Social media influencers 2018

Finding Social Media Influencers is trending now as traditional advertising are attacked by ad-blockers and social media. A social media influencer definition is that they recommend and through word of mouth, inducing consumers to make purchases. Now, 71 percent of consumers are more likely to make purchases when referred by social media. They are also more likely to trust customer reviews over advertisements.

Partnering with a respected online influencer makes it possible to develop a content marketing strategy that takes advantage of this shift in consumer thinking. With an influencer marketing campaign, where do you start? Which influencers are right for your brand?

Ways to finding social media influencers:

• Use search engines

It’s possible to search for anything and everything on google (search engines). You can also identify social media influencers using them! If you run searches on the most important keywords relating to your business, or any campaign, the top results will show you the most influential people. If influencers are making it to the top of the Google search rankings, there’s a good chance that they are people you want to partner with. Be careful as there’s a high risk of overlooking someone because you’re searching for the wrong things.

• Search on Social Media

If you intend to do a social media campaign, go to where your potential partners will be at! It’s a good idea to find and identify social media influencers that have a strong following rather than running random keyword searches on Google. Although it may be time-consuming, you have a better chance of finding someone who fits your influencer marketing strategy.

• Influencer marketing platforms

An influencer marketing platform is a software for marketers to locate and interact with influencers. The influencers provide details of their niche and content work, making it easier for marketers to quickly and effectively find the right people. There’s no need to rely on time-consuming and inaccurate online searches. Additionally, there’s no risk of partnering with a fake who has purchased his or her audience. Most platforms also offer additional functionality, such as analytical reporting tools.

Partner with the Right Social Media Influencers

When you need to identify social media influencers, how to make the right choice for your brand is a primary concern. There are many factors to consider:

• Relevance

When you choose an influencer, you need someone who has relevance in your industry. That way, you know you’re tapping into an audience that’s interested in your product, and you know the influencer has the knowledge to speak with authority.

• Right Audience Size

Your first instinct may be to look for influencers with large audiences, but that isn’t always the best option. Surprisingly, a larger audience correlates with lower engagement. For example, influencers with less than 1,000 followers receive “likes” 8 percent of the time. Meanwhile influencers with 10 million followers receive “likes” 1.6 percent of the time (Markerly). 

• A Genuine Audience

Be aware that some content creators pay for followers, or use “follow back” strategies. For these influencers, their figures are largely meaningless. You won’t see a lot of engagement or sales from automated bots and influencers who are more interested in building their own audiences.

• Content Personality

It’s always worth checking a content creator’s work carefully. You don’t want to end up working with someone who makes controversial or offensive statements that have the potential to harm your brand.