Jul 11, 2025
7 MIN READ
Learning Basics
Learning Basics
How to Steal Your Competitor’s Influencer Strategy Ethically+ Free Tool
How to Steal Your Competitor’s Influencer Strategy Ethically+ Free Tool
How to Steal Your Competitor’s Influencer Strategy Ethically+ Free Tool
Rashmi Singh
Rashmi Singh
Rashmi Singh
Rashmi Singh
Content Marketer @impulze.ai
Sections
Blog in Short ⏱️
Blog in Short ⏱️
A quick glance at the highlights—perfect for when you're short on time.
A quick glance at the highlights—perfect for when you're short on time.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Reverse-engineering influencer strategies saves time and budget.
Study competitor creators, hashtags, reposts, and ambassador pages.
Real example: how brands learned from Beis Travel’s creator choices.
Use public info only; this is an ethical strategy, not imitation.
Free tool Alert: Enter any Instagram handle and see the creators they’ve worked with.
Let’s be honest.
We’ve all done it. Checked out our competitors just to see who they’re working with, what content is getting engagement, and which influencers are making the real impact.
The truth? That instinct is spot on.
If you’re new to influencer marketing or trying to scale fast, you don’t need to start from scratch. You need clues. And most of them are already out there, publicly visible on Instagram, in ambassador pages, and branded hashtags.
Think of this as ethical reverse-engineering. You’re not copying. You’re observing patterns, seeing what already works, and then building your own version that performs even better.
Why You Should Be Studying Your Competitor’s Creators
Your competitors have already done the heavy lifting.
They’ve:
✅ Tested dozens (sometimes hundreds) of influencers across different campaign types
✅ Spent thousands (or millions) on collaborations, figuring out who drives clicks, saves, and actual sales
✅ Learned what formats and platforms deliver the best ROI, whether it's Reels, TikTok unboxings, or YouTube GRWMs
And the best part?
You don’t need access to their backend. Most of that insight is right there in public view.
Here’s what that looks like in action:
Example 1: Olipop’s Influencer Playbook
Olipop, the functional soda brand, didn’t just work with fitness creators. They partnered with registered dietitians, gut health advocates, and even mom influencers doing daily vlogs.
If you check hashtags like #olipoppartner or browse their tagged posts, you’ll see real-life content: people drinking Olipop at brunch, packing it in lunchboxes, or showing before-and-after bloating results.
💡 If you’re a wellness or DTC beverage brand, this shows you what types of influencers drive “everyday” relatability, not just fitness models.
Example 2: Parade vs. Skims
Parade, the colorful Gen Z underwear brand, leaned into body-positive creators, LGBTQ+ activists, and diverse micro-influencers early on.
Meanwhile, Skims focused on celebrity-led buzz and aspirational content. Both had different strategies, but by studying Parade’s tagged creators, you’d instantly see what kind of audience they were prioritizing: inclusive, loud, and visually expressive.
💡 A competitor study would reveal: Parade’s growth wasn’t about copying Victoria’s Secret; it was about flipping the script entirely.
Example 3: Glow Recipe’s Skincare Success
If you go through Glow Recipe’s Instagram tags or influencer YouTube reviews, you'll notice they rarely partner with just beauty bloggers. They also work with dermatology students, self-care influencers, and makeup artists who highlight product texture, ingredients, and skin prep. Their viral “glass skin” effect came from leaning into authentic, transformation-led content and not polished ads.
💡 So if you’re a clean skincare brand, you now know what formats perform (before/after, ingredient breakdowns) and what types of creators drive credibility.
So, How Do You Ethically Steal Their Influencer Strategy?
Now that you understand why it makes sense to study your competitor’s influencer playbook, let’s talk about how to actually do it, the smart, ethical way.
Here’s a step-by-step framework to help you reverse-engineer their influencer marketing strategy and apply it to your own DTC brand without wasting weeks (or budgets).
1. Start With Their Instagram Feed and Tagged Posts
Instagram is often where influencer campaigns show up first, and it’s your best starting point.
Open your competitor’s profile and look at:
Their feed posts
Their tagged photos
Any content they’ve reposted to Stories or Reels
Look for repetition: Are they reposting the same creator multiple times? Are they highlighting a specific type of content?
That usually signals:
The influencer drives results
That content format converts
Example:
Let’s say you run a skincare brand and notice GlowSkin Co. keeps resharing @theglowscientist’s Reels, simple skincare routines with strong before-and-after visuals. That’s a clear indicator that:
That creator’s style resonates with the brand’s audience
That format is engaging
That creator type (low-fi, science-backed, real) is working
Use that insight to find similar creators for your collaborations.
