I’m in the thick of our US market entry right now, and I’ve hit a wall with influencer vetting. Here’s the thing—I can find creators with the right follower counts and engagement rates easily enough. But finding someone who gets what we’re about? That’s a different beast.
Back in Russia, I could grab coffee with potential partners, read between the lines, understand their values in 20 minutes. Now I’m cold-reaching US creators and trying to figure out from their content whether they’d actually represent our brand authentically or just take a check and disappear.
I’ve noticed that some creators have worked with Russian-founded brands before, and they seem to move faster and understand the nuances. But how do you actually screen for that without wasting weeks on calls with people who don’t fit? And what questions should I even be asking to understand if someone genuinely aligns with our positioning, versus just being interested in the paycheck?
Are any of you doing this right now? How are you actually filtering through the noise to find creators who understand your brand, not just amplify it?
This is such a real challenge! I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. One thing that’s worked for me is looking at a creator’s previous brand partnerships—not just the big names, but the kind of values-aligned work they do. If a creator has worked with other tech-driven or growth-focused brands, there’s a good chance they understand positioning beyond just aesthetics.
I started doing deeper dives into their content narrative, not just the numbers. Do they tell stories? Do they explain why they use something, or just show it? That matters so much.
Also—and this might sound weird—I ask them about brands they’ve turned down. That tells you everything about their actual values versus what they claim. Someone who’s selective is usually someone who understands brand fit.
Have you thought about starting with micro-influencers who’ve already dabbled in the relocation or international expansion space? They might be rare, but they’d get your positioning immediately.
I’d pull some data here. Look at the creator’s audience demographics and compare them to your target market in the US. If there’s a mismatch, the positioning won’t matter—you won’t reach the right people anyway.
Second, analyze their engagement patterns. Check if comments on their posts reflect genuine community discussions or just emoji spam. High engagement quality suggests their audience actually listens and cares, which means their endorsement of your brand carries weight.
Third—and this is often overlooked—check their content consistency over time. If a creator’s messaging has drifted wildly or they jump between totally unrelated brands, that’s a red flag. You want someone whose values are stable.
I’d actually calculate a simple “brand alignment score” based on: audience overlap (30%), engagement quality (40%), and content consistency (30%). It’s not perfect, but it removes emotion from the decision and helps you compare apples to apples.
What’s your current vetting timeline looking like? Are you doing batch outreach or one-by-one?
Honestly? I’ve learned this the hard way. I spent three months vetting creators based on follower counts and got partnerships that flopped because the creators didn’t actually care about the space.
What changed for me was switching to a referral-first approach. I started asking my early US customers and partners, “Who do you actually follow for advice in this space?” Those recommendations were gold because the creators came pre-vetted by people who already understood the market.
The second shift was doing micro audits. I’d ask a creator to create a short concept video (paid, of course) before committing to a full campaign. It costs more upfront, but you learn so much about whether they understand your positioning just by seeing their interpretation of your brief.
One creator I worked with completely nailed the tone and values in her concept, even though her follower count was half what I’d initially budgeted for. That campaign outperformed everything else. So yeah, understanding positioning matters way more than raw reach.
Are you running any test campaigns yet, or still in pure vetting mode?
This is where a lot of founders get stuck, and it kills deals. Here’s my framework:
-
Values alignment first. Send them your brand positioning doc and ask them to summarize it back to you. If they can’t articulate it clearly, move on. This 5-minute test saves weeks.
-
Case study review. Look at their past 5-10 brand collaborations. Do they make sense together? Or is it scattered? Consistency tells you they’re selective and strategic.
-
Audience relevance. I use tools like Social Blade or similar to understand their typical engagement and audience location. If your target is US-based professionals and their audience is mostly international teenagers, it’s a no-go.
-
The conversation test. Schedule a 15-minute call. Not to pitch them, but to listen. Do they ask intelligent questions about your positioning? Or do they jump straight to pricing? Strategic creators ask about strategy.
I’ve built my whole agency on partnerships, so this is where I spend real time. I’d rather have 3 creators who deeply understand what we’re doing than 10 who just execute briefs.
What’s your budget per creator looking like? That might change where in the market you’re fishing.
Okay, I’m on the creator side of this, so maybe my perspective helps. When a brand reaches out, I can tell in like two minutes if they actually understand me or if they’re just using a template.
The creators who will actually understand your positioning are the ones who’ve taken time to create something relevant to your space before pitching you. They don’t just say “yeah I can make UGC for that.” They show you concepts that prove they get it.
Also—and this is honest—a lot of creators are just mercenaries. We exist, I’ll be real. But the ones who care about positioning are usually the ones already creating content in your space unpaid, just because they’re interested. Those are your people.
So my advice? Look for creators who are already making content adjacent to what you do, not creators with the biggest followings. And when you do reach out, ask them to pitch you. Real creators love that because it means you respect their brain, not just their reach.
I’ve turned down way bigger paydays because the brand didn’t align. So when someone reaches out who gets my values, I’m all in.
You’re asking the right question, but I’d reframe slightly. It’s not just about identifying creators who understand your positioning—it’s about identifying creators whose audience aligns with your target customer and whose messaging style matches your brand voice.
Here’s what I’d measure: run 2-3 test collaborations with different creator tiers. Not full campaigns—short-form content or single posts. Track the engagement quality (comments, shares, saves—not just likes) and the sentiment of responses. This gives you real data on whether their audience actually resonates with your positioning.
Second, look at their collaboration history. Reach out to 2-3 brands they’ve worked with previously (you can usually find brands in their posts). Ask those brands directly: did this creator understand your positioning? Did they ask smart questions? Would you work with them again? Peer references are underrated.
I’ve found that the creators who ask the most questions during the briefing process are usually the best ones. They’re thinking about strategy, not just execution.
What’s your timeline for identifying and partnering with creators? And what’s your total campaign budget? That context would help shape which approach works best for your situation.