Finding TikTok micro-influencers shouldn’t mean hours of scrolling or paying for overpriced databases. This guide shows you how to automate the entire process using a no-code workflow that extracts creator data directly from TikTok and exports it to Google Sheets.
In minutes, you’ll generate a live list of niche creators with 1K–100K followers, complete with engagement data — no manual work required.
Why this workflow works:
- ⚙️ Automated: Finds and updates influencer lists on its own.
- 💸 Free to start: $5 in monthly credits covers hundreds of profiles.
- ⏱️ Fast: Results in under 5 minutes.
- 🧩 Simple: Zero coding or technical setup.
How to automate TikTok micro-influencer discovery
We'll build a simple, five-step workflow that automatically finds creators in your niche and saves their profiles to a Google Sheet. From there, you can easily filter for micro-influencers and even gather more detailed data on your top prospects.
Here are the steps we’ll follow:
- Sign up for Apify
- Find influencers with a TikTok scraper
- Integrate the scraper with Google Sheets for data export
- Run the TikTok scraper and filter the micro-influencers
- Automate the workflow and notifications
Then, we'll look at how to extract each and every user profile that matches your niche.
1. Sign up for Apify
First, you’ll need an Apify account. You can sign up for free on Apify.com, and you'll automatically receive $5 in free monthly credits, which is more than enough to get started and collect lists of hundreds of creators.
Once you’re signed in, you’ll be directed to Apify Console. This is where all your data collection tools, runs, tasks, schedules, and other details can be found.
2. Find influencers with a TikTok scraper
We’ll use a ready-made data collection tool, TikTok Scraper (by Clockworks), on Apify Store. It can search TikTok for videos based on keywords or hashtags and extract information about the creators of those videos. From that data, we’ll filter out the micro-influencers based on their follower count and more.
Click Try for free, and you'll be taken to Apify Console where you can configure the tool.
In the Search keywords input field, enter the search terms relevant to your niche. Think like your target audience: what would they search for? For example, if you're a sustainable fashion brand, you could use queries like "thrifting haul," "sustainable fashion tips," or "upcycled clothing". At the bottom of the Search section, also select how many profiles per query you need to extract.
If you have specific hashtags in mind, you can enter them in the “Hashtags” field as well. If you do so, make sure to edit the number of videos you need for each hashtag as well. To start off, we’ll go with 20.
Note that there's lots of other options you can select as per your requirements.
In the Run Options, you can select restraints like maximum cost per run, time out, and more.
Technically, you can still run the scraper and view your results on the Output tab in Apify Console. But, since we have to filter them on Google Sheets, let’s integrate the tool into Google Sheets first.
3. Integrate the scraper with Google Sheets for data export
On the TikTok scraper dashboard on Apify Console, go to the Integrations tab.
This is the place for over 1,000 integrations to Apify, including Google Workspace, Make, n8n, and Zapier.
Search for the Google Sheets Import and Export integrations and select it.
In the configuration:
- Name:
Micro-influencersor anything that relates to you. - Start when:
Run succeeded - Deduplication: Toggle
Deduplication by equality - Connect to Google by clicking the “Connect with Google” button.
After granting the permissions, you’ll be asked to select a Google Drive file. Click Choose file and select the spreadsheet you want the data to be exported.
Finally, save the integration configuration. Now, when the scraper finishes running successfully, the data will be exported to your Google Sheets file automatically.
4. Run the TikTok scraper and filter the micro-influencers
Go back to the Input tab of the scraper and click Start.
If you did everything as described so far, it should run and output the data successfully.
Note that these 120 results didn’t even cost you 50 cents of your $5 free credit!
And once it’s run, go to your Google Sheet; it should have the same data as in the Actor output, automatically exported. Every time you run the scraper, the data in the spreadsheet will be updated
Now that you have your data, let’s export it and find the micro-influencers that match your criteria.
- You will have a list of creators with columns for
name,fans,bio, and other information (starting withauthorMeta/). Thenamestands for the username,fansmeans the follower count. - To filter for micro-influencers (typically those with 1,000 to 100,000 followers), select the
authorMeta/fanscolumn, go to Data > Create a filter, and set the filter condition to be between 1,000 and 100,000.
