{"id":30851,"date":"2016-03-15T15:17:40","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T15:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandignitybeta.com\/demo\/brandlatest\/2016\/03\/15\/discover-connect-influencers\/"},"modified":"2016-03-15T15:17:40","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T15:17:40","slug":"discover-connect-influencers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/brandignitybeta.com\/demo\/brandlatest\/discover-connect-influencers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Discover and Connect to Influencers in Your Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Social media guru and co-author of:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Now Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and More Social\u201d Jay Baer<\/a> said it best when he stated, \u201cTrue influence drives action, not just awareness.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Connecting with influencers is the key to generating massive organic traffic that is primed to trust you enough to make a purchase because of that connection.<\/p>\n

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More and more digital marketers and PR professionals can appreciate the way influencers drive traffic and marketing leads<\/a> to their doors. Learn how to connect with these passionate individuals in your specific industry, through social media and other platforms, to reach people that may have been previously out of your reach.<\/p>\n

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Discovering Influencers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Before you can connect to potential influencers, you need to do some homework. Most influencers aren\u2019t hard to spot. They either have massive social media followings<\/a> or are considered authorities in their fields, or both. However, just because someone is a major player, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean they are going to be helpful with your business objectives. You have to research the following:<\/p>\n

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Who They Are<\/b> – Read their online content and connect to them on social networks. See what their accomplishments and their values are. This way, you will know if a potential influencer is a good fit to promote your business. You would not want someone who is an influencer in devious black hat techniques to promote your SEO business because their reputation will naturally rub off on you. Make sure you pick individuals with a sterling reputation who can enhance your image, not detract from it.<\/p>\n

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What Audience They Reach<\/b> – Analyze the audience that they reach with emphasis on the traffic numbers and demographics. If they aren\u2019t reaching your target demographic then you need to move to a different influencer. However, that also means you have to be very clear about who your target demographic is and why you want to reach them. If you are a startup, this will require significant market research before you even start to look at influencers. In the words of the ancient Greek proverb: \u201cKnow thyself\u201d first.<\/p>\n

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Where To Find Them<\/b> – You could go one by one on social networks trying to locate key influencers<\/a>, but that will take a long time. You could also query your existing customers to figure out who influences them and how. However, if you just want to do a broad sweep, there is nothing better than using some online tools to do the task of hunting these people down for you.<\/p>\n

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Tools to Help You Hunt Down Influencers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Here are five different tools that can get you started:<\/p>\n

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