How to Connect with Social Media Influencers
Social media influencers are people that have a large and active audience on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. They also carry some weight in terms of authority, credibility, and even likability as a brand.
Each industry has its own group of social media influencers. They might be people that work for company. They could be a celebrity. Or they just could be people with a strong and recognizable brand. The bottom line is that social media influencers have a large audience, and by connecting with them you are able to tap into that audience and grow your business.
Now the basic way to connect to social media influencers is to find them on social media, follow them on social media, and engage with them on their posts. That’s the foundation and the first few key steps that you must take to connect with social media influencers. However, if you really want to take your media outreach efforts to a new level, there are some fun tactics that you can leverage to truly connect with your key influencers.
- Blog About Them
Let’s say Jane Doe has an audience of 100,000 people on Facebook. And she likes to post about small dogs. She shows pictures, she shares training tips, and she might even share celebrity gossip as it relates to their small dogs. Bob Smith has a business that makes toys for small dogs. He really wants to get the attention of Jane does audience.
So Bob decides to write a blog post about Jane Doe. In Bob’s post which he cleverly titles “Jane Doe’s Top 10 Small Dog Training Tips,” Bob write an entire post that covers information that Jane has already shared, and he links to her site.
Bob gives credit to Jane for all of the quotations and all of the information. Bob does not plagiarize; he writes the content himself and credits Jane for any content he quotes directly from her social site. Jane will undoubtedly notice Bob’s post, and Bob also takes the initiative and messages Jane about his post.
- Interview Them
Beyond blogging about a social influencer, you might reach out to them and ask them for an interview. This is a great way to share valuable content with your audience. You also connect yourself to somebody that has authority and credibility in your industry. And by promoting the interview on social media you’ll attract a new and larger audience to your business.
- Mention Them
If reaching out for an interview isn’t something you’re ready to do just yet, and writing an entire blog post about them isn’t of interest, why not occasionally quote them and mention them in your content?
For example, Bob might write an article called “10 Small Dog Training Tips.” In that article he might reference one training to she shared and give her credit for the information. Bob could say something like “for more great tips on how to train small dogs check out Jane Doe’s blog.”
Keep in mind this only works for you if the influencer is not your competition. You’re looking to build relationships with influencers who can broaden your audience, not take away customers. Once you’ve taken the first few key steps to find and engage with influencers on social media, create a plan to really grab their attention and take your connection to the next level.
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