2. Scan Their Website for Creator Clues
Many brands showcase influencer partnerships directly on their website, without even realizing they’re giving away valuable strategy data.
Check:
Homepages with influencer reviews
“Ambassador” or “Affiliate” pages
Blog posts featuring creator collaborations
Product pages with UGC or testimonials
Example:
Magic Spoon includes a public affiliate landing page that outlines:
What kind of creators do they work with
The rewards and commission structure
How they position their program
That tells you:
The profile of the creators they prefer
Their tone of outreach
What benefits you need to offer to stay competitive
This intel is gold when building your own outreach emails or affiliate strategy, especially if you're still figuring out how to attract mid-tier creators.
3. Search Their Branded Hashtags
Head to Instagram or TikTok and type in branded tags like:
#BrandNamePartner#BrandNameAmbassadoror even seasonal tags like
#BrandNameSummerGlow
Example:
Let’s take the example of Olipop again. Search #olipoppartner and you’ll see dozens of creators in the wellness, food, and lifestyle niches posting fun, colorful content, often in their own homes, with casual storytelling.
That tells you:
Which audiences your competitor is targeting
What content formats are performing (Reels vs. Stories vs. static)
How followers are reacting in comments
Use these hashtags to build a shortlist of influencer types that are already proven to work in your category.
4. Check Who They Follow
Many DTC brands follow creators they’re planning to collaborate with or have already partnered with. It’s subtle. But it’s public. So, open your competitor’s “Following” list and scroll through. Look for verified creators, niche micro-influencers, or profiles with clear brand aesthetics.
5. Sign Up for Their Creator Program
Yes, actually fill out the form. Most brands have open applications for creators, and the materials they send (emails, welcome kits, or onboarding guides) are full of strategic cues.
You’ll see:
What language they use to attract creators
What perks or incentives they offer
What kind of content they expect
Example:
Lululemon’s ambassador page spells out their brand values, selection criteria, and tone. Once you apply, their onboarding emails showcase everything from collaboration formats to storytelling ideas.
This helps you benchmark your own creator pitch and structure, so your brand feels just as compelling.
One Rule: Study, Don’t Steal
Everything above uses publicly visible data, and that’s intentional. You’re not trying to mimic another brand’s voice or poach their creators. You’re observing:
What works
Why it works
How you can do it better
Treat it like product R&D but for your influencer pipeline. And when you combine that with real-time tools like Impulze.ai, you’re not just spying. You’re speeding up your growth, using data that’s hiding in plain sight.
The Fastest Way to Study Competitor Creators
Let’s be real. Everything we just walked through works. But doing it manually? It’s slow, repetitive, and not scalable when you’re juggling 10 other things as a DTC marketer or founder.
That’s exactly why we built a faster way to get the same insights without the legwork.
🎯 Meet the Influencer Marketing Spy Tool
Instead of scrolling endlessly through Instagram, just enter your competitor’s handle into our tool. In seconds, you’ll get:
A list of influencers they’ve worked with
Their follower counts
Real engagement rates that actually reflect performance
It’s free and it’s built for marketers who don’t want to waste time guessing.
👉 Try it now — before your competitors do.
So, What’s the Smarter Move?
You’ve got two options.
You can spend hours scrolling through competitor feeds, clicking into hashtags, and manually piecing together which influencers are working or you can save yourself the time and use the tool we built to do it in seconds.
Either way, the strategy stays the same: study what’s working, then build smarter.
If this helped, share it with a fellow marketer, founder, or friend who’s deep in the influencer game. Chances are, they’re tired of guessing, too.
And if you want to go deeper, if you're looking to scale your influencer campaigns without the chaos, create a free account on impulze.ai.
Our Influencer Spy Tool is just one of many free tools we’ve built to make influencer marketing easier and faster. Explore the site, try them out, and let the platform do the heavy lifting.
Let’s be honest.
We’ve all done it. Checked out our competitors just to see who they’re working with, what content is getting engagement, and which influencers are making the real impact.
The truth? That instinct is spot on.
If you’re new to influencer marketing or trying to scale fast, you don’t need to start from scratch. You need clues. And most of them are already out there, publicly visible on Instagram, in ambassador pages, and branded hashtags.
Think of this as ethical reverse-engineering. You’re not copying. You’re observing patterns, seeing what already works, and then building your own version that performs even better.
