How to Attract the Right Creators for Your Online Store

Today, having a great product in the e-commerce landscape is not enough. You need to market it effectively, and having the right marketing voice can amplify your brand. 

A content creator is the ideal person who can boost visibility, build trust, and drive targeted traffic to your online store.

As the content creator or influencer has a pool of loyal followers, it becomes easier for them to push your brand’s sales.

According to the IAB TalkShoppe Creator Economy Report 2023, 70% of consumers made purchasing decisions faster, thanks to creator ads.

While these are strongly motivating numbers, the question stands: how to attract the right creators.

Why Should Brands Partner With a Content Creator?

A content creator creates marketing videos, images, etc., to help brands connect with the target audience organically. Shoppers are more likely to buy products from influencers they regularly engage with and eventually start trusting.

Partnerships with influencers and content creators harness social proof as a method to increase awareness and sales.

A recommendation from a creator can trigger purchases 80% of the time. Achieving this level of success is hard to achieve with banner ads or cold emails.

Creator marketing is inherently performance-based and cost-efficient. Unlike expensive upfront ad campaigns, affiliates and influencers are often paid on commission. You only spend when they deliver results.

But some influencers do charge per post or campaign, and the ROI is also high enough to bypass other marketing methods.

Creator marketing allows small to big brands to tap into audiences by sharing genuine content. Influencers share reviews, how-to clips, and stories that audiences resonate with more deeply than generic advertisements.

For example, when creators share videos on turning art into products to show artistic designs and illustrations, they ensure the product is more relatable and desirable. 

How to Know Which Creator Is Right for Your Store

The ideal creator should resonate with your brand’s values and audience, not just your product. Ideally, you would want to chase creators with a big follower count. 

However, you must vet creators on the following parameters. 

Source: Sprout Social

• Niche and Audience Alignment

Do the creator’s followers resemble your target customers? If you sell athletic gear, a fitness enthusiast with engaged fans is a natural fit.
So find content creators whose topical focus and follower demographics match your brand’s market.

• Content Style and Authenticity

Does your target audience like the influencer’s content? Try to assess whether the influencer is popular for their honest reviews, tutorials, benefits explanation, etc. 

Brands need to give influencers creative freedom while ensuring the content aligns with their messaging. A creator who already creates unboxing videos or reviews similar products is likely to produce similar content that resonates with your audience. 

• Rate of Engagement 

Evaluate the creator’s engagement rate by checking likes, comments, and shares on their videos. A smaller creator with 10% engagement is often more valuable than a celebrity with 0.5% engagement.

So vet the potential influencers or creators for their engagement quality. 

• Reputation and Professionalism

Find out about the creator’s public persona and check their past partnerships. If they have any controversies, it’s a red flag, and it can also ruin your brand’s reputation instead of building it. 

Check their past posts for any sort of controversial content, their associations, and public image.

These influencers are your brand’s representatives, and they can make or break your brand, so hire them with careful consideration. 

Doing these exercises will ensure you attract collaborators who have the potential to become your brand ambassadors and advocates. These will not just be hired promoters.

Where to Find the Right Creators for Your Brand

Now that you understand how to choose collaborators for your brand, let’s know the secret places to find them.

1. Instagram

As a platform that prioritizes visuals over other forms of content, Instagram is best for promoting fashion, beauty, travel, and lifestyle-related products.

Source: IAB

To find content creators here:

• Start by searching relevant hashtags and go broad, like searching #fashion, #fitness, #travel, etc. 
• Use product-specific tags like #veganmakeup, #hikinggear, among others. 
• You can also use the platform’s Explore Page combined with location tags to identify influencers who are climbing the popularity meter. 
• Check if someone is already tagging your brand or product. There are high chances they are already your fans and can be easily convinced to work with you. 
• You can also look at influencer marketplaces like Upfluence, AspireIQ, or search affiliate networks to find influencers for Instagram. 

1. YouTube

YouTube has long-form content. So you need to look for creators publishing reviews, tutorials, and unboxing videos.

Search YouTube using keywords related to your niche, such as ‘best car music systems 2025’ or ‘gaming laptops under (price range)’, etc. 

Within these videos, make a list of channels with heavy community engagement like videos with several comments. 

Another way is to check “Channels similar to this.” This will show similar channels leading you to more influencers making videos in the same category. 

2. TikTok

Known for short-form content, TikTok is a virality hotspot.

78% of TikTok users have purchased a product after watching a reel or image featured in TikTok Creator Content. 

To find creators here, use TikTok’s Discover/For You page and hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, #(YourNiche), and trending challenges related to your product. 

Additionally, TikTok has an affiliate marketplace where you can find creators who already sell similar products. 

These three are the main channels you need to at least begin with your online store’s promotions and creator-driven advertising.

In addition to these, consider Pinterest for lifestyle and home-related products. 

LinkedIn is best for B2B and high-end consumer goods. If leveraged correctly, you can also start selling through niche forums, Reddit, and Discord communities. 

Despite all the efforts, keep on actively searching and reaching out to content creators.

Fern & Petal actively partners with local influencers in different cities to ensure their products reach communities through familiar, local voices.

