Follower count is the first number brands look at, and the least useful. Here's what we check instead when choosing creators for a campaign, and the warning signs that a creator's audience isn't what it seems.

Step 1: Start with your buyer, not the creator

Before you look at a single profile, be clear on who you're trying to reach: age, location, language, interests and where they spend time online. A Chinese-speaking audience in the Klang Valley, Malay-speaking mums in the north and Gen Z gamers are three very different creator searches.

Step 2: Check audience fit

  • Location: most of the audience should be in Malaysia (or your target market).
  • Language: the creator's language should match your buyers.
  • Interests: a beauty creator for skincare, a foodie for F&B, a tech reviewer for gadgets. Relevance matters more than size.
  • Would they genuinely use it? Audiences can tell when a creator is promoting something that doesn't fit their life.

Step 3: Check real engagement

Look at the creator's last 10 to 15 posts, not their best one.

  • Consistency: views and engagement should be roughly steady from post to post.
  • Engagement rate: compare it with typical rates for their size. See our engagement rate benchmarks.
  • Comment quality: real conversations and questions are a good sign; rows of emojis and "nice post!" are not.
  • Sponsored vs organic: if their sponsored posts get far less engagement than their organic ones, their audience may be tuning out ads.

Step 4: Check the content itself

Is it well lit, clearly edited and easy to follow? Do they explain products clearly? Would you be proud to have your brand in their next post? In our campaigns, the best-performing posts consistently explain the product and show it in use.

How to spot fake followers

Red flags that a creator's audience may not be real:

  • Sudden jumps in followers with no viral post to explain them
  • High followers, tiny engagement, for example 100,000 followers and 40 likes per post
  • Engagement that's suspiciously high and comes mostly from accounts with no photos or posts
  • Audience mostly outside the creator's country, for a creator who posts about local life
  • Generic comments that could fit any post, often in languages the creator doesn't use
  • Views far lower than followers across every post

None of these alone proves anything, but two or three together should make you look much more closely.

Mistakes to avoid when hiring an influencer

  • Hiring on follower count alone. You're paying for an audience that may not buy.
  • Skipping the contract. Fees, deadlines, revisions, usage rights and disclosure should be in writing. See the 2026 compliance guide.
  • Over-scripting. A creator reading your ad copy sounds like an ad.
  • Ignoring past brand work. Check whether they've recently promoted a direct competitor.
  • Paying everything upfront to a stranger. Use a written agreement and clear payment terms.

Size: nano, micro or macro?

Bigger isn't automatically better. Macro creators give you reach per ringgit; nano and micro creators give you authenticity, engagement and spread at a lower cost. Read KOL vs KOC vs celebrity and does follower count actually drive engagement?

Let us do the vetting

Checking dozens of creators properly takes time. We screen creators from our database of 41,000+ influencers for audience fit, real engagement and content quality before they reach your shortlist. WhatsApp us and we'll reply within one business day.