Need to find TikTok influencers to promote your brand? Below we break down three creator search methods to help you figure out how to find influencers on TikTok.
Finding TikTok influencers is a top priority for brands of all shapes and sizes.
And good news: there’s no shortage of TikTok influencers to promote your products.
The challenge? Starting a TikTok creator search from scratch is super daunting.
Especially when there's no "right" way to do it.
With fierce competition among brands and creators, many marketers struggle with how to find TikTok influencers without getting totally overwhelmed.
That’s why we wrote this breakdown of three ways to find TikTok creators for your brand!
Whether via manual search or using an influencer discovery tool, how you find creators depends on your brand, budget and bandwidth.
Below we break down ways to uncover relevant influencers on TikTok to collab with faster.
Uncovering TikTok creators the DIY way can be time-consuming but it’s 100% doable.
Granted you know what to look for and how to reach out to them!
Let’s kick things off by diving into how to find TikTok creators without actually leaving the app.
Starting your TikTok creator search on the app makes sense, right?
This is especially true as TikTok has leveled up its search features over the past year.
Running a quick hashtag search to uncover potential influencers is simple enough. Hashtags can highlight creators who reflect your target audience and post about relevant products, too.
Let’s say you’re looking for TikTok creators for a beauty brand campaign. You might search #BeautyTutorial or #GRWM to find industry-related posts.
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You can apply this approach to just about any industry. For example, a nutrition brand might search for TikTokers via #ProteinReview or a similar product-related hashtag.
Just remember: the more targeted your hashtag search is to your industry, the better.
Don't let a "low volume" hashtag fool you. Creators using niche hashtags typically target more specific audiences. Dominating smaller hashtags can get you in front of relevant customers.
Don’t be afraid to get too specific! For example, there are TikTok hashtags for everything from #VeganBeauty to #SnailMucin that have millions of views.
Searching influencer-specific hashtags can also help you hone in on potential creators. You can often find micro-influencers on TikTok posting on hashtags like:
For example, a search for #UGCbeauty will drum up a variety of dedicated UGC creators. These creators are likely already partnering with brands. This means they’re likewise open to being approached about new collaborations.
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By combining niche and influencer-specific keyword phrases, you can uncover specific types of influencer content beyond just hashtags.
We recommend conducting some cursory social media keyword research. Then, combine your industry-specific keywords with influencer-specific terms. Here are some sample search queries that could help you find TikTok creators and micro-influencers for a beauty brand:
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These searches may not provide the most results but the videos you do find will most likely reflect your target audience if your product category is popular on TikTok.
If you know what to look for, you can treat TikTok like its own creator search engine.
The app now has search features making it easier to find TikTok micro-influencers versus bigger creators. For example, you can filter creator searches based on factors like follower count.
And so this means you can hone in on people with sizeable audiences faster.
Here's an example of how to find TikTok influencers by using the app's search filters:
One of the default searches will uncover micro-influencers with anywhere between 10k to 100k followers. This is the sweet spot for most creators in terms of engagement and reach.
Keep in mind that this method of finding TikTok influencers requires you to use the "User" search tab. This limits your search to creators who have their niche in their usernames.
This can still yield good results for influencers that have titles or specific professions relevant to your products. For example, phrases like "RN" or "RNFA" can uncover nursing influencers.
Some of the best TikTok influencers for your brand may be right under your nose.
Make sure to comb through your mentions, comments and DMs to collab requests. You may be pleasantly surprised by satisfied customers already eager to work with your brand.
Working with creators who are already familiar with your brand is a huge bonus because:
If you're stuck on how to find TikTok influencers who have bought from you before, try checking your branded hashtags. Even if you don’t have one, people might already be posting about you. Search #[yourcompanyname] and see for yourself.
For example, Pura Vida’s branded hashtag (#PuraVida) is brimming with promo-worthy posts.
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Source: TikTok
If you see creators who frequently post about your brand or shout out your products, that’s a great sign. Review their profiles and send them a DM if they seem like they’d be a good fit.
The Find Creators feature in TikTok Shop speeds up the process of finding TikTok creators specifically for affiliate collaborations. A big advantage of this method of finding TikTok creators is that you already know that they have a track record of promoting brands.
The Find Creators feature generates a "customized" list of recommended creators based on your Seller profile, including past TikTok Shop collabs and historical sales data. You can then refine your search by filters like industry, engagement rate, followers and more.
When you identify potential creators, you can then connect with them directly through the platform. You can also send collaboration invites and manage existing collabs in one place.
Although this approach to finding TikTok creators still requires manual legwork, it's definitely the best on-platform option for brands trying to sell on TikTok Shop.
If you’ve been searching for TikTok influencers, you’ve likely heard of the Creator Marketplace.
The Marketplace is basically TikTok’s in-app influencer database. The TCM is designed to help brands streamline the process of partnering with creators without leaving the app. The tool offers search features to filter results based on follower count, engagement rate and industry.
Although the TCM is an option for finding creators, it may not be your best bet. The TCM is tailored for influencer marketing campaigns with bigger creators. That's because the Marketplace's follower and engagement threshold prevents smaller creators from applying.