Why You Should Be Studying Your Competitor’s Creators
Your competitors have already done the heavy lifting.
They’ve:
✅ Tested dozens (sometimes hundreds) of influencers across different campaign types
✅ Spent thousands (or millions) on collaborations, figuring out who drives clicks, saves, and actual sales
✅ Learned what formats and platforms deliver the best ROI, whether it's Reels, TikTok unboxings, or YouTube GRWMs
And the best part?
You don’t need access to their backend. Most of that insight is right there in public view.
Here’s what that looks like in action:
Example 1: Olipop’s Influencer Playbook
Olipop, the functional soda brand, didn’t just work with fitness creators. They partnered with registered dietitians, gut health advocates, and even mom influencers doing daily vlogs.
If you check hashtags like #olipoppartner or browse their tagged posts, you’ll see real-life content: people drinking Olipop at brunch, packing it in lunchboxes, or showing before-and-after bloating results.
💡 If you’re a wellness or DTC beverage brand, this shows you what types of influencers drive “everyday” relatability, not just fitness models.
Example 2: Parade vs. Skims
Parade, the colorful Gen Z underwear brand, leaned into body-positive creators, LGBTQ+ activists, and diverse micro-influencers early on.
Meanwhile, Skims focused on celebrity-led buzz and aspirational content. Both had different strategies, but by studying Parade’s tagged creators, you’d instantly see what kind of audience they were prioritizing: inclusive, loud, and visually expressive.
💡 A competitor study would reveal: Parade’s growth wasn’t about copying Victoria’s Secret; it was about flipping the script entirely.
Example 3: Glow Recipe’s Skincare Success
If you go through Glow Recipe’s Instagram tags or influencer YouTube reviews, you'll notice they rarely partner with just beauty bloggers. They also work with dermatology students, self-care influencers, and makeup artists who highlight product texture, ingredients, and skin prep. Their viral “glass skin” effect came from leaning into authentic, transformation-led content and not polished ads.
💡 So if you’re a clean skincare brand, you now know what formats perform (before/after, ingredient breakdowns) and what types of creators drive credibility.
So, How Do You Ethically Steal Their Influencer Strategy?
Now that you understand why it makes sense to study your competitor’s influencer playbook, let’s talk about how to actually do it, the smart, ethical way.
Here’s a step-by-step framework to help you reverse-engineer their influencer marketing strategy and apply it to your own DTC brand without wasting weeks (or budgets).
1. Start With Their Instagram Feed and Tagged Posts
Instagram is often where influencer campaigns show up first, and it’s your best starting point.
Open your competitor’s profile and look at:
Their feed posts
Their tagged photos
Any content they’ve reposted to Stories or Reels
Look for repetition: Are they reposting the same creator multiple times? Are they highlighting a specific type of content?
That usually signals:
The influencer drives results
That content format converts
Example:
Let’s say you run a skincare brand and notice GlowSkin Co. keeps resharing @theglowscientist’s Reels, simple skincare routines with strong before-and-after visuals. That’s a clear indicator that:
That creator’s style resonates with the brand’s audience
That format is engaging
That creator type (low-fi, science-backed, real) is working
Use that insight to find similar creators for your collaborations.
2. Scan Their Website for Creator Clues
Many brands showcase influencer partnerships directly on their website, without even realizing they’re giving away valuable strategy data.
Check:
Homepages with influencer reviews
“Ambassador” or “Affiliate” pages
Blog posts featuring creator collaborations
Product pages with UGC or testimonials
Example:
Magic Spoon includes a public affiliate landing page that outlines:
What kind of creators do they work with
The rewards and commission structure
How they position their program
That tells you:
The profile of the creators they prefer
Their tone of outreach
What benefits you need to offer to stay competitive
This intel is gold when building your own outreach emails or affiliate strategy, especially if you're still figuring out how to attract mid-tier creators.
3. Search Their Branded Hashtags
Head to Instagram or TikTok and type in branded tags like:
#BrandNamePartner#BrandNameAmbassadoror even seasonal tags like
#BrandNameSummerGlow
Example:
Let’s take the example of Olipop again. Search #olipoppartner and you’ll see dozens of creators in the wellness, food, and lifestyle niches posting fun, colorful content, often in their own homes, with casual storytelling.
That tells you:
Which audiences your competitor is targeting
What content formats are performing (Reels vs. Stories vs. static)
How followers are reacting in comments
Use these hashtags to build a shortlist of influencer types that are already proven to work in your category.
