I’ve been tasked with finding LATAM creators for a US brand campaign, and I’m realizing that my usual discovery process is completely broken. I can search by follower count, niche, and engagement rate all day, but I have no idea if their audience actually overlaps with US consumer behavior or if their style will resonate with American buyers.
I did one campaign where I picked a creator based on solid metrics—good engagement, right niche—but the content style was too localized for a US audience. Beautiful content, authentic, but it landed flat. He was creating for a LATAM-first audience, and asking him to code-switch for the US felt weird.
So I’m wondering: how do you actually evaluate fit beyond the numbers? Like, do you look at their past brand partnerships? Do you check if they already have a bilingual audience? Are there signals in their content that tell you whether they can authentically speak to both markets?
I feel like I’m missing a critical step in the discovery-to-brief workflow. What’s your actual process for vetting LATAM creators for US campaigns?
This is exactly where relationship networks become invaluable. Here’s what I do:
Instead of just scrolling through creator profiles, I tap my network of people who actually know LATAM creators—other marketers, agencies, creators themselves. I ask: “Who in your network creates content that could work for a US audience? Who do you trust?”
Then, before I even approach the creator formally, I engage with their content. Like, actually DM them, ask genuine questions about their work, understand their perspective. If they engage thoughtfully and can articulate why their content resonates, that’s a signal they understand their audience deeply.
For US brand fit specifically, I look for:
- Do they follow US trends or just LATAM trends?
- Have they worked with any international brands?
- Do they understand cultural nuances between markets?
- Can they explain their audience in detail—not just the demo, but the psychographics?
Then there’s the conversation where I pitch the idea and see how they think about it. Someone who immediately gets the US angle and can articulate how they’d approach it differently than they would for LATAM? That’s your signal.
Have you actually talked to creators directly about whether they see themselves as bilingual/bicultural, or are you just looking at their content?
Okay, so from the creator perspective—I’m bilingual and I do work across both markets, and I can tell you the difference is real. Some LATAM creators have spent time in the US or have family there and naturally understand the cultural nuances. Others have never engaged with US audiences and would struggle to translate authentically.
When you’re vetting creators, ask them directly: Have you worked with US brands before? How did that feel different? What do you understand about US audience behavior that you don’t see in LATAM?
If a creator can articulate the differences—like “US audiences want more direct ROI messaging, LATAM audiences care more about lifestyle integration”—that’s a strong signal. If they look confused by the question, they might not be the right fit.
Also, check their audience. Some LATAM creators have genuinely international audiences (following them from different countries, comments in multiple languages). That audience composition tells you a lot about whether the creator naturally resonates across borders.
The best partners I’ve seen are creators who don’t just speak English and Spanish—they genuinely understand both cultures and can move between them.
Let me add a data layer to this. When I’m vetting LATAM creators for US campaigns, I look at:
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Audience geography: What percentage of followers are US-based? Instagram and TikTok analytics show this. If a LATAM creator already has 20%+ US followers organically, that’s a strong signal of cross-market appeal.
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Engagement type: Are comments in Spanish only or multilingual? What language is the creator using? If they’re naturally bilingual in their content, that’s different than someone who only creates in Spanish.
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Brand partnership history: Look at their past sponsorships. Have they worked with US brands? How did the content perform? Look for case studies or comments mentioning international collaborations.
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Content localization signals: Do they address trends that are both LATAM and US-relevant (not purely LATAM-local)? Are they commenting on global cultural moments vs. only local ones?
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Audience demographics: Request their full audience breakdown. Age, interests, income level—does it match your US target demographic?
Then, I’d do a small test campaign before committing to a larger one. Give them a brief, see how they interpret it, and evaluate the content quality and relevance.
Are you currently requesting full audience analytics from creators before vetting?
Here’s the workflow we use, and it’s saved us from a lot of wasted pitches:
Step 1: Shortlist creators based on niche + engagement metrics (this is necessary but not sufficient).
Step 2: Deep dive on 5-10 top candidates:
- Review their last 30 pieces of content
- Check who they partner with (brands, other creators, etc.)
- Look for any US-facing content or collaborations
- Review audience composition in their analytics
Step 3: Outreach to top 3-5 with a specific question: “We’re running a campaign with a US brand [describe brand briefly]. How would your approach to this differ from how you’d approach it for a LATAM brand? What’s your thinking?”
Their answer tells you everything. If they give a thoughtful response, they’re culturally intelligent. If they say “My content is my content,” they might not be the right fit for a market-specific campaign.
Step 4: Once selected, onboarding call focused on understanding their audience. Not a pitch—a conversation about who they’re talking to and why.
This process takes longer upfront, but it dramatically reduces the risk of misalignment. How much time are you currently spending on each creator before making a decision?
We’ve been through this learning curve too. One pattern I noticed: the creators who work best across markets are usually the ones who have personal stories connecting both. Like, a LATAM creator who moved to the US, or has family there, or studied there. They have intuitive understanding of code-switching.
Creators who are purely LATAM-based, even with great metrics, often need a lot of direction to create US-facing content. That’s not a judgment—they’re experts in their market, not in yours.
So my advice: prioritize creators with that cross-market lived experience. They exist, and they’re usually more expensive than purely LATAM-based creators, but the content alignment is worth it.
How much of your budget can go toward premium creator partnerships vs. higher volume at lower cost?