As more businesses begin to make use of social media to engage and interact with customers and potential clients, the challenge lies in developing and implementing a social media approach that produces real value. With more and more individuals turning to social media to obtain opinions in various fields of interest, it has become clear that people whose views are sought out are very valuable to businesses looking to enhance their brands. As a result, social influencers play an extremely vital role for businesses seeking to enhance the value of their brands.

If you are among these businesses, how do you find your own group of social influencers? There are different ways to find social influencers who can help build and improve your brand. Here are five of them:

1. Create a shortlist of potential social influencers.

Before you can cultivate a relationship with any social influencer, you have to first identify them. Search for influential individuals at social network sites for business people such as LinkedIn. A search for your target business on the site will provide a list of people who can be potential influencers. Niche social networks are also good sources since there are lots of professionals from different industries that gather and interact there.

2. Track influencers using web tools.

One way to connect with influencers is by means of Google+ Ripples. This platform allows you to see the people who are sharing your content. You will be able to see who shared your articles or blog posts and gave that content good visibility. Likewise, Google+ Ripples can also help you identify who your specific influencers are and how you can connect with them. Your analytics data as well can let you see who your other potential influencers are.

3. Connect with influential people.

Once you have determined your possible influencers, use the tools and methods provided by the social media sites to connect with each of them. Send them an invitation to join your network, follow them, comment on their posts or tweets, subscribe to their blogs or feeds, and link to them from your blog or site. In general, it is accepted to network or connect with them for business purposes using the above-mentioned strategies.

4. Study the influencer’s interests.

Explore the interests of the influencer in the past few months. This will help you to find out more about their brand alignment. Doing this step will also help to confirm if the individual is in fact an influencer with genuine interest or merely someone deemed to be influential following promotional content.

5. Check out the influencer’s circle.

Learn about the quality of followers and friends of the influencer. Find out if the audience is the type that you want to promote your brand to and if they are interested in what you are offering. Use social media analytics to assess the conversation of the followers to make sure that there is alignment to the overall marketing goals of your business.

Finding and developing a productive relationship with your social influencers will help propel your brand to higher levels. With these influential people, you will be able to have a group of trusted people who will amplify the story of your brand and reach out to thousands of people other than your customers, contacts, and close prospects.

---

About the Author

Mark Jones is a blogger with a background in marketing, he enjoys writing about and all of the latest trends related to online marketing.