Followers are vanity; engagement is sanity. A practical framework for shortlisting creators using engagement rate, audience quality, and influence score.
When brands start an influencer search, the first instinct is to sort by follower count. It feels safe — bigger numbers, bigger reach. But a 2M-follower account with a 0.4% engagement rate will almost always under-deliver against a 60K creator whose audience actually shows up.
Start with engagement rate, not reach
Engagement rate (likes + comments + saves, divided by followers) is the single most honest signal of whether an audience cares. As a rough guide: anything above 6% for a micro creator is excellent, 3–6% is healthy, and below 1.5% deserves a second look before you commit budget.
Audit the audience, not just the numbers
High engagement can be manufactured. Scan the comments — are they specific and human, or a wall of generic emojis? Check whether the audience demographics (age, geography, language) match the market you're actually selling into.
“The best creator for your brand is rarely the biggest one. It's the one whose audience trusts them on your exact topic.”
Use a composite influence score
We score creators on a blend of engagement rate, average likes and comments relative to reach, posting consistency, and audience authenticity. That composite is what crowns the 'best match' on our compare tool — and it's a far better predictor of campaign outcomes than raw follower count ever was.
