I’ve been wrestling with this for a while now—influencer discovery is eating up our budget like crazy. We’re spending thousands just vetting creators across different markets, and half the time we’re not even sure if they’re a good fit for our brand or if their audience is genuinely engaged.
recently I’ve been thinking about how fragmented this whole process is. We’re hunting on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and then trying to cross-reference metrics manually. And when you’re trying to expand into new markets—especially internationally—you’re basically starting from zero. No context, no benchmarks, no way to compare performance across regions without doing ridiculous amounts of legwork.
I keep hearing about tools and platforms that claim to solve this, but most of them feel like they’re just aggregating surface-level data. What I’m really looking for is something that can show me actual patterns: which creators in similar niches perform best in specific markets, what realistic engagement rates should look like in different regions, how similar creators have performed for brands like mine.
The bilingual angle is interesting too—I’m starting to think there’s real value in having access to both Russian and US creator ecosystems, especially if you can compare performance benchmarks between them. Like, understanding how a Creator in Moscow performs versus similar creators in New York could actually give you leverage when negotiating rates and expectations.
How are you all handling this? Are you using any platforms or processes that actually help you reduce discovery costs while making sure you’re finding the right people? What does your vetting workflow look like?