Social media has created a world of influencers known for everything—from makeup tutorials to pet photography. These modern stars command public attention and have the power to sway opinions and spending decisions.
Developing an influencer marketing strategy as part of your digital marketing strategy can help you reach new customers. And with the right tools, you can launch, track, and optimize your influencer strategy to maximize results.
What is an influencer marketing tool?
Influencer marketing tools are software services or digital platforms that help brands identify, contact, and partner with influencers. These tools typically offer a large, searchable influencer database with a profile page for each creator.
Brands can use the search tools to discover potential partners, along with their contact information, audience demographics, and engagement rates. Many platforms can sort influencers by content subject matter and audience size, making it easy to find partners that align with your brand’s target audience and budget. Beyond that, some of these tools can help you track the performance of your influencer campaigns and optimize your strategy to reach your goals.
Why use an influencer marketing tool?
Using an influencer marketing tool can make your influencer strategy run smoothly and keep your communications organized—particularly if you’re working with multiple influencers. Successful influencer partnerships can increase brand awareness and build authority. Working with skilled content creators reduces the workload for your brand and marketing teams because influencers do the work of creating original content for you.
What to look for in an influencer marketing tool
- Search and discovery
- Analytics
- Campaign management support
- Compatibility
- Budget ranges
- Specialization
Here are six qualities to consider when finding the right influencer marketing tool for your business:
1. Search and discovery
A tool with a large influencer database and user-friendly search function makes influencer identification easier. Look for tools with advanced search filters to help you narrow your search based on criteria like the influencer’s audience demographics, engagement rates, niche, social media platforms, and follower size. Also consider AI-powered platforms that generate recommendations based on your brand’s target audience or aesthetic.
2. Analytics
An effective influencer marketing tool should offer audience insights and analytics to help you identify influencers and track campaign performance. Some tools allow you to analyze competitors’ social media accounts and monitor brand and partner mentions. These features help you follow the conversation surrounding your brand on social media to help inform your community management and social media management strategy.
3. Campaign management support
Efficient campaign management is crucial for successful influencer marketing. Rather than spread operational tasks across various docs and emails, seek a tool that offers robust features to streamline your workflow. Look for functionalities that support influencer outreach, let you track conversations, manage contact information, and collaborate effectively.
In-platform messaging features help you track communication with influencers, ensuring smooth coordination and organization. Consider tools that offer payment tracking to simplify the payment process and improve your financial transparency.
4. Compatibility
Ensure the influencer marketing tool you choose is compatible with your existing platforms. Seamless integration with other tools such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, ecommerce platforms, or social media management tools can enhance your workflow efficiency. For example, if you run your ecommerce business on Shopify, look for influencer marketing tools that offer seamless integration with your store, like Shopify Collabs.
5. Budget ranges
Look for a platform with a wide range of influencers in your budget. Make sure the platform offers transparent influencer pricing, including rates, collaboration fees, and any additional campaign management or tool usage costs.
Additionally, consider platforms that offer pricing tiers and can grow with your business. A basic tier might suit your influencer marketing operation early on, but you may need to add new functionalities as your business expands.
6. Specialization
Some influencer marketing platforms offer special ecommerce features. For example, you may need a tool that can track sales generated through your influencer marketing campaigns, integrate with your ecommerce platform, or provide comprehensive return on investment (ROI) sales metrics.
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Meet EnricoTypes of influencer marketing tools
Consider influencer marketing tool types that brands use to streamline influencer marketing and build successful campaigns:
1. End-to-end
End-to-end influencer marketing tools have functionalities and features covering the entire lifecycle of influencer marketing campaigns—from initial planning to final analysis and reporting. An end-to-end influencer marketing tool integrates each campaign management stage into a single platform or solution so you don’t have to toggle between different tools.
Shopify Collabs and Grin are both popular options.
Find influencers to drive sales with Shopify Collabs
Shopify Collabs makes it easy to partner with creators, promote your products, reach new customers, grow your sales, and track affiliate campaign performance all from Shopify admin.
Discover Shopify Collabs2. Analytic
Some influencer marketing analytics tools enable marketers to track the performance of their influencer campaigns, providing insights into reach, engagement, conversions, and return on investment (ROI). Others reveal popular social media trends.
Traackr is a popular option.
3. Discovery
Discovery tools specifically help marketers identify and discover relevant influencers based on specific criteria, such as audience demographics, engagement rates, niche, and social media platforms. For example, Upfluence’s influencer database contains a wide range of talent—from niche micro-influencers to verified celebrities—organized by location, audience size, and platform. It also includes in-platform messaging, payment tools, and campaign performance analytics.
4. Recommendation
Some influencer marketing tools have recommendation algorithms that find compatible partners for you. For example, Aspire has an AI-powered influencer search engine that analyzes social media posts and surfaces creators that complement your brand’s aesthetic.
Top 8 influencer marketing tools
Influencer software gets the ball rolling on connecting with influencers, signing deals, and building a campaign. Here are our top five influencer marketing campaign recommendations:
1. Aspire
Aspire is a recommendation and tracking platform that offers templated libraries to manage campaigns, track performance, and optimize collaborations. With its user-friendly dashboard, you can track metrics such as sales, cost per acquisition (CPA), and return on advertising spend (ROAS).
