AI vs. Manual Creator Discovery on Social Media
How to build a futureproof relationship with AI
Picking the right people to make stuff for your brand is key in today's big $250 billion maker world. Yet, with more than 300 million folks making content all over, how do you pick between AI tools and old-school ways? Here’s a fast look:
AI tools: Check tons of profiles quick, drop search time by up to 70%, and look at how well posts do, who watches them, and spot fake fans. Prices start at $99 and can go up to $478+ each month.
Old-school ways: Give a deep look at content and how well it fits with your brand but take more time and much work. Best for small, special runs or when you really need a person's view.
Quick Look at Both
What it Has | AI-Powered Discovery | Manual Discovery |
|---|---|---|
Speed | Very fast, handles lots in no time | Slow, takes many days |
Cost | $99-$478 each month | Takes lots of work, no pay plan |
Right Hits | Hits the mark 35% better | Very right for brand fit |
Growth | Can handle many profiles | Bounded by how much man can do |
Fake Follower Check | Done by itself | Done by hand |
Niche Targeting | Wide net with ways to sort | Top for tight or tricky fields |
Bond Building | Led by data | Real, builds deep ties |
Main point: Use AI for quick work and growth. Use hands-on ways for exact care and a human feel. Mixing both often gives the best outcome.
How To Find Influencers Using AI
AI-Driven Creator Search
As more and more creators pop up, the old way of finding the right influencer has gotten too slow. Now, AI has changed how we find creators on social media. It can look at millions of social profiles very fast. AI helps marketers find creators who match certain people and areas better and faster than ever before.
How AI Makes Creator Search Easier
AI tools can check huge data and watch online chats as they happen, thanks to tech that listens to social media. These tools look at important things like how much people interact, who their audience is, and their past work. They also check if an influencer's followers are real or fake, helping brands steer clear of bad deals.
What makes AI special is it looks deep into data. With smart search using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLMs), AI gets the meaning and detail behind searches. This helps brands find influencers who fit their niche and connect well with certain types of people, like those from a specific place or with certain interests.
Costs and How AI Saves Time
Using AI saves a lot of time. AI can cut down the time to check influencers by up to 70%. Since making content costs a lot, saving time also saves money.
AI also predicts how well an influencer will do by looking at past data. This lets brands put their money on partnerships that will likely give a good return. With features like instant tips and fewer everyday tasks, marketers can use money more wisely. It’s no shock that lots of marketers use AI - over 75% are doing so, and this will keep rising, with 83.2% expected to use AI for making content by 2024. AI also handles things like setting up posts, sharing them, and watching how they do, letting marketing teams think more about big ideas and being creative.
Top Features of AI Tools
AI tools go further by looking at how people respond to content to see what works best. They can tell how people feel about an influencer or campaign using language processing and figure out the best times and places to share content based on what users do.
These tools also have checks for brand safety, visual checking, and emotion understanding, making sure influencers match a brand's values and cutting risks.
Sites like TwinTone are changing what AI can do. TwinTone lets people make online twins that talk to fans all day through video calls and live streams. This AI can read feelings, know faces, and spot things, all while handling more than 30 languages. It helps creators make money from their names all the time and keep real fan connections - and they keep all their earnings.
"AI can help make sense of the large volume of analytics that are produced and never get in front of stakeholders. Natural language and conversational interfaces are a great value add for non-technical audiences to query an AI system - 'which customer segment had the largest repeat usage last week?' - to quickly get insights and disseminate them throughout the organization." - Ash Sharma, AI Product Leader at Amazon
Looking forward, AI is set to add more personal touch to influencer marketing. It may soon shape content just for single users, not just groups. These changes show how AI is changing the way we find creators, giving clear gains over the old ways and setting the stage for a closer look at hands-on methods.
Finding Creators by Hand
While AI tools are often talked about in finding top influencers, many brands still use human-led ways to find the right creators. This hands-on method means looking deep into profiles, studying content, and grasping relationships to see small things that robots may miss.
