A whopping 84% of marketing professionals are expected to launch at least one social media contest in the next 12 months. (Augere, 2015) Yet, marketers cite finding the right influencers as the number one challenge when rolling out an influencer marketing strategy. How do you find social media influencers? It's not as daunting as it may seem. Start by identifying who is already posting about your brand online.
Conduct a hashtag search
Search your brand hashtag on social networks to see who is already posting about your brand. You can also look up relevant keywords in social media search bars to find influencers who post about your industry.
Use a free social media tool
There are many free tools that can help you to identify influencers across social media, including some that allow you to track your brand hashtag across Instagram, identify brand influencers, and monitor the conversation about your brand.
Ask for recommendations
Influencers know other influencers. Once you find a brand influencer that relates to your target audience, ask him or her to recommend others with followings similar to him or herself. Some social media networks will even give you recommendations of their own.
A few other things to keep in mind: Your social media influencers must have a large and engaged audience, must be relevant to your customers, and must match the tone and style of your brand.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on pixlee.com. Any statistics or statements included in this article were current at the time of original publication.
