If a brand tweets in the social media forest and there’s no one retweeting, does it make a sound?
With a capacity for tremendous global reach and massive sharing, social media has the potential to be a powerful, low-cost marketing vehicle for companies, large and small. But even the pithiest posts fall flat without a cadre of influencers to help spread your message.
Through the magic of retweets, shares, and likes, we have the ability to reach more consumers and prospects than ever before. In the past, spreading a message to hundreds of thousands or millions of people was only possible through high-budget ad campaigns; but social media has leveled the playing field, making it possible for the little guy to be on even footing with mega corporations. That is, of course, if they can build their influencer network.
While many people focus on growing their own social media followings, they neglect to consider the importance of cultivating relationships with influencers to amplify their visibility. No matter how many followers you attract, you can never match the exponential power behind a small army of influencers spreading your message.
But how do you connect with these important influencers? I had a feeling you’d ask. Start with these four tips.
Identify Your Power People
Within your industry, perched high in the digital clouds are the thought leaders, shapers, and influencers who are ubiquitous on the web. These are the people who your target audience respects and values their advice: the bloggers, vloggers, and social media personalities who boast large followings and a healthy volume of engagement. Power People are active on their respective social networks. They post original content, as well as repost relevant content that their followers value.
Think you’ve found the right group? Take a look at who follows them. If that list matches your target market, you’ve found an influencer. Continue to build a list of top influencers, follow them, and build a dashboard to monitor their posts. Hootstuite is a great tool to use to monitor an influencer list.
Show ‘em Love
Once you’ve identified this coveted group, you want to get their attention. The world of social media is no different than the “real” world. To get attention, you have to give it. Keep tabs on what your influencers are talking about. Re-tweet or share their original content. Even better, quote their tweet or post, and add a few thoughts of your own in front of it. Something like: “Great ideas, especially tip 1 & 3! RT @Ghosttweetings: What kinds of tweets are most retweeted? http://bit.ly/14Ma8he”
If you really want to get their attention, visit influencers’ blogs or YouTube channels to pick out something to share in one of your original tweets and posts. Just be sure you tag them when you do so, they can see what you’re chatting up their content. Continue to follow this strategy, and you will likely capture their attention.
In our Twitter Master program, we show each of our clients’ influencers love like this every week. See the Twitter Management Program that connects you with influencers, drives traffic to your website, and boosts your SEO.
Give ’em Something to Talk About
You’ve been noticed! All that engagement has paid off. Some of those Power People are now following you. This is good, but you want to take them to the next step. Your goal is for these influencers to share your original content with their followers.
Keep in mind, people don’t share taglines and marketing spiels. They do, however, share content that helps, inspires, or entertains. Give your influencers what they want: Fresh, informative, interesting content. Fill your feeds with relevant, useful material. Of course, some of your posts can be promotional, but the vast majority need to be value-based, not sales-y.
See: 5 Quick Tips to Increase Your RTs
Tip Your Cap
When people (influencers and non-influencers) begin sharing and responding to your social media posts, make a point to thank them. A simple, “Thanks for the RT!” or other acknowledgement can go a long way to reinforce your budding social media relationships.
Building your influencer list, monitoring their posts, sharing content, and thanking those who share yours takes time and effort. This is why so many people are outsourcing the “heavy lifting” associated with social media.
Ghost Tweeting partners with entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and small businesses to ease the burden of their social media campaigns. Our brilliance is professionally managing your social media campaigns, so you have more time to pursue your unique brilliance.
As James Bell, President of Alliance Abroad Group, says:
“We’re impressed with Ghost Tweeting’s ability to take our direction and work independently. They did their homework and curated amazing content from owned materials as well as 3rd party content producers. They engaged on our behalf and helped us build strong and lasting relationships in the social space. We always knew that our brand was in good hands.”
Want to learn more? Check out our Social Media Master-level Program.
