Influencer marketing has exploded in popularity over the last few years. As more and more brands look to work with social media influencers, the need for effective tools to find and connect with creators has grown. This is where influencer database software comes in.
An influencer platform for brands aims to make it easier to discover and partner with relevant influencers for their campaigns. But are these databases right for your influencer marketing strategy? Here we break down the key pros and cons you need to consider before investing in influencer database software.
What is Influencer Database Software?
First, what exactly is an influencer database? Essentially, these platforms compile information about influencers from various social platforms into a searchable directory.
Influencer databases may include data like:
- Influencer handles, real names, and verified contact information like email addresses
- Total follower counts broken down by platform (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.)
- Average engagement rates and engagements per post
- Frequency and cadence of their content posting
- Estimated influencer rates or costs charged for branded content
- Portfolio of past brand partnerships and sponsored content examples
- Biographical details like location, languages, interests, and demographic data
- Social media mentions, brand affinity, and other sentiment analysis
The goal of these databases is to help brands easily search for and identify potential influencer partners that meet their campaign needs. Rather than having to manually scour various platforms, brands can filter influencers in a database by relevant criteria.
The Advantages of Using Influencer Database Software
There are certainly some attractive benefits to using an influencer database platform. These include:
Assess Influencer Performance Faster
Databases make it easy to filter quickly and benchmark influencers based on key performance metrics like engagement rates, follower counts, and content output. This level of audience insight allows you to easily narrow options to creators meeting your minimum thresholds without having to manually crunch the numbers yourself.
Stop Scrambling for Influencer Contacts
One major pain point is tracking down accurate contact information to initiate outreach with influencers. Most databases include verified email addresses and other means of contact for creators, eliminating the hassle of hunting down this information across profiles.
Improve Outreach Efficiency
Many influencer databases consist of opt-in creators who have expressed openness to brand collaborations. This allows you to target influencers receptive to your inquiries versus cold outreach, which can improve response rates and reduce wasted effort.
Save Time Bouncing Between Social Platforms
Searching across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other social platforms for relevant influencers becomes extremely time-consuming and inefficient. Influencer databases compile creator data from multiple sources in one convenient place, saving you from digging through endless hashtags, bios, and posts across various networks.
The Disadvantages of Influencer Database Software
However, there are also some notable downsides of relying solely on an influencer database:
You Still Have to Do the Hard Work
While databases can make discovery more efficient initially, you still have to take on the heavy lifting of an influencer marketing campaign yourself. This includes developing creative briefs, negotiating rates, managing relationships, coordinating content approvals, reporting, and more. Database subscriptions don’t eliminate these time-intensive aspects.
Major Investment Without Guaranteed ROI
Influencer database subscriptions can easily run thousands of dollars per month or year, on top of the costs to actually compensate creators. However, costly database access doesn’t guarantee influencers will agree to work with you or produce high-quality content. There’s still significant financial risk involved.
Data May Be Unreliable or Outdated
The value of an influencer database relies on the accuracy and frequency of its data updates. Databases that don’t have a consistent vetting process may reflect outdated stats or information about influencers, potentially skewing your decision-making.
Limited Search Functionality
Depending on the database, search filters and capabilities can be fairly basic and rigid. This can make it difficult to pinpoint very niche, specific types of creators that align with your brand’s needs if you can’t layer enough customized criteria.
The Human Element Is Missing
Numbers and data are just one piece of the influencer puzzle. Databases inevitably miss the intangible human elements like an influencer’s authenticity, brand affinity, content quality, and audience relationship. Manual vetting is still essential to assess these important factors.
Should You Use an Influencer Database?
At the end of the day, influencer databases can provide some efficiency in discovery and outreach. But consider their limitations as well. Brands with niche needs or that value creator authenticity may find databases miss the mark.
Evaluate your priorities, resources, and goals carefully. Then, determine if the added simplicity of an influencer marketing platform for agencies outweighs the remaining time and financial commitment influencer marketing requires. A hybrid approach of databases plus manual vetting can provide the right balance for some brands.
Test different solutions and measure results to ensure your choice is delivering ROI, whether that’s an intensive manual process or supplemented by database software. As with any marketing tool, assess and refine until you’ve found what moves the needle for your brand.
