An effective online marketing strategy will comprise of many techniques. One of them is getting influential people and websites to share or discuss your site, brand, products or services. Many people that go online each day will no doubt follow people that they look up to in some way. Those individuals could range from celebrity idols through to industry professionals.
As you can imagine, getting an influential figure to talk about you will give your online brand a big boost. It can also help to increase credibility in your particular niche. The thing about some online marketers is that they assume no influential people will want to talk about brands, websites, or people no-one has ever heard of before.
But, it might surprise you to learn that it IS possible to get the attention of social media influencers. Here’s how to do it:
Share some of their content
Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks make it easy to share public posts. With the first two platforms, you can also tag their usernames into your posts. That way, they get a notification that you’ve shared their content. Do this often, and it’s likely you could open up a dialog with them to collaborate on future content that you curate on your website.
Get involved with the discussions
The beauty of social media is that you can discuss any content shared on each platform. Even media-rich networks like Instagram allow you to comment on a person’s image or video posted up.
You might not think it, but the people behind the accounts will often read through the comments people write. Sometimes, they’ll even respond to those messages too! It’s an easy way to put yourself on the radar of the social influencer whose attention you are trying to attract.
Give them something they will love
Let’s assume that you are a company selling a range of products. You’ve just got a new model about to launch on the market, and you’re keen to hear feedback from notable individuals. Use the opportunity to reach out to key social media influencers and give them a freebie.
You could ask them their thoughts on it, and perhaps even request they do a review of it. In return, they can keep the product for free if they like it. Obviously, you might not want to do this with products that cost five-figure sums or more, but for smaller value items it can be a good marketing investment.
What’s more, it’s a brilliant link building strategy because they can link to the relevant product page on your website from their social media accounts or website!
Ask them for an interview
Nothing massages an ego more than being made to feel important. In fact, it can be a great feeling knowing someone thinks you are special enough to warrant being asked for an interview!
You don’t have to physically talk to them; a website interview can take place by asking them a series of questions via email, for example, or even over a video call using something like Skype.
So, now that you know why social media influencers are important and how to attract their attention, it’s time to put your newfound knowledge into action!