Aspire’s features include:
- Pre-built communication workflows. From the initial contract terms to payment reminders, your influencer information is in one place, so you don’t have to continuously switch communication platforms.
- Social listening tools. Use this feature to build authentic partnerships with creators who are already vouching for your brand.
- AI-powered influencer search engine. This feature analyzes social media posts and surfaces creators that complement your brand’s aesthetic.
Pricing: Request a demo to learn more.
2. Upfluence
Upfluence is an influencer discovery platform for direct-to-consumer (D2C) and ecommerce brands. Its extensive database and advanced search filters allow you to pinpoint the perfect influencer for your campaign.
Upfluence’s features include:
- Metrics. You can find metrics like total views and click-through rates (CTRs) in one dashboard that compares different creators’ performance on the same campaign.
- Filters. Filter your influencers by name, location, and campaign.
- Email templates. Customize email templates based on each creator’s campaign goals.
Pricing: Request a demo to learn more.
3. HypeAuditor
HypeAuditor offers 35 in-depth metrics to analyze Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch influencers on factors such as age-gender split, authenticity, and reachability. It also creates detailed charts with campaign performances and your brand’s position relevant to the market. Plus, HypeAuditor integrates with Shopify so you can track orders directly in the app’s dashboard and link the sales back to influencers.
Hypeauditor’s features include:
- Audience quality scores. These help you distinguish real people from bots and mass followers.
- Search features. Find creators identical to your top influencers.
- Chrome extension. You can evaluate any influencer on the go without having to navigate to the platform’s dashboard.
Pricing: Free plans are available. Paid plans start at $219.
4. Meltwater
While Meltwater is a media listening platform, it also has an influencer marketing management suite. Features include workflow automation, collaboration tools, and performance tracking to help you link influencer marketing efforts to overall brand goals.
Meltwater’s features include:
- In-app communication. Prevents you from having to switch between apps and tools.
- Instagram Story tracking. Provides real-time updates for story-only campaigns.
- Discovery tools. Uncover micro-influencers or undiscovered influencers with high potential for your specific brand.
Pricing: Request a demo to learn more.
5. Traackr
Traackr is an analytics influencer marketing platform that offers multiple filtering criteria, lookalike recommendations, and an option to save your searches. It’s most popular features include:
- Campaign analytics. Monitor cross-campaign activity and drill down into individual creator performances.
- Reporting and dashboards. Make it easier for you to view campaign performance at a glance.
- Influencer whitelisting. Use an influencer’s handle to promote content. This makes the content come across as more authentic.
Pricing: Paid plans start at $20,000 per year.
6. Shopify Collabs
Shopify Collabs is an end-to-end influencer marketing platform created by Shopify. It offers features to help manage payments, create affiliate links, track influencer gifting, and find partners on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Twitch. Shopify Collabs is free for any business with an existing Shopify plan and integrates seamlessly with Shopify’s ecommerce tools. When questions arise, you also have access to Shopify’s customer support team.
Other Shopify Collabs’ features include:
- Free sampling access. Creators can choose which products they want to try directly from your store.
- Commission tracking. You can easily track which creators are facilitating sales.
- Automatic payments. The platform allows you to set up automatic payment schedules according to your commission structures and contracts.
Pricing: Free with a Shopify account, which starts at $39 per month.
7. GRIN
GRIN is an end-to-end platform with millions of influencers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The platform includes a suite of tools for end-to-end influencer relationship management, including search filters, in-platform messaging, and advanced functions to search for relevant influencers.
Other features include:
- Native analytics. Track the success of marketing campaigns. It includes a tool to spot fake influencers.
- Integrations. GRIN integrates with dozens of email and workflow platforms.
- Payment tracking. Set up payment options directly within the platform.
Pricing: Request a demo to learn more.
8. Onalytica
Business-to-business (B2B) brands can use Onalytica’s influencer search tools to find creators by topic or keyword. This platform simplifies influencer research by compiling data from social media posts to generate word clouds for each creator—helping you understand an influencer’s expertise and tone. It also highlights key connections so you can easily spot any conflicts of interest or past collaborations.
Other features include:
- Dedicated customer success team. Get hands-on help from representatives.
- Analytics tools. Keep track of your campaigns and set benchmarks for success.
Pricing: Request a demo to learn more.
Influencer marketing tools FAQ
How much do influencer marketing tools typically cost?
Many influencer marketing platforms offer pricing tiers, allowing brands to select their desired level of support, while others require you to request a demo to learn more about pricing. Prices can start as low as $30 a month for basic services and can rise to thousands of dollars a month for a comprehensive package.
Can you use influencer marketing tools for B2B marketing?
Yes. Influencer marketing tools can help B2B companies identify suitable influencers like thought leaders and business content creators.
Can influencer marketing tools aid in influencer outreach?
Simplified influencer and blogger outreach is a main benefit of influencer marketing management software. Many platforms provide contact information and offer on-platform messaging services. After the initial outreach, these tools serve as a centralized hub for influencer conversations.
What tool is commonly used for influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing tools vary depending on your campaign goals. Popular options include platforms like Aspire, Upfluence, and Shopify Collabs, which provide services such as influencer discovery, campaign management, performance analytics, and outreach capabilities.
