How do you find YouTube influencers (step-by-step guide)

How do you find YouTube channels?

Once you’ve defined your goals, the next step is searching for the best influencers. 

Searching for creators manually is a time-consuming process. You need to dig through hashtags, keywords, or recommended YouTube channels. Then, you’ll need a spreadsheet to record subscribers, content, style, past partnerships, and engagements. Some data, such as audience demographics, will be challenging to grasp. You'll rely on guesswork. 

Another option is using an influencer marketing platform like Kolsquare or Modash. With databases storing millions of creators, finding YouTube influencers who fit your requirements only takes a few clicks.

Here's how these discovery tools work, step-by-step: 

1. Search a keyword
2. Select relevant filters (topics, audience demographics, credibility score, engagement, etc)
3. Instantly view a list of influencer profiles that perfectly fit your requirements

Want to discover how Kolsquare could help your brand? Book a demo today.  

Here are the key YouTube influencer metrics to track

Here’s a rundown of the most important metrics to track when looking for YouTube influencers. 

Engagement metrics, subscriber count, and content quality

Follow count is a good place to start. Do you want to reach niche audiences or gain the prestige of working with big names?

Here’s a quick analysis of influencer types and their common attributes:

• Nano-influencers (1,000–5,000 subscribers): These creators tend to deliver niche content. Their audiences tend to be engaged, trusting, and develop a strong relationship with the influencer. Typically, collaborating with nano-influencers is low-cost. According to Kolsquare data, their average engagement rate (ER) is 7.62% on YouTube.
• Micro-influencers (5,000–100,000 subscribers): Micros still have a strong community feel, but they balance reach and engagement. Their content tends to be professional-quality and authentic. They’re ideal for targeted campaigns focusing on conversions. Micro-influencers' average ER is 1.21%. 
• Macro-influencers (100,000–1m subscribers): With large, diverse audiences, macro-influencers tend to create high-quality content with high production. They are popular choices for brand deals and work well for brand awareness campaigns. The average ER is 0.63%. 
• Mega-influencers & celebrities (1m+ subscribers): These influencers have massive reach and mainstream appeal. However, they tend to have lower trust and engagement rates. These collaborations are great for prestige, but they will cost a lot. Their average ER is 0.43%.

In general, the higher the follower count, the lower the engagement rate. Engagements (likes, comments, saves) indicate that an influencer is connected with their audience. 

Comparing the YouTube channel's ER with the average for similar influencers is an effective way to gauge whether their content appeals to viewers. 

However, you can’t judge on general terms alone. Each influencer’s metrics are unique.

No matter which tier you choose, always complete a quality check. Does the content feel polished and intentional?

Here are a few basic features you can check for:

• Clear audio and visuals
• Thoughtful editing
• Engaging delivery
• A consistent, authentic tone

That doesn’t mean the influencer needs high-end gear or a studio setup. It's about credibility and consistency. If the content feels rushed, off-brand, or awkward, your message won’t land. 

Check brand alignment 

Influencer marketing relies on the brand and influencers complementing one another. 

Here’s a rundown of the qualities your brand should have in common with the YouTubers you choose for collaborations. 

Values

This one’s non-negotiable. An influencer’s values can make or break your campaign.

Let’s say you’re a sustainable sportswear brand. Partnering with a popular fitness or fashion influencer who regularly flies on private jets or promotes fast fashion? There's a good chance you'll lose credibility.

Make sure the creator genuinely aligns with your mission. Their past behaviours, brand partnerships, and lifestyle should all reinforce, not contradict, your messaging. 

Audience

It’s not just about the influencer, it’s about who’s watching.

You need creators whose audiences match your ICP. Let’s say it again: audiences, not influencers. 

Always check audience demographics, location, and engagement before diving in. Even the best content won’t convert if it appears on the wrong feed.

Pro tip: Get creative. A banking app doesn't necessarily have to work with finance influencers. Use cross-industry collabs to tap into new audiences.

Below, YouTube influencer Gemma Louise Miles (@GemmaLouiseMiles, 571,000 subscribers, YouTube) collaborates with HelloFresh to promote their meal delivery service. The lifestyle and fashion influencer doesn't focus on cooking content, but her audience matches the target market. 

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Style/tone

The influencer must complement your brand’s style. It doesn’t need to be an exact match. It just needs to make sense. 

If you’re a vibrant Gen Z brand, a minimalist creator likely won’t click. You should collaborate with creators who resonate with your audience and messaging. 

As you can see in the popular post below, American Eagle (Aerie) collaborates with fashion influencer Stella Vataman (@stellavataman, 5,265 subscribers, YouTube) to create a post showing its beachwear collection. The influencer posts aspirational vlogs, GRWMs, and makeup looks. Her style perfectly fits American Eagle’s output: simple, fashionable looks in neutral colours. 

Vet past partnerships and transparency

Look back through the influencer’s past collaborations. If they constantly share sponsored content, their endorsements may lose value, causing engagement to drop. 

