Did you know that companies with blogs get 97% more inbound links then non-blogging websites? The importance of content marketing is clear to see. It drives more traffic, increases brand awareness, provides you with leads, and it improves your sales.
The only problem is, once you’ve put all your efforts into creating content that will bring you all the benefits above, you’ve then got to get it in front of your target audience. And that’s where an influencer can help significantly.
What is an influencer?
An influencer is a person who is well connected within your area of expertise. They are a powerful tool to utilise because they have the most influence amongst the people that you are trying to reach.
The stats show that an impressive 92% trust peer recommendations for product choices, ahead of brands — and that’s why an influencer is so valuable.
Influencers tend to be:
- Journalists
- Industry bloggers
- Academics
- Brand advocates
- Niche promoters
The key is to get them to share your content, so you can get it in front of your audience. But this isn’t always easy, so take a look at some top tips that can help you find influencers and get them to share your content….
Step 1: Create authoritative content
Before you do anything, you need to ensure that your content is good enough to share. An influencer is looking for content that is authoritative and teaches the reader something. This isn’t as difficult as it sounds, as no content is completely original. The secret is to find successful content within your niche and make it 10x better — otherwise known as the skyscraper technique.
This technique is a proven method to bring in more leads to your site, and it’s something that bloggers and influencers will be looking for when deciding whether they should link back to your content or not.
Step 2: Utilise web platforms
The next step is to actually find the best influencers in your niche. If you don’t have the time to research social platforms and blogs to see who has the biggest following, then you may want to use a web tool that will do the job for you.
I’ve put together a list of some of the best platforms out there that not only help you identify influencers, but provide metrics so you can learn and improve on your content’s performance…
BuzzSumo: This is a platform that lets you search for, and engage with influencers connected to a certain topic. It also lets you discover content that has the best engagement, so you can optimize yours to do the same.
Inkybee: This a PR inspired website that is dedicated to helping you find bloggers who will share or talk about your content.
Triberr: This isn’t specifically targeted to finding influencers, but it’s a place where bloggers and influencers come together to share and vote on great content. It connects to your Twitter feed and it’s free to use.
Traackr: This platform offers tracking, engaging and searching capabilities, so you can get your content in front of the right people.
AuthoritySpy: This sits right on your desktop and allows you to put together lists of influencers and export them.
Step 3: Perform outreach
So once you’ve got a list of influencers, the next step is to persuade them to share or link to your content. Bloggers are constantly looking for content to share, after all it’s what they’ve built a career on, so don’t be afraid to approach them. But with thousands of businesses trying to do the same, this isn’t always an easy feat.
Get on their radar
When putting your content together, there’s no harm in giving your influencer a shout-out within your piece. It’s likely they will have a case study of stats that you can link to and talk about the influencer within that. Once you’ve got your content ready to post on social, include their handle, so they are more likely to see it, and this will help bring more exposure to your content.
Send an email
There’s no harm in sending an email asking for them to feature your content, but you need to be strategic in how you do this. Take a look at their blog and find content that is similar to yours. Once you have this, send them a clear and concise message that shows your content can add more value to the content they have previously written about.
For example:
Hi Jeff,
I read your post on ‘how to drive traffic to your site through keywords‘, which I thought was valuable. I’ve written an argument for that case here: (link to your content)
I thought it would be useful to show you an article that backs up your theory.
Thanks
Matt
This short message conveys that you respect their content and you’ve provided them with additional content that adds more value to their already written piece. A message like this is more likely to convince the influencer to share your post, ahead of an email that simply points to content that has no relevance to them.
Take a look at this infographic for more tips on how to write an effective outreach email.
Step 4: Maintain the relationship
Once you’ve got the influencer on board, the next step — which should be ongoing — will be to maintain the relationship. Figure out how they like to work and provide them with all the resources they need. Once you’ve had success with your first piece of content, try and stay on their radar as much as you can.
Comment on their blog posts, share their content on your social feeds, and continue to send them valuable posts that you have written. It’s also a good idea to keep attention to what is happening in their life. For example if they’re up for an award — wish them luck. Demonstrate that you respect them and you’ll create a relationship that’s built to last.
Do you have any more tips? Be sure to let us know in the comment section below!