4. Check Who They Follow
Many DTC brands follow creators they’re planning to collaborate with or have already partnered with. It’s subtle. But it’s public. So, open your competitor’s “Following” list and scroll through. Look for verified creators, niche micro-influencers, or profiles with clear brand aesthetics.
5. Sign Up for Their Creator Program
Yes, actually fill out the form. Most brands have open applications for creators, and the materials they send (emails, welcome kits, or onboarding guides) are full of strategic cues.
You’ll see:
What language they use to attract creators
What perks or incentives they offer
What kind of content they expect
Example:
Lululemon’s ambassador page spells out their brand values, selection criteria, and tone. Once you apply, their onboarding emails showcase everything from collaboration formats to storytelling ideas.
This helps you benchmark your own creator pitch and structure, so your brand feels just as compelling.
One Rule: Study, Don’t Steal
Everything above uses publicly visible data, and that’s intentional. You’re not trying to mimic another brand’s voice or poach their creators. You’re observing:
What works
Why it works
How you can do it better
Treat it like product R&D but for your influencer pipeline. And when you combine that with real-time tools like Impulze.ai, you’re not just spying. You’re speeding up your growth, using data that’s hiding in plain sight.
The Fastest Way to Study Competitor Creators
Let’s be real. Everything we just walked through works. But doing it manually? It’s slow, repetitive, and not scalable when you’re juggling 10 other things as a DTC marketer or founder.
That’s exactly why we built a faster way to get the same insights without the legwork.
🎯 Meet the Influencer Marketing Spy Tool
Instead of scrolling endlessly through Instagram, just enter your competitor’s handle into our tool. In seconds, you’ll get:
A list of influencers they’ve worked with
Their follower counts
Real engagement rates that actually reflect performance
It’s free and it’s built for marketers who don’t want to waste time guessing.
👉 Try it now — before your competitors do.
So, What’s the Smarter Move?
You’ve got two options.
You can spend hours scrolling through competitor feeds, clicking into hashtags, and manually piecing together which influencers are working or you can save yourself the time and use the tool we built to do it in seconds.
Either way, the strategy stays the same: study what’s working, then build smarter.
If this helped, share it with a fellow marketer, founder, or friend who’s deep in the influencer game. Chances are, they’re tired of guessing, too.
And if you want to go deeper, if you're looking to scale your influencer campaigns without the chaos, create a free account on impulze.ai.
Our Influencer Spy Tool is just one of many free tools we’ve built to make influencer marketing easier and faster. Explore the site, try them out, and let the platform do the heavy lifting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out which influencers my competitors are working with?
How do I find out which influencers my competitors are working with?
How do I find out which influencers my competitors are working with?
Is it legal to analyze competitor influencer strategies?
Is it legal to analyze competitor influencer strategies?
Is it legal to analyze competitor influencer strategies?
What insights can I get using the Influencer Spy Tool by impulze.ai?
What insights can I get using the Influencer Spy Tool by impulze.ai?
What insights can I get using the Influencer Spy Tool by impulze.ai?
How does this strategy help DTC brands grow faster?
How does this strategy help DTC brands grow faster?
How does this strategy help DTC brands grow faster?
Can I use this tool even if I’m a solo founder or small team?
Can I use this tool even if I’m a solo founder or small team?
Can I use this tool even if I’m a solo founder or small team?
How is this different from influencer databases or search platforms?
How is this different from influencer databases or search platforms?
How is this different from influencer databases or search platforms?
Where can I try this free competitor analysis tool?
Where can I try this free competitor analysis tool?
Where can I try this free competitor analysis tool?
Author Bio
Author Bio
Rashmi Singh
Rashmi Singh
Rashmi Singh is a writer and strategist with more than 7 years of experience. When not writing, she is either spending time with her friends or planning her next trip. You can learn more about her here.
Rashmi Singh is a writer and strategist with more than 7 years of experience. When not writing, she is either spending time with her friends or planning her next trip. You can learn more about her here.
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Join over 15000+ SocialiQ users who have installed this free Chrome extension to search, analyze, save, and contact influencers directly on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
20K+ Active Users
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Join over 15000+ SocialiQ users who have installed this free Chrome extension to search, analyze, save, and contact influencers directly on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
20K+ Active Users
May be Later
Join over 15000+ SocialiQ users who have installed this free Chrome extension to search, analyze, save, and contact influencers directly on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
20K+ Active Users
May be Later