Spoiler alert: TikTok isn’t the only place you can find micro-influencers!
If a creator is active on the app, they’re likely active on other platforms. These platforms are sometimes more search-friendly than TikTok itself.
Below are a few places to find potential TikTok influencers beyond the app.
Many content creators are established outside of TikTok via blogs and YouTube channels.
Looking at a creator’s content elsewhere is a good idea, anyhow. Long-from content offers a better feel for the types of products an influencer promotes. Not to mention their overall vibe.
For example, check out influencer Evangelina Petrakis below. She creates “Full Face of First Impressions” videos where she tries new items from brands. Then, she shares her honest and unfiltered product reviews.
Source: YouTube
As you conduct your creator search, Google and YouTube can be a huge help. Both platforms can uncover influencers you may have overlooked during your in-app search on TikTok. Relevant influencer content can be found through search engine terms including…
For example, below is a simple YouTube search of “setting spray review 2024.” Results show creators of all sizes posting product reviews and breakdowns.
If you’re searching for a competitive industry like beauty or skincare, you won’t run out of potential influencers to pitch.
If you’re still struggling to find TikTokers, don’t rule out Instagram as a social search engine.
The concept here might seem backward but it’s simple enough:
Use Instagram search to uncover creators who might also be active on TikTok.
Many influencers have already optimized their Instagram bios to attract brands. Some are still catching up on TikTok. Thankfully, Instagram bios are easier to search through. With the right keywords and phrases, you can reveal relevant TikTok influencers as well.
For example, let’s say you’re looking to find cosmetic-focused creators. You might run a quick bio search of “MUA” or “Makeup Artist” and see what comes up.
If you find a creator who links their TikTok account in their Instagram bio, you’re golden! Directing people to their TikTok profile means they're open to possible influencer collaborations.
And if you don’t see a TikTok link right away, don’t fret. Many creators will keep contact information and social handles in their bio links. That’s where you’ll see their TikTok (if they have one).
Source: @shelby.jolly
It might seem backward but Instagram can help you hone in on potential influencers on TikTok. However, you still need to keep a few things in mind if you plan on reaching out to creators here:
Kicking off your TikTok outreach on Instagram can be confusing to creators. Ideally, you can find an all-purpose point of contact (hint: email) before reaching out. That said, some creators use their IG for all brand-related communication. It really depends on the creator!
No surprises here but this is the fastest way to find TikTok influencers.
There are plenty of third-party search tools and influencer platforms out there. This includes databases that let you search through lists of TikTokers across industries.
The only caveat? Not every platform is equal in terms of features, oversight or types of creators. Depending on the type of TikTok search tool you use, you could still be responsible for:
A big problem with so-called TikTok influencer finders is that their information is outdated. Creators pivot and change their and areas of focus more often than you might think. Reaching out to irrelevant creators isn’t just a waste of time — It can reflect poorly on your brand.
Sure, self-service influencer platforms and databases can help you find TikTokers. But the process can get overwhelming (and time-consuming) if you don’t know exactly what you want.
That's where a TikTok influencer platform like Statusphere can help.
Our tool programmatically matches your brand with TikTok influencers from our network in real-time. Not only is our network fully vetted but you only get matched with influencers relevant to your industry. Specifically, people that actively want to promote your products.
This means you can quickly scale your creator campaigns — even if you don’t know what you’re looking for initially. Not to mention ditch the legwork of scrambling for creators to work with.
We've seen firsthand how brands do influencer marketing with a wider variety of creators than ever before. Diverse content, totally different follower counts and everything in between.
And in our experience, micro-influencers play a not-so-micro role in driving campaign results.
To wrap things up, we'll quickly run down why brands shouldn't discount smaller creators and instead make finding TikTok micro-influencers a priority:
When it comes to smaller creators, follower count doesn’t tell the whole story. The TikTok algorithm doesn’t solely favor “big” accounts. In our experience, authentic creators in the micro or power-middle categories tend to be the ones who get the most love from the algorithm.
Finding TikTok micro-influencers isn't totally different than finding bigger creators. The process simply requires more digging and likewise combing through profiles to verify their account sizes.
That said, here are some tips to speed up the process:
Finding creators is only the beginning when it comes to running a TikTok influencer campaign.
From outreach to vetting, there’s a lot more that goes into it all than meets the eye. Many brands running their first campaigns often find themselves in over their heads.
Hey, we totally get it! Influencer vetting and outreach can take a ton of time and resources.
That’s exactly why we created Statusphere to streamline busy brands’ influencer marketing campaigns. Again, our platform matches you with relevant creators to earn UGC at scale.
Our software also handles all of the heavy lifting related to fulfillment, data tracking and more. For brands that want consistent UGC for organic social and Spark Ads, we remove the legwork from finding TikTok influencers and instead help brands focus on getting content at scale.
Want to learn more about how our platform works? Get in touch with one of our experts to see how you can get hundreds of TikTok influencers posting about your brand consistently.
This article was first published in June 2020. It was last updated August 28, 2024.
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