Social Media Search API: keyword in, accounts out
Send a keyword and one of six platforms, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest or Reddit, and get back up to 20 matching accounts with handle, name, description, follower count and profile URL in one normalized JSON page. 5 credits per search that returns results; an empty page costs nothing.
5
Credits per search
~$0.018-0.025 with results
0
Credits on empty
no results, no charge
6
Platforms, one endpoint
Instagram to Reddit
20
Hits per search
one normalized page
What Social Search gives you
Six platforms, one request shape
Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest and Reddit share one endpoint. Pass the platform name and the keyword; switching platforms is a one-word change, not a new integration or another vendor.
- Instagram and TikTok
- YouTube and Threads
- Pinterest and Reddit
- Same JSON in and out
Every hit normalized to five fields
Each of the up to 20 results carries the same five fields no matter which platform it came from: handle, display name, description, follower count and profile URL. Your code parses one shape, not six.
- Handle and display name
- Description text
- Follower count
- Profile URL
Only charged when results come back
A search that returns zero results bills zero credits, and so does an upstream error. You pay the 5 credits only when the page actually contains accounts, so testing narrow keywords costs nothing until one of them works.
- Zero credits on empty pages
- Upstream errors never bill
- 5 credits only with results
- Free to refine keywords
About two cents per search
5 credits per search with results works out to roughly $0.025 on the Starter plan and $0.018 on Growth. A full page of 20 accounts is well under a cent per account, and sweeping all six platforms for one keyword costs about $0.11 to $0.15.
- 5 credits per search
- ~$0.018 per search on Growth
- ~$0.025 per search on Starter
- All 6 platforms: ~$0.11-0.15
Built to chain into Social Profile Check
Search finds the candidates; Social Profile Check vets them. Run the keyword, take the handles worth a look, and pull engagement, post volume and the verified and private flags on each for 10 credits more. Both draw from the same credit balance.
- Search finds candidates
- Profile Check vets them
- 5 + 10 credits per vetted lead
- One credit balance for both
Fresh at search time
First-time searches run live against the platform, typically a few seconds and up to a few minutes in the worst case, so you see what the platform shows today. Repeat the same platform and query within 7 days and the result returns instantly from cache.
- Live platform results
- Typically a few seconds
- Up to 1-2 min worst case
- Instant repeats for 7 days
Keyword in, candidate list out
Send platform and keyword
POST one of six platforms plus the query you would type into that platform's own search box. One request shape covers Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest and Reddit.
$ POST /v1/social-search
"platform": "instagram"
"query": "vegan meal prep"
> one platform per search
We run the search live
First-time searches fetch live results from the platform, typically a few seconds and up to a few minutes worst case. The same platform and query within 7 days returns instantly from cache.
Query sent to Instagram
Live result page fetched
Hits normalized to 5 fields
Counting results, seconds fresh
Read the candidate list
Up to 20 accounts land in one JSON payload, each with handle, name, description, follower count and profile URL. A page with results bills 5 credits; an empty page bills zero.
result_count20
top hit@plantfuelkitchen
followers88,400
One endpoint. A keyword plus one of six platforms in, structured data out.
Same authentication, same credit balance, and the same response envelope as every other 1Lookup product. If you have already integrated one endpoint, this one is a URL change.
curl -X POST https://app.1lookup.io/api/v1/social-search \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"platform": "instagram",
"query": "vegan meal prep"
}'{
"classification": {
"matched": true,
"platform": "instagram",
"query": "vegan meal prep",
"result_count": 20
},
"insights": {
"social_search_result": {
"platform": "instagram",
"query": "vegan meal prep",
"result_count": 20,
"results": [
{
"handle": "plantfuelkitchen",
"name": "Plant Fuel Kitchen",
"description": "High-protein vegan meal prep. New batch recipes every Sunday.",
"followers": 88400,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/plantfuelkitchen"
},
{
"handle": "greenbatchmeals",
"name": "Green Batch Meals",
"description": "Batch-cooked vegan lunches for busy weeks",
"followers": 41200,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/greenbatchmeals"
}
]
}
},
"metadata": { "credits_used": 5, "cache_hit": false }
}One keyword, a page of candidates you can act on
Search a niche keyword and the response is a working list, not a screenshot: up to 20 accounts with handles, follower counts and profile URLs. Feed the promising ones straight into Social Profile Check to pull engagement and the verified and private flags before you reach out. The whole page cost 5 credits, about two cents.
