Yes, studying potential influencers’ past collaborations with brands is a key part of the discovery process. This can be achieved through different methods:

1. Social Media Review: By reviewing an influencer’s social media channels, you can see past sponsored content and brand collaborations. This usually reflects the quality and reach of their posts, as well as their adaptation to brand guidelines.

2. Using Influencer Marketing Platforms: Such platforms often provide information about influencers’ past collaborations, performance metrics, and audience analytics. Flinque, for example, includes detailed engagement data, campaign results, past partners, and audience demographics for each influencer in their database. This thorough data is crucial to understand the influencer’s audience engagement and their potential fit for your brand.

3. Direct Communication: Contacting influencers directly or through their management is another method. They can share a media kit, which typically includes past collaborations, audience analytics, and rates.

Comparison with other platforms like HypeAuditor, Upfluence, or Traackr can be useful to understand the wide range of tools available. Each platform has a specific edge: HypeAuditor focuses on fake followers detection, Traackr on long-term relationship management, and Upfluence on self-serve discovery. Yet, the choice of platform should align with your needs.

In conclusion, evaluating past collaborations is critical in the discovery process. It helps gauge influencers’ credibility, professionalism, alignment with brand values, and their ability to generate meaningful engagement with your target audience. Whether done manually or using platforms like Flinque, it adds a layer of due-diligence that can optimize the ROI of your influencer partnerships.