How to Find Social Media Influencers in Your Industry?
Social media has taken over the world. Everyone seems to be on some social media platform, talking about everything from the weather to politics to the latest basketball game. Of course, social media is not just a platform for silly banter between friends and family; it is also a platform for businesses to promote their products. Capitalizing on the immense potential, it can be used to build awareness, gain recognition, and establish business credibility. But when ROI is your ultimate goal, you need help with your social media outreach.
Social media influencers with their immense following are crucial in the success of your social media outreach. They have the power to help bridge the gap between you and your target audience. Choosing the right social media influencer to help promote your product or service can positively affect your marketing campaign and, in turn, increase your revenue. If you are interested in getting your message to the right people quickly and effectively, today’s guide will help you to analyze and choose a relevant social media influencer to positively promote your business.
But first, let’s start with the basics.
Who Are Social Media Influencers?
Social media influencers are individuals and even brands who have continuously established and portrayed themselves as trusted sources in their respective industries. By their profound capabilities and knowledge, they have managed to gain a large following on various platforms and create awareness for their brand, products, and services. Fostering relationships with their valued followers, they inspire trust in those who depend on them for information and advice. It is the functional nature of their interactions with other users on various social media platforms that tends to drive a passionate, loyal audience to their brand or products. And as a business, you can tap into this influential group of social media users to promote your business and generate revenue.
Now that we have established who social media influencers are and their relevance to your business, let’s move on to how you can find the right influencer to promote your products and services.
TOP INFLUENCER AGENCIES
Influencer marketing can be a lengthy and tedious process with many risks involved. Our recommendation is to work with a team of professionals to save time and resources and a lengthy learning process. At best you can work with a quality influencer agency. Learn more about top influencer agencies
5 Steps to Find Social Media Influencers
It’s no secret that influencers are extremely powerful. With their ability to drive massive amounts of site traffic from a single piece of content, getting an influencer who is relevant to your business to promote your business or product can be the equivalent of thousands of dollars in advertising. So how do you approach an influencer in order to get a response?
Identifying a good influencer can be difficult. It can be quite overwhelming if you don’t know how to approach and negotiate with a social media influencer. So here are five practical tips on how you can find the right influencer to promote your product or service.
1. Research
Finding social media influencers is a time-consuming process but a necessary one if you want to get valuable results for your business. The first step in analyzing potential influencers is to do market research. You need to make sure that these influencers have an influential following and are in a position to promote your product or service for you. To assist you in your research, you can use premier applications like Buzzsumo.
Buzzsumo boasting its ability to execute comprehensive research, connect and identify important people, build lists, and scout relevant trends, is one of the best tools for searching and contacting influencers. A quick search query will generate an extensive list of influencers who are relevant to your industry. Then you can follow their social media profiles and see if they are worth your time and effort. You can also use the Buzzsumo Chrome extension to access the important information right from each influencer’s profile page.
2. Right Social Media Platform
You don’t want to target social media influencers on social media platforms where you have no potential customer base. This will not only be a waste of time and effort from your side but also a waste of time for these influencers. The best thing to do is to identify the social media platforms where your target audience spends the most time. For example, if you offer professional services mainly in IT, Business, or Marketing, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are the best places for you to target. If your niche is fashion or beauty, then Instagram is known for its fashion-savvy crowd. So, keep in mind what kind of audience you’re targeting and which social media platform they’re mostly on.
3. Outreach in a Non-Aggressive Manne
Once you have selected an influencer you would like to engage; it isn’t time to jump right on it. Keep the conversation professional; don’t come across too strong. It is important to remember that influencers are not looking for opportunities like this to make quick money. It is simply not the goal for them. They are looking for leaders who can have a long-term, positive impact on brands and businesses.
Try to convince the influencer that they are in the best position to tell your business’ story and that it would make a major impact on their audience. It’s important that you show honesty, transparency, and authenticity. Convince them that your company or brand is worth their time and effort, and you’ll have a much better chance of winning them over.
As far as the approach, always be respectful. Remember that you are trying to build a long-lasting professional relationship with this influencer.
4. Try Building Human Connection
Showing sincerity and reliability is what establishes credibility and forms a relationship with the potential influencer. If you want to persuade the influencer to promote your business, you’ll need to connect with them on a human level. Try using personal photos, videos, or call them to your office. It will help you build a name for yourself. Creating a casual conversation and keeping them updated with your business on a regular basis will allow for the formation of a personal relationship. This will instill trust in the influencer and help them see your business as reliable.
5. Offer Something of Value in Exchange for Promotion
When you are trying to persuade a social media influencer, the persistent offer of “exposure” is often met with no response at all. Influencers don’t want exposure – period. They want your product because it benefits them and their audience in some way. Often, this is expressed as quid pro quo.
Think about it – professional athletes don’t receive free shoes and clothing from Nike just for using their products; they earn them by doing unique campaign work. And here’s the secret – there IS no such thing as a free product or service. The influencer already has to put in a lot of effort on the free promotion for you; you need to offer them something in return to continue the relationship.
BENEFITS OF INFLUENCER MARKETING
Influencers on social media platforms are crucial in helping your brand or business get recognized and get promoted. They can transform your business and help you attract new clientele. However, it’s important to know how to find the right social media influencer for your business in order to promote your business and gain traffic. If you have followed all the steps and tips outlined in this guide, chances are you’ll land yourself the right social media influencer for your business and build solid customer engagement.