Finding the right influencers on Instagram can feel like a tedious, never-ending task: you scroll, click, compare follower counts, and manually paste profiles into a spreadsheet, only to repeat it all next week to keep your list fresh.
There’s a better way to collect Instagram data, though. With Apify, you can skip the copy-pasting and let automation do the work by using a no-code data collection tool (aka a scraper).
Plus, you get $5 of free credit every month, which is more than enough to start finding real, relevant creators right away.
How to find micro influencers on Instagram
We’ll use Apify data collection tools to discover Instagram creators and sort them according to their follower count to identify micro influencers - smaller accounts that often have higher engagement and more loyal audiences than celebrity profiles. Here’s a quick workflow breakdown:
- Step 1: Go to Instagram Scraper and sign up for free
- Step 2: Set up a Google Drive integration
- Step 3: Configure the scraper and run it
- Step 4: Get your results
- Step 5 (optional): Schedule automated runs and notifications
- Step 6: Triage the creators
- Step 7 (optional): Get more out of your data with Instagram Profile Scraper
Step 1: Go to Instagram Scraper and sign up for free
Head to Instagram Scraper on Apify Store, the world's largest marketplace for automation and data collection tools, Click the Try for free button to create a free Apify account and set up your scraper. You can easily sign up with your GitHub or email account from any provider. Once you’re in, you’ll access Apify Console, a workspace to run and manage web automation tasks.
After signing up, you’ll receive a $5 monthly credit to try any tool on Apify Store for free. Instagram Scraper uses a pay-per-result pricing model, so you’re charged only for the data you collect, not for using the platform itself. For example, 1,000 results cost just $2.70, deducted directly from your monthly credit.
Step 2: Set up a Google Drive integration
To automate our data collection, we’ll set up a straightforward integration with Google Drive, directly in the Apify platform. This ensures that as soon as your data is collected, a Google Sheet is automatically created and saved to your Drive.
Click on the Integrations tab and either type Google Drive in the search bar or scroll down to the Generic Integrations section. Choose Google Drive to continue.
Next, click Connect with Google and follow the steps to allow Instagram Scraper to access your Google Drive.
Now, all you need to do is select your account, name the integration, and set a name for the future Google Sheets file that will store your results. Next, choose the trigger - in this case, we want the data to be sent to the spreadsheet once the scraper finishes running, so select Run succeeded as our starting point. Finally, choose a dataset format (for example, CSV), and click Save:
You can check your setup at any time by clicking the Integrations menu on the left.
Step 3: Configure the scraper and run it
Head to the Input tab. To find influencers from your industry, you can use search terms as your input method and leave the URL fields empty. In this example, we’re looking for food and recipe creators, so we’ll use cooking as our search term and choose Search users as the search type. As an option, we could also specify how far back the scraper should retrieve data, or limit the number of results:
Once you’re done with the setup, click Save & Start to execute your run.
Step 4: Get your results
Wait until the scraper finishes running before checking your results. Once the status changes to Succeeded, open Google Drive to find your dataset - the file is automatically created and saved in your chosen format.
If you don’t need the Google Drive integration, you can always export your data manually once the data collection is finished. Simply click the Export button and choose your preferred format. You can also narrow down the results and select only the fields you’re interested in, such as URL, bio, or followers count:
Step 5: Optional: Schedule automated runs and notifications
If you want to regularly discover new creators in your niche, you can schedule the scraper to run automatically and collect data without any manual input. To do this, create a task and a schedule in Apify Console.
First, make sure your scraper is properly configured, then click the Create task button in the top-right corner.
Give your task a name and save it.
Now, you can easily schedule the task by accessing Schedules in the left-hand navigation and clicking the Create a schedule button:
We’ve already saved our task, so now it’s time to add it to the schedule. Click Add task at the bottom to customize your schedule, then choose how often you want the scraper to run - weekly, monthly, or on any day that works best for you.
Adding a task and customizing a schedule
Click Enable and your schedule will be up and running. It will automatically start the scraper at your chosen time and send the results to Google Drive, thanks to the integration we set up earlier.
To enable notifications (and receive an email whenever the scraper runs), open your schedule in the Schedules tab and click Enable notifications. No further setup needed.
Step 6: Triage the creators
If you want to narrow down your list to micro influencers (1-100k followers), simply clean your dataset. Find the column with the followersCount and create a filter in your app (Excel, Numbers, etc.). In this example, we’ll filter out creators with follower counts between 1,000 and 50,000:
Now you have a list of micro influencers, ready for outreach or further processing.
Step 7: Optional: Get more out of your data with Instagram Profile Scraper
Once you have your list of micro influencers, you might want to learn more about them. For this purpose, we’ll use another Apify tool: Instagram Profile Scraper. It’s just as easy to use as Instagram Scraper - with a no-code UI - and it was designed specifically to scrape all Instagram profile info such as name, bio, website, related profiles, video&post count, and latest posts.
Go to your Google Sheet with influencer data and find the username column. Copy all the user names, head back to Instagram Profile Scraper, and in the Input tab, click the Bulk edit button. Paste all the user names and click Set.
Click Save & Start to run the scraper and gather more details about your micro influencers, including profile picture URL, number of posts, followers/following count, verified status, and business account status. Your dataset will now be enriched with additional information to support your influencer marketing strategy.
How to connect with influencers
Once you’ve identified potential influencers, the next step is building a genuine connection. The most common approach is cold outreach. Start by following their content, engaging with their posts, and understanding their audience and style. When reaching out, personalize your message and explain clearly why collaboration would benefit both sides (not forgetting the compensation details).
You can contact influencers through Instagram DMs or email (often listed in their bio). Keep your initial message concise and friendly, but include what your brand offers, the type of collaboration you’re suggesting (e.g., product review, sponsored post, giveaway), and what they would gain. Make your proposal feel like a partnership, not a transaction.
How to get better quality influencers from your scrapes
If you’re using scraping tools like Apify, refining your search criteria can dramatically improve the quality of influencers you find. Instead of broad terms like fitness or travel, use specific and intent-driven queries such as veganfitnesscoach or luxurytravelblogger . This filters out generic creators and surfaces influencers with clear niche authority.
Over time, you can build keyword lists or filters that consistently return high-quality, authentic influencers relevant to your brand.
Conclusion
With Apify’s Instagram Scraper and simple integrations, you can automate data collection without programming skills, store your results in Google Sheets, and get notified when new creators appear in your niche.
By refining your search terms, filtering by follower count, and personalizing your outreach, you can build meaningful relationships with influencers who genuinely align with your brand. Apify gives you the tools to focus less on data gathering and more on building authentic collaborations that drive results.
FAQ
How do I get a list of influencers?
You can quickly build a list of influencers by using Apify’s Instagram Scraper. Just enter search terms, run the scraper, and automatically collect profiles with usernames, bios, follower counts, and links - all neatly organized in a Google Sheet or another integrated data destination.
Can I export the data to platforms other than Google Sheets?
Yes, you can export the data to various platforms, including data storage such as Airbyte or Keboola, or any app supported through integrations like Zapier or Make. You can also connect to virtually any other cloud or local service using a RESTful API. Plus, you can always download your results directly from Apify in CSV, JSON, or Excel format.
How many influencers can I scrape with the $5 monthly free credit?
With Apify’s $5 monthly free credit, you can scrape 1,850 influencer profiles using Instagram Scraper. Since Apify charges per result rather than per run, you only pay for the data you actually collect - making your credit go a long way.
