Influencers are leaders in your industry who are well know and have a credible opinion or voice. These people have a sizeable following on social media that, when done properly, can be used to your benefit. Connecting with influencers can be beneficial for your brand because people listen to and respect the opinions of influencers. Follow these steps to take a chance and try to connect with an influencer on social media.
1. Identify Five Influencers.
You may know who the influencers that you’d like to connect with in your field are already. If you don’t you can either use the search functions of social media networks to discover new people. Or there are lots of online applications that can help you with this process.
Twiangulate is a free tool that helps you find influencers and experts based on any keyword or who they follow.
There are many ways to use the tool, but perhaps the most effective is to search for the “biggest followers” of two accounts in your industry. For example, if you were looking for influential people in Guelph you could search for people that both Hunch Manifest and the Guelph Chamber of Commerce follow in the “Reach of” tab.
It will show you the most followed accounts that both Hunch Manifest and Guelph Chamber follow. You can easily follow accounts from Twiangulate with the follow button on the right side.
This tool can help you find influential people on Twitter that might connect with you and share your content or commentary.
2. Identify Their Story.
By researching them or browsing through their content or blog, try to determine what their story is and what they care about. Think about how you can use that story or that interest to make a connection with that influencer. Try to make a connection between what you do and what they are interested in.
3. Deliver your content in a way that will catch their attention.
Deliver your content in unique matter either through an infographic, a video, or a blog. The more creative effort you make, the more likely they will take notice.
4. Share it with them.
Tweet your content to them or share it with them on Facebook and Google+. Taking a risk by connecting with someone you don’t know can have a great reward if they decide to share it. If they do share it, your name or brand will be introduced to a whole new audience.