How to Analyze Content Creators and Influencers for Impact

Having found your ideal candidates, let’s learn how to scrutinize them and verify their credentials.

This is more than sending an invite. It’s a strategic evaluation to ensure high-quality partnerships with authentic content creators. A robust vetting process reduces risk and maximizes returns.

1. Metrics Analysis

Check their quantitative metrics, including:

• Follower count
• Likes
• Comments
• Shares
• Saves 

For a quick analysis, use tools like SocialBlade to check follower and engagement growth trends for the chosen content creators. You can also spot sudden spikes or drops.

Ideally, you need to check out their sales, and if that’s not available, the comments, likes, and shares will give you enough information on each influencer. 

2. Audience Demographics

This means you need to check the influencer’s follower demographics, like their age, location, & interests. This will ensure the influencer’s followers match your target market.

For example, if your brand targets college students, a creator whose audience is mostly middle-aged probably isn’t ideal.

3. Content Quality

Check the creator’s past content for its quality, relevance to your brand, and target audience.

Plus, know whether their content is free from controversies. This step might take time, but it will help you find creators who emphasize making content that aligns with your brand and content style. 

Check if they speak in a tone that resonates with your brand. For example, if your brand represents playful and quirky, an overly formal creator might not fit. 

Lastly, make sure they have never promoted competitors in a negative light.

4. Alignment of Values

Check the creators’ captions and bios to understand what they stand for and what they are advocating. Are they promoting sustainability, equality, fitness, innovation, etc?

Their values must personify the same values your brand follows and wants to promote. 

Partnering with an influencer or content creator is the same as hiring an employee. You need to check whether their skills align with marketing your brand and whether their values align with your company. 

5. Your and the Influencer’s Expectations

Always be clear on your goals. Also, ask the creators about their definition of success. Is it higher sales, sign-ups, followers, or brand awareness.

Before signing the deal, discuss metrics you will track to qualify the partnership as a success. 

Discuss whether you will check clicks, conversions, inquiries, etc., to assess if the influencer has delivered on the results. 

A Sprout Social Survey reveals that 83% of marketers believe sponsored content posted to get conversions performs better than organic content posted by a brand. 

So, while ensuring that the content creators fit your requirements, ensure that their approach and thought process align with your values. 

Case Studies Showing Incredible Results

No amount of theory can be attractive if we cannot prove what’s discussed above. 

Since short-form video content is highly appreciated and loved by audiences, here are a few examples of how such content has done wonders with some brands. 

Source: Afluencer

1. Digital Beauty Group: After struggling with competing in the market, the skincare company partnered with Instagram creators aligned to its niche, gathering over 100+ pieces of user-generated content in 6 months.
   
   This spike in creator content increased brand awareness and, as a result, the skincare brand’s sales.
   
   Specifically on Amazon, they say a conversion rate of 38% per product, which shows how creator content inspired over 38% of the users to buy their products. 

2. MadeGood: A health and wellness brand looking to boost brand awareness and engagement rate, MadeGood partnered with 5 influencers to post user-generated content.
   
   With only five influencer market campaigns, the brand increased its engagement rate from 0.4% to 2% and a total outreach of 280,000.
   
3. Gymshark: Gymshark is a fitness apparel brand and one of the best examples of how to leverage content creators.
   
   The company credits its growth to influencers as their partnerships with fitness athletes and social media personalities led to a big boost.
   
   From sharing workout videos to apparel try-ons, Gymshark has started to foster trust among its community.
   
   The result was a highly engaged and tight-knit community built with the help of influencers.
   

How to Manage Content Creator Partnerships for Best Results

Running an influencer partnership and affiliate program is a lot of work. You will face challenges with maintaining communication, payments, tracking orders, and content management.

But there are several tools you can use for managing all the aspects of attracting and retaining content creators.

1. Centralized Influencer Software

Software like Tapfiliate helps brands manage links and sales, and automate payouts to influencers from a single place.

These solutions also offer real-time reporting and help you set flexible commission structures based on partnership agreements. 

2. Tracking Automation

You need software to track influencer-driven sales. Instead of relying on self-reports or asking customers how they heard about you, use unique referral links, coupon codes, or UTM tags for each creator.

Look for software with the highest attribution accuracy to ensure every sale is connected to the right creator. 

3. Asset Library

You will need to share brand-related assets like images and videos with the influencers. So, instead of sharing everything via email or WhatsApp, create a shared folder.

Several tools are available, the most popular being Google Drive, which you can use to provide a creator kit for every influencer and access to brand assets. 

4. Data Optimization

Track every influencer’s performance with key metrics, including conversion rate, EPC, AOV, and customer acquisition cost (CAC), among others.

Use this information to inform your influencers about changing their tactics according to the results you desire to achieve. 

Team Up With the Right Creators

Attracting the right creators takes strategies, tools, and consistency. You need to ask yourself who embodies your brand best and how you can harness their inclination toward your brand into a partnership where both parties benefit. 

By leveraging content creators’ authentic outreach and managing it through platforms like Tapfiliate, you can easily build your online store into the go-to brand for your target audience. 
So, start building associations today, track results, and customize your approach until you achieve the expected results.

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