How to work with Instagram influencers, plus the top 20 of 2024

Ready to get influenced? Researching the world’s top Instagram influencers—and studying their strategies, style, and success—is one of the best ways to level up your own brand’s social media.

Keep reading for top-ranking influencers, what makes them great, plus, some influencer marketing advice from Hootsuite’s very own Social Marketing Specialist, Eileen Kwok.

What is an Instagram influencer?

An Instagram influencer is a social media creator with an engaged following and meaningful impact on their audience—in other words, a person who has influence.

Influencers on Instagram may share recommendations for products or services to buy, and are often hired by brands to promote their business.

Some influencers use Instagram as a side hustle to make extra cash, but if their Instagram account grows enough, they may turn influencing into a full-time job.

Types of Instagram influencers

There’s an instagram influencer for every niche and industry, but most social media marketers define influencer types by the number of followers they have.

Nano-influencer: 10,000 or fewer followers

Micro-influencer: 10,000 to 100,000 followers

Macro-influencer: 100,000 to 1 million followers

Mega-influencer: 1 million+ followers

What makes someone a top influencer?

This isn’t just a list of the most-followed people on Instagram—there are a number of factors that make someone a “top influencer” beyond follower count.

We focused on influencers that have a social-first approach (so celebrities who happen to have Instagram don’t count) and on individuals (so brands like Nike, while undoubtedly popular, aren’t on the list).

We also looked at measurable reach, community engagement, brand partnerships and intangible factors.

Measurable reach

This is the most basic (but still important) contributor to making someone a top influencer—quantifiable metrics that determine how many accounts an influencer reaches. Including:

• Total number of followers. The easiest snapshot of an influencer’s success is how many users follow them.
• Views on Reels. Instagram Reels show how many people have viewed each video, and more views means more reach.
• Post number and frequency. A content creator who posts more often (and consistently shows up on the app) will have greater influence than one that doesn’t post on Instagram as often.

Engaged community

Reach matters, but many social media experts will tell you that engagement matters more (that’s why you shouldn’t buy followers on Instagram). A top influencer will have real users regularly engaging with their posts—not just seeing the content, but interacting with it.

Engagement metrics include:

• Likes. The influencer has a reasonable ratio of likes to followers (if someone has 100,000 followers but only 14 likes on every post, that’s a red flag).
• Comments. Content that has lots of comments from real people (not the bots offering you quick ways to make money).
• Shares. Photos and videos regularly have lots of shares, showing that their community is spreading their reach.

Brand partnerships

Social media influencers aren’t just popular Instagrammers—their content has an impact on their audience of consumers. Brand partnerships are how influencers get paid, how brands get some street cred, and what sets an influencer apart from other users.

Here are some things to look for when it comes to those partnerships:

• Frequency of partnerships. The influencer is regularly partnering with brands and promoting products and/or services.
• Collab posts. Collab posts are used to show that the influencer is working with brands.
• Type of partnership. What kind of work do they do with a brand? Do they wear their pieces to events? Are they the face of an ad campaign? Have they collaborated on a line of products together?
• Brand status. The brands that the influencer promotes are well-known and respected.

The X factor

Some influencers just have “it”— an intangible quality that makes people want to follow them and value their opinions. While the X factor can’t quite be quantified, here are a few elements that make an influencer really stand out:

• Connection. The influencer has fostered a strong bond with their audience, and their followers relate to them.
• Communication. They can communicate clearly, both when it comes to expressing themselves or hyping up a brand or product.
• Values. The influencer has clear values that align with the values of their followers. The brands that they support also share those values.
• Authenticity. Their content feels genuine and truthful. The partnerships they participate in feel authentic (in other words, followers believe that the influencer really supports the brand—no “selling out” allowed).

The top 20 Instagram influencers to watch in 2024

4 highest-paid Instagram influencers

Charli D’Amelio

Social media star D’Amelio may have only rose to fame in 2020 but she now boasts over 43 million followers on Instagram.

Her community of loyal fans get a glimpse of her life, including but not limited to dancing, Dunkin Donuts endorsements, and her cute pups. It’s no wonder Forbes estimates her earnings to be about $23 million.

Source: @charlidamelio

Emma Chamberlain

This stylish YouTuber-turned-top-influencer has over 15 million followers on Instagram, where she mostly promotes her YouTube channel and luxurious lifestyle. Forbes estimates her earnings to be $20 million.