In addition, if they’ve recently partnered with your closest competitors, your brand’s sponsored post could appear disingenuous. This is more relevant in industries where customers tend to use one product exclusively. 

For example, audiences expect variety in the fast food sector, so there’s less of an issue. But recommending multiple brands in quick succession could undermine trust for products like invoicing platforms or sleep supplements. 

You’ll also want to dig into performance metrics from past campaigns. An influencer might look ideal on paper, but if their branded content underperforms, it’s a risk to your budget.

Finally, ensure they comply with advertising rules. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) require all paid or gifted promotions to be clearly disclosed. That means using straightforward terms like #ad, #paidpartnership, or #gifted at the start of the caption or video description.

Tools and platforms for navigating the influencer marketplace

Getting your hands on this data would take weeks, so many brands prefer to use influencer marketing platforms. 

Let’s investigate the top benefits. 

The quick YouTube channel finder: Save time and effort with search and filters

Using an influencer marketing platform like Kolsquare makes influencer discovery easy. These platforms store data about millions of YouTubers. From there, it works like a Google search; input a topic, hashtag, or influencer name, and the results appear in seconds.

Kolsquare also has a long list of filters to help you whittle down your list. 

Here are some of the filters available on the Kolsquare platform:

• Number of followers
• Interests
• Location
• Average views per video
• Engagement rate
• Audience demographics (age group, location, gender, language)

This gives you a list of relevant influencers who match your requirements. Plus, Kolsquare recommends similar influencers to the one you're viewing. 

Reliable influencer profiles packed with data

When you find an influencer that seems like a fit, add them to a list to consider later. Once you're ready to analyse the profiles, you can dig into the deeper data.

Here is the key data available on influencer platforms about YouTube creators:

• audience demographics
• previous collaborations
• follower count and recent growth
• engagement metrics
• contact information

This allows you to match an influencer's subscribers with your target audience and quickly shortlist who will genuinely make an impact. 

Influencer marketing platforms also make it easy to scan through a YouTuber’s past content and assess how well they’ve performed.

Here’s the key data about influencer content that you can view:

• Likes
• Comments
• Views
• Engagements
• Engagement rate
• Earned media value (EMV), aka how much the buzz created from an influencer campaign would have cost through paid marketing channels

Platforms like Kolsquare pull all this data into a single dashboard, so you don’t need to dig through posts manually. All you need is a quick semantic search or scan through brand mentions, and you can find the content you're looking for. 

This makes it easy to make informed decisions and spot relevant influencers with engaged audiences who meet your specific requirements. 

Kolsquare also has a tab featuring similar influencers to the profile you're viewing. This lets you quickly find the right influencers, saving time, especially when running large-scale campaigns. 

What to avoid when you search for YouTube channels

Follow the tried-and-tested formula above, and your influencer marketing will most likely succeed. However, it’s worth pointing out some common pitfalls brands slip into.

Vanity metrics trap

It’s easy to get distracted by big numbers without the right data. But here’s the truth: 1 million subscribers doesn’t mean anything if the audience isn’t engaging. Relying on these surface-level metrics will lead to campaigns that don’t quite connect. 

In addition, views can be misleading. YouTube Shorts counts every view, even if it was only one second. This can inflate numbers without reflecting genuine interest or attention.

Pro tip: Instead, dive deep into metrics that matter: average views, watch time, engagement rate, and audience demographics.

Poor audience fit

Don't choose influencers solely based on your own preferences. If you don’t match the influencer's audience to your ICP, you can easily tank your budget, paying for content that feels right but doesn’t perform. 

Pro tip: Do the work. Explore the influencer’s audience, including audience overlap with other influencers you work with, audience demographics, and credibility. 

Find an influencer near me: How do you find YouTube channels by location?

For local brands, a big part of audience-fit is location. You can use influencer marketing tools like Kolsquare to discover YouTubers' and their audience's locations. This allows you to find creators who can make an impact in your area. 

Unverified creators

Reputation matters. Before signing any deal, ensure the influencer’s track record is clean. Check for fake followers, engagement pods, or past controversies that could put your brand at risk.

Pro tip: Use influencer marketing platforms to assess influencers’ audiences and track past content. In addition, there’s a lot of value in a quick Google or Reddit search to bring up past issues. 

New EU transparency rules

New EU rules require stricter disclosure and brand-partner clarity across social media platforms, including YouTube. Brands and influencers are responsible for paid partnerships being clearly labelled. 

Influencer marketing is regulated in the UK. The influencer must use labels like #ad, #paidpartnership, or #gifted at the very beginning of the caption or video description. Both the brand and influencer are responsible for disclosure. 

The final word: How do you search for YouTube creators

Finding YouTube influencers doesn’t need to be a shot in the dark. With defined goals, good audience fit, and the right data, you can build data-backed campaigns that hit targets.

Consider a platform like Kolsquare. It will help you find the best influencers who know how to speak to your target audience, connect with viewers, and generate strong results.