How It's Done: Good and Bad Points
Finding creators by hand often starts with simple search moves on big social sites. People in marketing look at hashtags, hot posts, and things like how many followers and how much talk there is to see if they fit. Then they look more into each profile, checking who follows by reading comments and seeing how they connect.
Steps also have looking for needed hashtags, going over hot content, and checking followers for possible creators . Brands might also study their own followers or keep track of name-drops to find new chances.
A big plus of doing it by hand is the control it gives. Marketers can fully check an influencer's profile, using human thinking to look at nature, how they make content, and if their followers are real. This close look not only fits the brand better but also helps make strong, real ties. Talking one-on-one can lead to long team-ups.
But, doing it by hand isn't easy. It takes lots of time, can only cover so much each day, and often pulls people away from other big plans.
"With the right approach, creator discovery is not a guessing game, but a strategic advantage for your influencer marketing." - Bengt Kirchbauer
These trades are why finding things by hand often works best when you really need to be right and understand the full picture.
When You Should Use Manual Finding
Not like AI, good at doing a lot fast, finding by hand does well when a human touch is key for focused goals and fitting with a brand. Take niche finding, which is best when brands need people who know a lot about a very special area. Small details of a field might slip past AI.
Finding by hand is also great for making sure a brand fits well. While AI can give numbers like how many people watch and who they are, only a person can see if a person's jokes, ideas, and ways fit a brand's look. This is super important for big, fancy brands, B2B firms, or any place where what people think matters a lot.
Small projects also do better with hand methods. When a brand just needs a few people for one job, taking some days to do manual research can save more than using big, costly AI tools. Plus, talking to people yourself can build long relationships, making those people true fans of the brand who make real content and boost results.
For jobs where being just right is more important than having a lot, like those dealing with tricky topics - the kind of choice only people can make puts hand finding at the front.
Key Differences Between AI and Manual Discovery
AI-driven and manual creator discovery tackle brands' challenges in distinct ways. For instance, nearly half of brands - 48% - report struggling to find the right creators for their campaigns.
AI tools have revolutionized this process by scanning millions of social profiles in mere seconds, pinpointing creators that align with specific audiences and niches. What used to take days of manual scrolling and analysis can now be accomplished almost instantly. These tools also offer real-time alerts to identify rising influencers or trending topics, ensuring brands can act quickly to seize opportunities.
The time savings are substantial. AI-powered tools can cut the time required for influencer vetting by 50% or more, with some reports indicating reductions as high as 70%. For example, Goldman Sachs noted a 70% reduction in data preparation time after adopting AI for investment analysis, hinting at similar efficiencies in creator discovery.
However, while AI excels in speed and data processing, manual discovery brings something AI can't replicate: human judgment. A person can assess whether a creator's personality and tone align with a brand’s values - an area where AI still falls short. Below is a side-by-side comparison of both approaches:
Comparison Table: AI vs Manual Discovery
Point | AI-Powered Finding | By hand Finding |
|---|---|---|
Speed | Looks at lots of profiles fast | Takes many days to look well |
Cost | $99–$478+ each month for tools | Needs a lot of work hours |
Right info | Up to 35% more right info | Very good at picking the right brand |
Size | Can reach endless data | Set by how much people can do |
Fake Check | Finds fake followers on its own | Must check fakes by hand |
Special Finds | Finds many types by set rules | Knows deep, small details well |
Making Links | Links made from data | Real, grows slow, lasts long |
Price talks a lot here as well. The easy AI tools start at $99 a month, but the big ones can cost over $478 a month. Finding things the old way doesn't need a pay every month but does take a lot of time from staff. Plus, AI can guess costs with up to 35% more right than old ways, letting teams think more on big plans not day-to-day work.
Social Media Mix
Picking AI or old ways changes how you mix with social media too. AI tools link right with social site systems to get fresh info on likes, who watches, and how well posts do. This helps brands see fast if the people watching a creator fit who they want to reach.
Note that 73% of ad folks think AI will rule influencer ad setup soon. For instance, AI shows that small but popular TikTok folks get about 18% likes, way more than the 4-5% big names get. This info helps companies pick who to team up with in a smart way.
