Finding creators already posting about your brand

Start with the posts that tag you

Start with the people who have already told you: posts that tag or mention your account. Then search for posts that name you without tagging you, and look through your own customers. Each finds a different group, so do all three.

On Instagram, posts you are tagged in sit under the Tagged tab on your profile. Story mentions do not: they arrive as a direct message, or as a message request if you do not follow the person, and the story disappears after 24 hours unless the creator saves it to a highlight. For eligible accounts, Instagram also gathers the stories that mention you into a Stories About You reel while they are live. Note the handle when it arrives.

Check your settings on both apps. On Instagram, a business account is notified in Activity when it is mentioned, and Who can @mention you should be set to allow everyone. On TikTok, mention settings sit under Privacy, and you can filter Inbox, Activities, All activity to Mentions and tags.

Search for the posts that do not tag you

Not everyone who posts about you tags you. Instagram search takes keywords as well as handles and hashtags, so search your brand name, product names and common misspellings, and open your branded hashtag, whose page shows public posts that used it. TikTok search covers people, posts, sounds and hashtags, with filters to narrow the results.

For blogs and other websites, set up a Google Alert for your brand name. Google emails you when new results for it show up in Search.

Use the platforms' own brand tools

Meta now does part of this for you, if your business meets its eligibility rules. Since January 2026, Instagram's creator marketplace, inside Meta Business Suite, shows brands rows of recommended creators who have tagged their brand in content. The Partnership Ads Hub in Ads Manager shows content from creators who tag or mention your brand, and a creator can give you a partnership ad code so you can run their post as an ad.

On TikTok, TikTok One's Content Suite finds TikToks about a brand and lets you invite creators to approve their use in ads. It is in global beta: you ask a TikTok representative for access, which a small advertiser without one may not get. TikTok One's creator search also finds creators on TikTok One who have posted content with a keyword you enter, so try your brand name; creators who have not joined TikTok One will not show up.

Check your customer list

Some of your best creators may already be customers. Shopify lets you export your customers to a CSV file. Modash accepts customer emails as one way to find creators, and its Influential Fans feature looks for creators who already engage with your brand on social media. Upfluence's Shopify connection lets you identify influential customers.

Before you upload customer emails to a third-party tool, check with whoever handles data protection for you that you may share them, and that your privacy notice tells customers you do. A free alternative is to ask: add a line to your order confirmation or post-purchase survey asking customers whether they create content.

Before you reach out

Keep a simple list: handle, link to the post, date, and what the post got in views or likes. Then vet each creator as you would anyone else. One enthusiastic post does not tell you what their typical post reaches or where their audience lives. When you write, mention the specific post.