “[We like] that we can spy on the influencer marketing strategy of our competition, as well as with what influencers they collaborate.” Against this, the same user observed that, “...there is no filter option for the topics the influencer [talks] about.”
3. Upfluence
Upfluence is an influencer platform with over three million influencer profiles for you to choose from.
It’s got an algorithm that can help analyze your existing audience to find influencers.
Upfluence also has a Chrome plugin that’s compatible with almost every social site out there. With it, you can analyze any influencer’s profile, streamline your search, and know if a creator is right for you.
Key features:
- Influencer database to find vetted creators.
- Analysis to see how creators’ content and campaigns are performing.
- Product seeding to help you ship products to influencers with ease.
Pros and cons:
You can see some of Upfluence’s advantages and disadvantages in the table below.
Pricing: Upfluence has three pricing packages. There’s the Growth, Scale, and Enterprise plan. But to know how much each one costs, you’ll have to contact the sales team.
What customers say:
Well, here’s what one user said:
“Upfluence makes [it] really easy to manage my IM campaigns and even easier to scale the successful ones. I enjoy having things all aligned in one place (outreach, communications, shipping information, commission tracking, results, contracts, payments, etc.).”
And when asked what they didn’t like, this user said:
“I would love to be able to use it easier on mobile or have a mobile app. Would make on-the-go campaign updates easier.”
4. Affable.ai
With a database of over 6 million influencers, Affable.ai is a platform that can help you streamline your influencer search.
Users can search for influencers who are active on different social platforms. From Instagram to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more.
Aside from that, Affable.ai can help you manage campaigns, connect with multiple influencers in one fell swoop, and ensure you have detailed insights into an influencer’s profile before hiring them.
Key features:
- Influencer discovery to help you connect with the right influencers.
- Influencer relationship management for chatting and communicating with influencers.
- Performance measurement to ensure an influencer is helping you reach your marketing goals.
Pros and cons:
You can check that out in the table below…
Pricing: Affable.ai’s pricing structure is split into three — the Essential, Advanced, and Enterprise plans. Pricing for all of them is only available on demand.
What customers say:
When asked what they like about Affable.ai, Jia Yi said:
“It's a very efficient tool for discovering new influencers; I like that I can just enter some category keywords to find relevant influencers. I also like that I can create campaigns and automatically track brand-related coverage [of] influencers' feeds.”
And about what they dislike?
“In terms of downsides, I feel there are areas of improvement that Affable can look at, such as widening the flexibility of the filters that can be used when searching for KOLs, e.g. for followers growth, allowing us to select growth higher than 20% instead of just 10 - 50%, as that limits the selection shown.”
5. Shopify Collabs
Did you know that Shopify has an influencer marketing tool?
Well, now you do.
Collabs is software built within the Shopify ecosystem to help you recruit influencers and affiliates for your marketing campaigns.
With Shopify Collabs, you can add a page to recruit as creators those customers who love your product, directly recruit influencers or affiliates, or invite influencers you’ve worked with before to join you on the platform.
Essentially, Shopify Collabs can help boost your e-commerce brand sales by leveraging influencers.
Key features:
- Creator recruitment to connect with new or existing influencers.
- Automated creator payment by automating commissions from sales.
- Product seeding to send gifts or samples to creators.
Pros and cons:
While Collab is a great tool for e-commerce brands, it has its merits and demerits. They include:
Pricing: Shopify Collab is free to use for Shopify merchants. They're good to go as long as they’ve got a subscription.
What customers say:
Here’s what Brenten L. had to say about Collabs…
“I believe this is the best influencer software on the market. It’s very functional and increases efficiency. It helps keep track of traffic and sales from influencers and manage all of their information. Although customer service is slow to respond, there [are] luckily not a lot of issues with the software so not much need to reach out to them often.”
And that brings us to the end of this guide.