Old methods lean on info all can see, which may not tell as much about likes or pinpoint places well.
Money effects stand out too. AI makes checking influencers quick, starting ad runs fast, which can mean better end results. In fact, 66% of ad folks say they see better outcomes with AI tools for these ads.
For sites like TwinTone, that keep folks talking with live shows and video calls, AI does even more good. AI finds creators right for active, ongoing ads - opening ways for steady cash growth. But old ways often stick brands with short, one-time ads, losing out on long-term wins.
Finding the Best Way to Spot Creators
Picking how to find creators is key in any influencer campaign. Nearly half of marketers (47%) meet trouble when trying to find fitting ones for their efforts. It’s vital to know when to use AI or simple human effort as this can bigly shift your outcomes.
When to Use AI vs. Doing it By Hand
AI tools work best when you need speed and to handle a lot. For example, looking at each creator can take teams up to two hours, but AI cuts this down to just minutes. AI is great for sifting through creators on many rules, checking how active they are on spaces, and making reaching out smoother. It’s also good at seeing trends that might be missed otherwise.
On the other hand, doing things by hand is key when you need careful thought. This way is great for finding smaller influencers in special areas, seeking those fitting a certain place or language, and looking deeper into ties that might need extra care due to touchy details. Manual checks make sure a creator’s style and values fit your brand well.
The risks are large. Brands that match well with creators can get up to 11x higher ROI over usual online ads. Not getting this right could mean wasting over $50 million by 2025. This shows how critical it is to mix fast work with smart choices.
Mixing AI and Manual Methods
More and more, campaigns mix AI and manual ways. In fact, 68% use manual ways along with AI checks. This blend lets AI do the big work - looking through many profiles, setting filters for details like age and activity, and spotting matches - while people check how well the creator fits the brand, the quality of the content, and the chance for a good tie.
The perks of this path are clear. Firms using AI report a 425% higher ROI from using creator stuff across types, a 67% cut in routine work, and handling 10 times as many creator ties without more people.
For sites like TwinTone, focusing on interactive doubles and live streams, this mix way works well. It spots creators good at live connects and makes sure they match TwinTone’s aim to build real, ongoing links with fans.
The Future of Finding Creators
As these mixed methods grow, fresh tech looks to boost both speed and real feel in finding creators. AI use has jumped from 55% in 2023 to 72% in 2024. Beyond just matching, new tech like VR and AR are making new ways to find and look at creators. Meanwhile, mixed AI that joins machine learning with regular AI can handle daily jobs - like planning stuff and watching mentions - letting people focus more on making ties and big plans.
FAQs
How do AI tools help find people on social media faster and better than doing it on your own?
AI makes it easier and quicker to find creators on sites like Instagram or Twitter. It can look at a lot of data in just a few seconds - a job that could take days if done by a person. It checks important things like who follows them, how much people talk to them, and their past team-ups. This way, it finds the best ones for your goals fast and well, saving time and work.
By doing the same jobs over and over, AI lets brands think about what's key: making strong ties and running ads better. Its skill to handle and make sense of a lot of data puts AI way ahead in making influencer ads work better.
What are the risks when you only use AI to look for creators on social media?
Just using AI to find creators on social media has its problems. One big worry is that AI tools might highlight fake or AI-made stuff. This makes it tough to tell who is real and who is not. This mix-up can hurt users' trust, as telling the difference between real and fake people gets harder.
Another danger is that AI might push out wrong info, spam, or scams. Such stuff not only breaks users' trust but can also make social media less fun and trusty. Over time, these issues might hurt real ties and turn the online space into one that feels less engaging and reliable.
When should we pick manual creator search over using AI tools?
When we need a special touch or a deep know of small, special groups, manual search often works best. For example, if you're dealing with hard cultural points, making a new brand voice, or creating very targeted outreach, manual ways can bring the care and detail that AI might miss.
Manual search also works well when you aim to make real connections with creators or influencers. By talking directly, it adds a human part that helps build trust and friendship. While AI tools are fast and can handle big tasks, the manual way is best when you need new ideas, gut feelings, and close relationships to be most important.