- PlatformInstagram
- Queryvegan meal prep
- Results returned20
- 1. @plantfuelkitchen88,400 followers
- 2. @greenbatchmeals41,200 followers
- 3. @thelentillab27,900 followers
- Results 4-2017 more in results[]
- Each hit carrieshandle, name, description, followers, url
{
"classification": {
"matched": true,
"platform": "instagram",
"query": "vegan meal prep",
"result_count": 20
},
"insights": {
"social_search_result": {
"result_count": 20,
"results": [
{
"handle": "plantfuelkitchen",
"name": "Plant Fuel Kitchen",
"followers": 88400,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/plantfuelkitchen"
}
]
}
},
"metadata": { "credits_used": 5 }
}Every field you get back
No hidden tiers. Every field below is returned on a successful lookup at the price shown above.
Search
- platform
- query
- result_count
Each result (up to 20)
- handle
- name
- description
- followers
- url
Who uses Social Search
Influencer discovery tools
Your users type a niche keyword and expect creators back. Wire the keyword to Social Search, render the 20 normalized hits with follower counts, and cover six platforms with one integration instead of building and maintaining a scraper per platform.
Creator marketplaces doing lead gen
Filling a vertical means finding creators who are not on the platform yet. Search the vertical's keywords, collect handles and follower counts, then chain Social Profile Check on the shortlist so outreach only goes to accounts whose numbers hold up.
Brand-protection teams hunting impersonators
Search your brand name on each of the six platforms and diff the page against the accounts you actually own. A lookalike handle selling knockoffs or phishing your customers surfaces with its follower count and profile URL attached, ready for the takedown report.
Market researchers sizing a niche
Before a client bets on a niche, run its keywords across the platforms and read the field: who ranks, how big their followings are, and whether the page even fills its 20 slots. A handful of searches, at about two cents each, replaces an afternoon of manual scrolling.
Frequently asked questions
What does Social Search return?
Send a platform and a keyword and you get back one page of up to 20 matching accounts. Every hit carries the same five fields regardless of platform: handle, display name, description, follower count and profile URL. The response also echoes the platform and query and includes a result_count, so your code can branch on an empty page without parsing anything.
Which platforms can I search?
Six: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest and Reddit. Each search targets one platform, so covering all six for the same keyword takes six calls at 5 credits each, about $0.11 to $0.15 total. The request and response shape is identical across all six, so one integration covers every platform and adding another later is a one-word change.
Am I charged when a search finds nothing?
No. Social Search is success-billed: a search that returns zero results deducts zero credits. You only pay the 5 credits when the response actually contains accounts. The same applies when the platform errors upstream; a failed fetch is never billed. Narrow keywords that come back empty cost you nothing while you refine them.
How long does a search take?
A first-time search runs live against the platform, so expect a few seconds, and up to a few minutes in the worst case. It is not the sub-second response of our phone and email products, because the results are fetched fresh, not read from a stale index. Repeat the same platform and query within 7 days and the result returns instantly from cache.
What does it cost in dollars?
5 credits per search that returns results: about $0.025 on the Starter plan and $0.018 on Growth. A full page of 20 accounts works out to well under a cent per account. Running 100 keyword searches costs about $1.80 to $2.50, and every search that comes back empty is free. Credits come from the same balance as all 40 1Lookup products.
How many results do I get, and is there pagination?
One page of up to 20 accounts per search, with no pagination. If the account you want is not on the page, refine the keyword, the same way you would in the platform's own search box. Popular keywords fill all 20 slots; narrow ones may return three or four hits and still bill the same 5 credits. There is no CSV bulk upload for search; it is one search per API call.
How do I use it to find influencers?
Search the niche keyword your campaign targets on the platform the campaign runs on, and you have a candidate list with follower counts in one call. Then chain Social Profile Check on the promising handles to pull engagement, post volume and the verified and private flags before anyone gets contacted or paid. The two-step combo costs 5 credits for the search plus 10 per profile you vet.
How do I use it to catch impersonator accounts?
Search your brand name on each of the six platforms and read what comes back. Your real account should be there; any other handle trading on your name is a takedown candidate, and the response hands you its follower count and profile URL for the report. Brand-protection teams run this weekly, and any repeat of the same search within 7 days returns instantly from cache.