Every field has leaders, people who sway opinion through both compelling arguments and personal persuasion. Health and fitness is a huge fields, and most of us recognize certain names. If we’re searching online for information about a new fitness regime or superfood, we give more weight to opinions from experts we recognize. These experts are enormously popular on social media. When they mention a herbal remedy or type of exercise, people pay attention. They are influencers. And your brand needs them too.
The first step is to identify the influencers in your field. Depending on your product and how you market it, your influences might be near you geographically or not. If you have a restaurant in Ireland, for example, the odds of getting a mention from Marcus Samuelsson are slim. And his influence would be larger in Sweden where he grew up or the USA where he now lives and works. So while he is an influencer, he would not be your influencer. But if Neven Maguire or Rachel Allen had something nice to say about your restaurant or retweeted your tweet, you’d notice an increase in business. They would be fantastic influencers for any Irish food brand. They are respected, and they are active on social media. Maguire has more than 4,500 Facebook friends, and Allen has more than 100,000 likes on her Facebook page.
For brands, it is obvious who could be a powerful influencer. For others, it takes some research. You can search hashtags and keywords related to your industry and see who is using them. You can even find software that will help you identify potential social media influencers.
In a nutshell, a social media influencer needs to be known and respected by your target market to have an influence on them. And that’s the goal. It is important to remember that the role of a social media influencer is to point your target audience in your direction. It’s not about name-dropping or joining the ranks of the socially elite in your field.
Engaging social media influencers follow the same principle of all social media marketing. It’s about building relationships organically. You can’t buy meaningful engagement from your target audience. You could buy engagement from an influencer, but odds are it would not be meaningful. An influencer for hire won’t stay credible for long. So you need to network, on and offline, to develop real relationships with people who have large social media followings.
Once you have identified the people and pages that could be influencers for your target audience, you can engage with them. Follow them on social media. Share their posts when your audience would appreciate them. Read their blog and comment when you can genuinely contribute to the discussion. Never, ever spam their comments. Don’t seek to promote your brand on their social media. Social media marketing is a delicate thing. No one wants to be used. So use the same standards you would when networking offline. Let relationships develop naturally, over time, and seek some mutual benefit and common ground. Think about what you can bring to the table. It takes time, but if it works out it is enormously helpful.
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By Irene Hislop
By Jeff Sheridan
By Matrix Internet