Instagram, YouTube now help brands find influencers for free

Instagram has recently added new features, including AI, to its Creator Marketplace, giving brands access to data and tools to discover, evaluate, and collaborate with influencers. YouTube's BrandConnect makes it easier for companies to strike similar partnerships. Brands use this information to sift through over 8 million creators and identify the ones that best fit their campaigns.

This poses a threat to the growing influencer marketing software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, which have contributed to the growth of India’s ₹3,500 crore creator marketing industry.

Such agencies charge ₹20,000 to ₹400,000 a month for similar data bundled with other services, said Sagar Pushp, chief executive officer of influencer marketing SaaS platform ClanConnect.

“While Instagram’s Creator Marketplace is still basic compared to the services of established SaaS providers, it could eat into the lower end of the market—particularly clients with budgets under ₹5 lakh per campaign," said Pushp. “These smaller brands may be tempted to switch to the free marketplace. However, bigger advertisers will continue relying on SaaS for multi-platform discovery and more complex services such as campaign execution."

These internal features from the content platforms are attracting more brands—particularly startups and small businesses—to experiment with data-driven campaigns that promise higher returns on investment. But they are also pulling traffic away from influencer marketing platforms.

“We started using Instagram’s Creator Marketplace in June this year and have already seen a 30% increase in our return on ad spend (ROAS)," said Jatan Bawa, cofounder of oral healthcare startup Perfora, which clocks ₹100 crore in annual revenue and allocates ₹10-15 crore of that to marketing activities. “It allows us to build niche campaigns and precisely target specific audience groups—something that was far more difficult when we did it manually, especially during the festive season."

Bawa explained that this year his company focused on expanding into eastern India during Durga Puja. Using Instagram’s tool, Perfora was able to identify the most suitable influencers from West Bengal and nearby regions whose audiences were closely aligned.

“We never subscribed to a SaaS platform despite having a significant marketing budget because there was no way to verify if the data we were paying for was truly accurate," he said. “With Meta, we can trust that the data is official—and the cherry on top is that it’s free."

While Creator Marketplace has been available globally since 2019, Instagram introduced it in India only in 2024. It offers multiple features for brands to identify influencers and analyse data.

“We’re regularly investing in more ways for brands to discover and evaluate creators for their ad campaigns, and Creator Marketplace is just one example of this work. Our goal with Creator Marketplace is to enable more seamless connections between brands and creators," said a Meta spokesperson in response to Mint’s queries.

“In addition to recent updates like adding AI-powered keyword search suggestions, hook-rate, interaction rate, and creators’ past partners to Creator Marketplace, we’re also making it easier for brands to turn their organic branded content into paid ads within the Partnership Ads hub by recommending relevant creator content in the ‘Recommended’ tab," said the spokesperson.

YouTube's BrandConnect also helps brands and creators strike partnerships.

“To make it easy for creators, top brands, and leading agencies to partner, create, promote, and measure sponsored creator content, YouTube offers BrandConnect, our branded content platform, to eligible creators and select advertisers in India," said a company spokesperson. “This helps brands execute their branded content campaigns more seamlessly by identifying the right mix and profile of creators to work with, while creators have a new avenue to be discovered and earn more from their content."

Human touch

As the festive season approaches, Indian companies are expected to spend over ₹700 crore on influencer-led campaigns, according to influencer intelligence platform Qoruz. However, not all creator marketing platforms are feeling threatened.

Such agencies offer much more than search and discovery tools, according to ClanConnect’s Pushp.

“With a tier-based subscription model, each pricing slab provides varying levels of access to deeper datasets and metrics, often spanning multiple platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat together," he said. “At higher fee levels, these platforms also bundle in additional services, such as dedicated campaign managers who oversee execution."

Marketers with large campaign budgets prefer SaaS platforms for the assurance of a “human in the loop".

“We would still choose to work with a SaaS agency any day. When we are investing ₹15–20 lakhs in each campaign, we need to ensure strong returns on investment. SaaS agencies provide more nuanced and personalized metrics that help us achieve this," said L. Muralikrishnan, chief marketing officer and co-founder at food chain Wow! Momo. “For instance, we get influencer comment screening done, analyze the kind of audience they attract, and study other granular details—things far more complex than the generic insights Meta’s Creator Marketplace offers."

The brand’s monthly digital marketing spend is over ₹1 crore, and 30-40% of it goes to influencer marketing. “Additionally, the human connection factor makes SaaS agencies far better suited for the Indian market."

As Instagram’s tool streamlines many traditional agency functions, many platforms are now exploring additional features and services they can offer to stay relevant and competitive.

“While this (data tools by social media apps for marketers) attracts many brands, it also challenges influencer marketing agencies to evolve by focusing on deeper analytics, multi-platform campaigns, and specialised services that Instagram alone cannot provide," said Shudeep Majumdar, co-founder of influencer marketing agency Zefmo.

“For Indian agencies, the key lies in blending their expertise with Instagram’s tool–leveraging it for initial influencer discovery while adding value through strategic campaign management, regional insights, and robust performance measurement," he said. “Ultimately, survival in this reshaped landscape depends on agility, savvy integration, and delivering unique value beyond what the giant platform offers."