Source: @emmachamberlain

Khabane (Khaby) Lame

With 81.4 million Instagram followers and counting, Lame’s humour and iconic facial expressions make him a global leader in influencing.

Source: @khaby00

Huda Khattan

Beauty influencer Khattan has 4 million followers, but her company Huda Beauty has 54 million. The makeup artist’s earnings are around $13 million.

Source: @huda

4 Instagram fashion influencers

Julie Sarinana

Turn to this fashion blogger for a lesson on a stunning Instagram aesthetic and pretty aesthetic lifestyle content (7.8 million people already do).

Source: @sincerelyjules

Aimee Song

7.3 million Instagram users follow fashion designer Song for modern style inspo, updates on her clothing line, and a peek into the creator’s personal life.

Source: @aimeesong

Courtney Quinn

This digital creator’s bold and colourful looks have garnered over 890,000 followers.

Source: @colormecourtney

Bryan Yambao

Filipino blogger Bryan Yambao’s 883,000 followers are served gorgeous looks on the daily.

Source: @bryanboy

3 Instagram fitness influencers

Kayla Itsines

15.8 million people follow Itsines for her at-home (and beyond) workout tutorials.

Source: @kayla_itsines

Simeon Panda

He’s bodybuilding and follower-building—8 million users follow Panda.

Source: @simeonpanda

Jason and Lauren Pak

This duo has double the fitness training advice and 1.1 million followers to share.

Source: @jasonandlaurenpak

3 Instagram food influencers

Keith Lee

2.3 million people are buckled in for Lee’s down-to-earth car-based food critiques.

Source: @keith_lee125

Alissa Nguyen

Nguyen (@gaming_foodie) has 1.4 million followers, and her feed is full of recipes.

Source: @gaming_foodie

Ella Woodward

2.4 million people follow Woodward (@deliciously_ella) and her drool-worthy food content.

Source: @deliciously_ella

3 Mom influencers on Instagram

Savannah Labrant

7.2 million people follow this often-dancing mom of five.

Source: @sav.labrant

Shawn Johnson

This mom (former Olympian and author) has 4.3 million followers on Instagram.

Source: @shawnjohnson

Michelle Chubb

Chubb (@indigenous_baddie) shares her creativity, activism and humour with her 258,000 followers.

Source: @indigenous_baddie

3 Instagram travel influencers

Jennifer Tuffen

2.7 million people live vicariously through Tuffen’s dreamy travel content.

Source: @izkiz

The Bucket List Family

Travel and family influencing combine in this globetrotting family’s photos and videos. They have 3 million Instagram followers.

Source: @thebucketlistfamily

Tara Whiteman

Her travel-happy Instagram (@taramilktea) has garnered 1.3 million followers.

Source: @taramilktea

How to work with Instagram influencers in 6 steps

Ready to tackle your first influencer partnership? We tapped Eileen Kwok, Hootsuite’s Social Marketing Specialist, for advice in this guide.

Step 1: Define your goals

Why are you working with Instagram influencers, anyway? Make sure you know the answer. When defining your campaign goals, make sure you:

Get specific about what you’re trying to achieve. Note what metrics are most important to you, and what success will look like. Are you trying to get more followers? Get users to enter a giveaway? Promote a sale? Build the rest of your plan around your goals.

Know your target audience. “Getting a clear picture of where they like to consume media, and the type of language or medium that resonates the most with them,” says Kwok.

Choose the right platform. Before you get ahead of yourself, Kwok warns to make sure that Instagram is the proper platform for this collab. “If you’re reaching company executives, perhaps LinkedIn is the best channel for them to be reached,” she notes.

Define your budget. Your marketing budget will help determine who you should reach out to. “This is where the Tetris comes in—figuring out what you’re able to reasonably achieve with what you’re given,” Kwok explains. “For example, are you going to work with one macro-influencer, or a variety of micro-influencers?”

Step 2: Research, research, research

Most of the work you’ll do with Instagram influencers actually starts before you even send that first DM—conducting thorough research of your audience, platform and potential collaborators is essential.

In the long run, this research will ensure that you’re not wasting time reaching out to an influencer who isn’t a good fit for your brand (or worse, entering into an agreement with someone and regretting it).

When researching influencers, remember to:

Ensure their values align with yours. Read that again. The best partnerships happen when both parties agree on core values, and it’s essential that any influencer you collaborate with vibes with your brand’s ethos (and vice versa).

“If they decide to work with your brand, it’s because they see an alignment and believe their audience would benefit from using your product or service,” says Kwok.

