Finding the right influencer for a brand campaign can feel like dating. You want someone who shares your values, aligns with your goals, and will make a great impression on your friends and family — or followers, in your brand's case.
The same can be said if you're an influencer looking for a brand that will take your career to the next level.
Whether you're a brand or an influencer, this article will help you find the perfect match by showing you the top channels for influencer marketing.
Discover the best social media channels for your next influencer marketing campaign and what platforms to use to find a brand or creator to collaborate with.
Influencer Platforms for Creators
Best Channels for Influencers
Below are the channels marketers leverage the most in influencer marketing and where influencers achieve the highest ROI for the companies they work with.
1. Instagram
According to our social media trends survey, 72% of marketers listed Instagram among the social media platforms on which they work with influencers and creators.
Most marketers surveyed (30%) also said Instagram is the platform they get the biggest ROI when working with influencers and creators.
Furthermore, most marketers (32%) said Instagram is the easiest platform to work with influencers.
2. YouTube
58% of our survey's marketers listed YouTube as a platform they leverage when working with creators and influencers. 20% of marketers said YouTube yields the highest ROI when working with influencers.
When asked which social media platform is the easiest to leverage when working with influencers, 20% of marketers pointed to YouTube. And 18% of marketers plan to use YouTube for influencer marketing.
3. TikTok
61% of marketers listed TikTok among the social media platforms on which they work with influencers and creators. However, only 14% said it results in the biggest ROI when leveraging influencer marketing.
14% also said TikTok is the easiest to work with when collaborating with influencers and creators.
4. Facebook
Finally, 57% of marketers listed Facebook as their platform of choice when working with creators and influencers.
It also ties with YouTube regarding ROI, with 20% of marketers saying it yields the highest ROI when leveraging influencer marketing.
18% of marketers said it's the easiest platform to work with when collaborating with influencers and creators.
Influencer Platforms for Creators
If you're an influencer or creator looking for a platform to help you connect with brands, expand your reach, and book paid campaigns — consider joining the platforms below.
1. Mavrck
Mavrck is an influencer marketing platform that connects brands with creators (and vice versa) for collaborations and marketing campaigns. Its influencer index is especially helpful for creators.
Through the influencers index, creators can make a profile on the site and make their accounts searchable. Brands can then reach out directly to the creators and influencers they want to work with.
2. Activate
Influencers who want control over the campaigns and brands they work with get a lot of use out of Active.
The platform allows creators to scroll through partnership opportunities posted on the site, negotiate their rates, and submit partnership proposals.
Influencers can also filter campaigns based on compensation.
3. #Paid
On #Paid, influencers can set their rates for their content posts and the custom content they create to be posted by brands. To see campaign opportunities, users must sign up.
4. Clever
Clever is a full-service influencer marketing agency that connects creators with brands and brand campaigns. The agency works with influencers at every level but focuses primarily on micro-influencers.
Clever's services include:
- Campaign designs
- Influencer profile definitions
- Influencer selection
- Influencer program management
- Reporting
10 Best Influencer Platforms
Whether you're a content creator, influencer, or brand — the platforms below are best if you want to collaborate and get the most out of your influencer marketing campaign.
1. Shopify Collabs
Shopify Collabs is free for anyone with an existing Shopify plan. The all-in-one tool allows brands to partner with influencers on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch.
Marketers can create their brand's custom application page, discover the right influencer for their next campaign, and manage affiliate payouts and special offers.
2. YouTube BrandConnect
As mentioned earlier, YouTube is one of the best social media platforms to leverage when working with influencers and creators.
If you're trying to find the right influencer for your next YouTube marketing campaign — YouTube BrandConnect is what you need.
With YouTube BrandConnect, companies can reach out to creators with a strong following to create innovative, authentic, and engaging branded content.
Furthermore, YouTube BrandConnect synchs with your Google Ads account and gives access to a suite of influencer marketing tools exclusive to Google.
With these tools, you can monitor your campaigns, find ways to increase engagement, and offer products in real time.
3. Grin
If you like having a wide range of tools at your disposal, then you'll enjoy Grin. The platform boasts a plethora of tools that support:
- Relationship management
- Discovery and recruitment
- Content management
- Product seeding
- Payments
Grin can also integrate with your marketing stack, including email providers and e-commerce solutions.
4. Aspire
Aspire is an excellent platform if your goal is to build a unique influencer marketing program. The platform's fully customizable relationship workflows make it easy for marketers to tailor their influencer marketing process to their needs.
Aspire also allows users to find and connect with influencers, brands, and industry experts. Additionally, Aspire has tools and dashboards to help you measure the ROI from your campaign.
5. Creator.co
Creator.co offers tools for reporting, insights, and campaign execution. With Creator.co, you can search for creators, build your own creator community, and create a seamless onboarding process for the creators you wish to collaborate with.
Creator.co also offers tools such as:
- Creator CRM
- Campaign management
- Paid social and ad permissions
- API Integrations
- Reporting and insights
- Competitor benchmarking
6. Open Influence
Open Influence calls itself your "campaign co-pilot" that will assist you from campaign ideation to creator selection to performance tracking.
If you want help with production, you'll want to check out its studio feature. Open Influence's studio provides video production, pre-production, and post-production tools.
It also offers services for live streaming, aerial videography, and virtual reality.
7. Klear
Klear offers tools to connect brands and influencers; however, one of its main focuses is analytics. Its influencer analytics tool provides influencer insights, demographic data, trending data, and brand safety audits.
8. Traackr
Traackr focuses on data-driven influencer marketing. With Traackr, you can find partners, collect addresses, create reports, monitor posts, and share briefs.
If you're looking to run affiliate and paid programs, Traackr boasts tools to manage links, define attribution models, track conversions, and pay commissions.
And, of course, it allows users to sort and vet influencers for potential collaborations.
9. Impact.com
If you're a brand with multiple partnerships, Impact likely has the service you need. Impact helps users manage and optimize all of their partnerships through every stage.
Whether you're a brand, affiliate, influencer, publisher, or sponsor — Impact is an excellent tool for building relationships and fostering successful collaborations.
10. Influence.co
Influence.co is a directory and portfolio site where creators can network and showcase their work.
The platform's pricing model focuses on helping creators promote their brand, which allows small businesses on a budget to use Influence.co for free to find relevant creators.
If you're a creator looking for your next paid brand collaboration or sponsorship, you know the platforms to help you find your perfect match.
The same goes for if you're a brand looking for an influencer that shares your vision and aligns with your goals.
Now, go out there and find the best collaborator for your next big influencer marketing campaign!