Social media influencers are those that wield an influence on and help potential customers buy through social networking. They can be bloggers, social media experts, popular YouTube users, or famous people unique to your field and product or service. Many people trust peer recommendations that’s why they’re better than company advertisements.
How to Identify Social Media Influencers
Influencer marketing is fast becoming a most effective way of promoting brands, products, and services. Social media influencers are perfect for your business because they:
- Reach core demographics better
- Help build relationships
- Can increase your SEO (search engine optimization) value
Yet before you can enjoy these benefits, you must learn to find them first. To start, use these tools to search for the perfect influencer for your brand or service.
- BuzzSumo –discovers, measures, and monitors content. It has influencers and outreach features for finding the top writers, bloggers, and publications in your field that apply the same keywords.
- LinkedIn – helps you network with people in and around your industry. Search for them by using specific keywords and phrases to locate related second-degree connections and influencers.
- Twitter – offers the perfect avenue to find, interact, and converse with social media influencers. Its advanced search option gives you the opportunity to reach specific audiences or discover people who are addressing niche crowds in your industry.
How to Grab Their Attention and Engage with Them
Now that you know whom to reach and how to reach them, engage with influencers and make them care about you.
Become their biggest fan.
Share their articles on social media and become a regular reader to examine the contents they write. Leave comments on their posts and let them know you’re a fan, but don’t exaggerate with the praise and attention. They can smell a sales or PR (public relations) pitch, even if you’re not yet giving it. Influencers will open your email when you pitch, but only if your efforts were genuine and ongoing.
Think on their behalf.
Offer them ideas based on the stories they’re undertaking. If you notice they’re searching for a specific theme, even if it has nothing to do with your brand, suggest a story idea if you have one. If great, they might take up your suggested topic and put you in their good graces.
Be an active participant.
If influencers are looking for a quote on a topic under your specialty, grab the chance, but remember you must do it right. Sometimes they want tips on a topic while others ask for an overview of your skills to consider you for interview. Read and understand the fine print to make sure you’re giving them what they want. Follow instructions well to increase the chances these influencers will quote and select your work or idea again for their future articles.
Working with social media influencers is a huge step in humanizing your brand. Use these tips to boost your brand’s identity. Did we miss any detail? Share your own insights below and begin a conversation. Visit our blogs page for more helpful posts written by our expert writers and marketers.
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Sources:
www.sproutsocial.com
www.cision.com
www.simplymeasured.com
www.inc.com
