Marketers are getting smarter about finding their next influencer partners, using AI-powered platforms, social listening tools and some old-fashioned tactics, top marketers said at a CMO Insider roundtable during Advertising Week New York.
Meredith Diehn of Goodwipes said the discovery tool Modash has cut manual work, freeing her team to review creators’ past content. Searches can be highly granular, such as a woman with IBS who lives in Nashville. The team also uses the social listening tool Nectar to find microcommunities already talking about the brand, such as postpartum mothers.
How Top Marketers Are Using AI to Find Their Next Breakout Influencer
Alicia Latoya Richardson of FiveTwoNine said brands use the tool Companion to search creators across geographies and demographics. For Adobe, it analysed event attendees’ posts to estimate earned media value, which AI has helped elevate in client reports.
Paolo Narag of Mars Pet Nutrition said AI helped cast a wider net, but human discernment still mattered. For Sheba’s “Ignored to Adored” campaign, the creator who “popped” was figure skater Ilia Malinin, who owned two cats and was about to adopt a third. His team dug deeper to find the story that worked.
Richardson also advised simply asking communities which creators they trust. Kate Ridley of Stanley 1913 favours creators who genuinely like its products and relies on “constant listening,” admitting there is no formula.
