How to Find YouTube Influencers for Your Next Campaign

Influencer marketing campaigns help you connect with young audiences and drive sales — and YouTube remains one of the strongest platforms.

That much is clear. Finding the right influencers for your next ad campaign is much more challenging.

Find out how to discover YouTube influencers that can help your brand grow in this guide, and discover why you shouldn’t overlook micro-influencers in your search.

How to Find YouTube Influencers — At a Glance

YouTube influencer marketing campaigns offer a unique opportunity to connect with your target audience.

Loyal followers trust YouTubers. When you find YouTuber influencers who believe in your brand, you find a winning combo — 94 percent of businesses who run influencer marketing campaigns tangibly benefit.

Dipping your toes into influencer marketing can be scary, especially if you have no idea how to find the right YouTube influencers.

We’ll get you up to scratch!

• Google it! YouTube and Google searches are free but powerful.
• Explore YouTube’s trending page. Artfully using filters can connect you with the right YouTube influencers.
• Look for sponsored YouTube content. YouTube influencers in your niche who have already worked with sponsors are often willing to accept sponsored content again.
• Examine hashtags to discover how relevant YouTubers are within your niche.
• Network. Have you already worked with YouTube influencers? These influencers can recommend their friends and colleagues.
• Use dedicated influencer marketplaces. Influencer marketplaces can match you with the right YouTube influencers for a reasonable fee. Some also have free plans.
• Engage an influencer marketing agency. If your brand has a big budget, you can outsource your influencer marketing campaign to the pros.

YouTube influencer marketing campaigns aren’t just limited to leading global brands. Even small startups can drive sales by working with the right micro-influencers on YouTube.

This guide shows you how to find them.

5 Quick, Easy, and Free Ways to Find YouTube Influencers

You don’t have to head straight for paid influencer platforms and marketplaces.

These back-to-basics approaches can lead to great results:

1. Find YouTube Influencers by Searching on Google and YouTube

How often have you been told to “just Google it”? In this case, it works.

Looking for YouTube influencers on Google or even (gasp!) YouTube often turns out to be a winning strategy.

You’ll want to search:

• [Your niche] + YouTubers
• [Your niche] + YouTube influencers
• [Specific campaign you want to run] + YouTube influencers

Do you, for instance, want to promote an indie horror game? Your Google and YouTube searches might include “gaming Youtubers” and “indie mobile game YouTube influencers.”

These searchers will show you the big names in the niche. Do you have a smaller budget? Refine your search to be more specific and keep looking. Try searching, for example:

• [Indie horror survival action game] YouTubers
• [New small indie mobile game] YouTube influencers

Googling YouTube influencers takes time — but it’s never a wasted effort, even if you engage influencer platforms later.

2. Find YouTube Influencers by Looking at the YouTube Trending Page

YouTube’s trending page shows you which influencers are hot in your region.

You’ll immediately see four tabs on the trending page — Now, Music, Gaming, and Movies.

Don’t stop there.

Use the search bar on YouTube’s trending page to find trending content in your niche. Refine your results by clicking “Filters” and selecting:

• Upload date. This option lets you see trending videos uploaded in the last year, month, week, today, or the last hour.
• Type. Select “Channel” to discover exciting YouTube influencers that might be just right for your brand.
• Duration. Are you looking for YouTube influencers who make short videos or in-depth videos? Let YouTube know.
• Features. This tab lets you refine your search even further. You can, for instance, look for YouTubers in a specific location.

You can also search by relevance, view count, and rating.

3. Find YouTube Influencers for Your Campaign by Looking for Sponsored Content

YouTube isn’t known for its hashtags, so not everyone knows they’re a powerful way to discover influencers who have already worked with sponsors.

When you look for YouTube influencers in your niche in the YouTube search bar, try adding these hashtags to your search:

• #Sponsored
• #Ad

These hashtags reliably identify YouTube influencers who have hosted sponsored content in the past. That’s great because it often means these YouTube influencers are excited to work with the right sponsor again.

4. Find YouTube Influencers by Looking Through Their Hashtags

Have you already identified promising YouTube influencers in your niche? Look through the hashtags they use in their videos as well.

This process allows you to discover how many of their videos are relevant to your brand — and how YouTube influencers you’re interested in working with might react if you reach out.

If most of the hashtags a YouTube influencer uses fit in with your niche and planned campaign, you might have a winner.

5. Find New YouTube Influencers by Networking

Do you already have a few successful YouTube influencer marketing campaigns under your belt?

Your next success story could be just a few messages away.

The world of YouTube is smaller than you think. Influencers within the same niche often know each other. They’ve collaborated and become friends.

Ask YouTube influencers you’ve worked with before to find the next big hit. The introduction might cost you nothing and get you everything you’re after and more.

Use Influencer Marketplaces to Find YouTube Influencers

Influencer marketplaces, which connect marketers and influencers, are a great way to discover YouTube influencers who:

• Are relevant to your niche
• Have the subscriber count you’re aiming for
• Are perfect for your next campaign

Using an influencer marketplace can save a lot of time. These platforms are subscription-based, so you have to be willing to invest.

Are you not sure where to start? These influencer platforms might be right for you:

1. YouTube BrandConnect

FameBit was a pioneering influencer marketplace established in 2013. Google acquired it in 2016 and recently rebranded it as YouTube BrandConnect.

