Where to Find Influencers to Market Your Business

So you want to use influencer marketing to promote your business? Good idea, as it is one of the most effective and efficient marketing tools for small businesses today. It is rated as the fast-growing online customer acquisition channel, and customers overwhelming say they trust the recommendations of influencers.

But how do you find the right social media influencers for your business?  Here are some tips.

Before you go looking for influencers, determine what you are trying to accomplish. Is it simply to drive sales, or do you want to become known as an industry leader? Are you trying to expand your customer base geographically, or do you just want to hone your brand in your area?

Once you determine your goals, it is time to seek out influencers. They can include bloggers, celebrities and those with large social media followings, such as a popular YouTube user. To find the right ones for your business, you can go a number of different routes.

Search Engines

Plain old Google searches are a good way to start. Enter keywords specific to your business and see who and what comes up. You can narrow results by location, search for bloggers in your industry or other criteria to get the most specific results.

Tools

There are plenty of third-party tools that will help you find people in your niche area, such as BuzzSumo and Ninja Outreach. They allow you to search keywords, then see reach and engagement stats of each influencer. Just remember that numbers are not everything; sometimes smaller, micro influencers can be more effective as they have more targeted and engaged audiences. 

Social Media

Social media platforms provide a variety of ways to search for influencers. LinkedIn allows you to enter keywords or phrases and will pull up those in related industries. Twitter allows you to search keywords and hashtags easily and see various influencers in action. See who’s out there talking about the space you want to penetrate.

Look to your fans

People who already support your business are the easiest to convince to be influencers. When people “like” your Facebook and Instagram posts, check out their profiles to see what kind of following and presence they have.

For every business there are bound to be plenty of influencers; it is just a matter of finding them, approaching them about a partnership and then working together to achieve your goals.