Look out for controversial/inflammatory content. On the flip side, keep an eye out for red flags that could result in a PR crisis. We all know brands that have lost a faithful following by collaborating with a controversial spokesperson.

If an influencer regularly gets in fights online, posts prejudiced opinions, or inflammatory content, proceed with caution (or not at all).

Pay attention to engagement rate. “If they have a lot of followers but every post is falling flat, that’s a good indication that their followers are not engaged with their content,” says Kwok.

She explains that influencers with a smaller following but more engagement will be better for your brand. “They have a more defined community, and what they recommend or sponsor has more weight.”

Start engaging. Test the waters a bit (and start a good rapport) by following the influencer and engaging with their content. This helps build a relationship, keeps your brand top of mind, and is a good experiment for interaction.

For example, if the influencer likes and replies to your comments, that’s a good sign. Plus, their followers will see, which Kwok notes is a strategic move: “Their audience will slowly start to see an association with the influencer and your brand.”

Step 3: Create a pitch

Next, it’s time to create a pitch: explain why you’re reaching out and sell a collab idea that the influencer won’t be able to resist.

When writing a pitch, ensure you:

Make it personal. Don’t just send a bunch of influencers the same message—tailor your pitch to each influencer.

This requires a little more time, but personal pitches will stand out. “A lot of influencers are picky with the sponsorships they pursue (as they should be!)” Kwok notes. Explain why you think this specific influencer would make a great partner, and in turn, how support from your business will help their brand.

Include a creative brief. Give the influencer all the information upfront so they can decide whether or not they want to collaborate with you.

“They should have a clear perspective of expectations, deliverables and timelines,” says Kwok. “If you’re able to include examples of what you are looking for, even better.”

Communicate your budget. Money talk can be awkward, but it’s best to cut to the chase. Be transparent about what your budget for the campaign is, and explain what results you expect.

Psstt: For more on creating an influencer marketing budget, read this.

Step 4: Reach out

Finally, it’s time to reach out to your potential collaborator(s) and send them your amazing pitch. When reaching out to influencers, make sure to:

Use the appropriate channels. DMs work, but most experienced influencers will have an email address in their bio. Use the contact information they provide for best results.

Introduce yourself. Include a quick intro about your brand, where you’re based and who you are.

Pro tip: Providing your name and job title makes the message more personal—and ensures the influencer won’t mistake your pitch for a DM from a bot.

Give contact information. If you’re reaching out in a DM, include your email address and phone number so the influencer can take the conversation off of Instagram if they wish.

Usually, it’s best to conduct business outside of the DMs.

Step 5: Collaborate on content

Once you’ve reached an agreement on timelines and budget, it’s time to collaborate. This may involve going back and forth with the influencer about the content, delivering feedback, and being flexible about the final result.

Keep in mind:

The influencer should test the product. “Whether it’s a physical good or a software, in order for the partnership to be authentic, allowing them to test it out before they promote is best practice,” Kwok shares. This isn’t like paying an actor to do a commercial: the influencer should have real experience with your brand.

Let them be creative. You’ve chosen this influencer because you admire their work, so it’s important that you balance your marketing with their creativity and style.

“Lean into their expertise and find a middle ground where your expectations are still met, while allowing them to be on-brand.”

Don’t be too picky. “The more ‘in the weeds’ you are with their copy, the less the caption starts to sound like them, and more like your brand,” Kwok says.

She suggests keeping feedback minimal and direct, and trusting the influencer to take the lead at times.

Step 6: Analyze results and plan for the future

Once your content has been created, scheduled and posted (oh, you’re not scheduling your Instagram posts? Get with the program, it’s free for 30-days), it’s time to evaluate the partnership, celebrate your wins, and plan next steps.

Remember to:

Use your analytics. Tools like Hootsuite deliver informative metrics that will tell you exactly how successful your collab was—and if the money you invested was worth it.

Keep the relationship going. If the collab goes well, keep interacting with the influencer and nurturing your relationship with them.

“The more partnerships you are able to do with them, the more your brand name attaches to their brand,” says Kwok. Fostering a real connection is great for community-building, and Kwok notes you might even get some free marketing from it.

“They may continue to advocate for your brand, even in posts that aren’t sponsored,” she notes.

Make influencer marketing easier with Hootsuite. Schedule posts, research and engage with influencers in your industry, and measure the success of your campaigns. Try it free today. 

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