This influencer marketplace now allows you to connect with YouTubers:

• In the US, Canada, or the UK
• In the YouTube Partner program
• Who don’t have any community guidelines strikes — meaning they’re squeaky clean

2. Intellifluence

Intellifluence is a rising influencer platform that connects marketers and influences across social media platforms and niches.

This platform offers a free plan, and paid plans start at a very reasonable $99 a month.

Intellifluence thoroughly vets all YouTube influencers on their platform.

What’s more, Intellifluence allows you to find macro-influencers, micro-influencers, and everything in between.

3. Affluencer

Affluencer is an influencer platform that allows you to post collab opportunities.

Here’s how it works:

• You specify niche, demographic, and subscriber count.
• YouTube influencers who fit your description apply to collaborate with you.
• You approve YouTube influencers you might like to work with. You can then message them directly.

Best of all? Affluencer offers a free plan.

4. Heepsy

Heepsy styles itself as a search engine for influencers, and with good reason. This paid influencer platform has a database of over 11 million macro-influencers and micro-influencers across social media platforms.

You can use Heepsy to find YouTube influencers by searching by:

• Category
• Location
• Engagement
• Audience

Advanced reports allow you to determine that the YouTube influencers you’re thinking about working with are authentic.

You’ll be able to see which brands they’ve worked with and if your target audience matches their following.

Once you find YouTube influencers that could be right for your campaign, you can reach out and make a deal.

Find YouTube Influencers with the Help of YouTube Influencer Marketing Agencies

Large brands with big budgets won’t waste time looking for YouTube influencers on their own. They’ll turn to the professionals right away.

Smaller brands who still haven’t managed to connect with the right YouTube influencers might also consider taking this step.

YouTube influencer marketing agencies provide full-service solutions. They vet all candidates thoroughly, which means you can relax.

YouTube influencer marketing agencies are on the rise. The best ones include:

1. Viral Nation

Viral Nation is a leading global influencer marketing agency.

This influencer marketing agency might be right for your brand if you need a full-service solution.

Viral Nation can do far more than connect you with the perfect YouTube influencers. Their software tracks what netizens say about your brand and how you stack up against your competitors.

2. Ubiquitous

Ubiquitous is a full-service influencer marketing agency that matches brands with influencers. They’ve worked with some of the biggest global brands, including Disney and Netflix.

Ubiquitous works with over 2,000 of the biggest YouTube influencers across every niche. If you have the budget, you can’t go wrong.

3. The Influencer Marketing Agency

The Influencer Marketing Agency is a data-driven full-service marketing agency. They ask you about your goals and work back from there.

It’s impossible not to find the right YouTube influencers for your next campaign if you work with The Influencer Marketing Agency — but their services cost a pretty penny.

What Are YouTube Influencers?

YouTube influencers are YouTube content creators who can impact opinions and boost sales within your niche.

YouTube is home to over 51 million channels. This ever-growing number encompasses everything from kids with three subscribers to YouTube giants with a millions-strong audience.

More than 29,000 YouTube channels boast over a million subscribers in 2022. All of them are influencers within their niches.

Many engage directly with their loyal viewers. These YouTube influencers can impact their audiences in ways TV ad creators could never have dreamed — they make content viewers connect with on a much deeper level.

Why Micro-Influencers?

Even YouTubers with much smaller subscriber counts can drive sales. Micro-influencers have between 5,000 and 20,000 followers. Their smaller communities allow these YouTube influencers to spend more time engaging with their viewers.

Micro-influencers run small but active YouTube channels. Smaller brands can take full advantage of this when they plan their next marketing campaign. Small YouTubers are big fish in small ponds — their followers trust them, and they know their followers.

If a small Youtuber is excited about your brand, their followers are almost certain to be thrilled too.

How to Choose the Right YouTube Influencers for Your Campaign

Choosing the right YouTube influencers for your campaign is tricky. Unless you engage an influencer marketing agency, there are no shortcuts.

YouTube influencers who will boost your sales:

• Fit into your niche perfectly. They understand your brand’s mission and share its values.
• Have the right audience. You have a winner if your target demographic matches the YouTuber’s viewers.
• Are genuinely excited about your brand. The YouTube influencers you choose might already use your products. They might even have mentioned your brand organically. If they haven’t, they should at least be able to see themselves using the product they promote.

Different Types of Influencer Campaigns: How to Choose

The most common types of campaigns include:

• Product reviews
• Sponsored content
• Unboxing videos
• How-to guides

Videos dedicated to showcasing your product are especially likely to be successful. These campaigns allow YouTube users to see your brand in action — and find out how good your products are.

How to Find YouTube Influencers: A Final Word

Influencer marketing is the perfect way to engage modern audiences, and YouTube remains one of the strongest platforms.

Getting viewers excited about products trusted YouTubers genuinely love is easy, but finding the right YouTube influencers is not.

You can:

• Find the YouTube influencers by Googling, exploring YouTube’s trending page, using YouTube hashtags, or looking for previously-sponsored YouTubers. You can also ask YouTube influencers you’ve worked with before to recommend friends and colleagues.
• Find YouTube influencers through dedicated influencer marketplaces or by engaging an influencer marketing agency.

Even small startups can benefit from YouTube influencer campaigns — you don’t need to be in the big leagues to get great results.

Pour your energy into finding the right YouTube influencers now, and you’ll reap the rewards in the form of a big sales boost later.