You now have a targeted list of micro-influencers in your niche! Feel free to clean up unnecessary columns, formatting, and such.
5. Automate the workflow and notifications
To schedule this workflow to run automatically, you can schedule it on Apify.
And it’s an easy thing to do:
In the task dashboard, click the three dots (•••) next to the task information and select Schedule.
Pick a schedule that fits your needs - run the task daily or set a custom frequency.
You can choose any timezone and even set a specific time! And, since Google Sheets is integrated, it will automatically update when the scraper runs, too.
To enable notifications (i.e., emails that let you know each time the scraper is run), located the “Schedules” in the sidebar in Apify Console.
Select the TikTok scraper schedule and click Enable notifications.
Next steps
Scrape user profiles
Once you have the list of micro-influencers, the next step is to get to know more about them. For this, you can use the TikTok Profiles Scraper by Clockworks.
- Go to the TikTok Profile Scraper on Apify Store and click Try for free. Once again, you’ll be directed to Apify Console.
- Locate the Profiles placeholder. Every username you input will be scraped.
- Click on Bulk Edit. This allows you to input usernames separated by a new line.
- Go to your Google Sheet with influencer data. Locate the
authorMeta/namecolumn. This includes all the usernames of the influencers. - Select the whole column and copy it.
- Back on Apify Console, paste the data you copied. And that’s it. Save the usernames and run the scraper.
- Change other input files as needed or leave them unchanged. Note that you can customize the videos scraped and even download the videos of each influencer if needed.
And that’s it! Run the scraper, and you should find the output on the Output tab.
How to get better results
The quality of your results depends entirely on the quality of your search queries. To find the most relevant influencers, you need to think strategically.
Here are some tips:
- Use long-tail keywords: Instead of "fitness," try "at-home pilates workout" or "beginner gym routine for women." This will attract creators focused on that specific sub-niche. Otherwise, with a broad keyword like “fitness”, you will get creators ranging from gym influencers to protein supplement pushers to whatnot.
- Combine keywords and hashtags: Use a mix of broad and specific hashtags. For a coffee brand, you could search for
#coffee,#coffeetiktok, and also more niche terms like#specialtycoffeeor#homebarista. - Think in problems and solutions: What problems does your product solve? If you sell journaling supplies, search for terms like "how to start journaling" or "mental health journal ideas."
Conclusion
Finding micro-influencers on TikTok doesn't have to be time-consuming or expensive. With Apify's TikTok Scraper, you can build an automated workflow that continuously delivers fresh, targeted lists of creators in your niche, all within a matter of seconds!
And the best thing? You get to start with $5 worth of free credit, which is sufficient for over 1,000 results!
Frequently asked questions
What are micro-influencers, and why work with them?
Micro-influencers are creators who have a small but highly engaged following, typically in the range of 1,000 to 100,000 followers. Working with them is effective because their audience sees them as relatable peers (rather than distant celebrities). This leads to higher trust, more authentic recommendations, and significantly better engagement rates, offering a greater return on investment for marketing campaigns!
Can I scrape TikTok influencers from specific countries or regions?
Yes, you can scrape TikTok influencers from specific regions. While the TikTok Scraper doesn't have a direct country filter, you can effectively narrow your search by using location-specific keywords and/or hashtags in your queries, such as "#nycfoodie" or "things to do in London," to find creators popular in that area.
Can I export the data to platforms other than Google Sheets?
Yes, you can export the data in multiple formats, including JSON, CSV, and Excel. You can also use one of Apify's built-in integrations to send the data directly to other applications like Airtable or connect to thousands of other apps using Zapier, Make, or n8n for a fully customized workflow.
How many influencers can I scrape with the $5 monthly free credit?
With the $5 monthly free credit, you can typically scrape thousands of influencer profiles. The exact number depends on the complexity and length of the scraping job, but it is more than enough to generate substantial lists for multiple niches, making it a very cost-effective solution for ongoing influencer discovery.
