VD55: Here is How to Discover Bloggers / Influencers
It’s safe to say we all understand the importance of reaching out to bloggers and influencers. Duh. We all also understand the significance of collaborating with them, the aim being to expand your reach so you can get more people to know and care about you. The more people talk about you, the more people will know you and your brand exist. Also, duh. However, you might not necessarily know how to find these bloggers. Where are they hiding? How can you find them and cross-check their level of influence?
If you find yourself asking these questions, today, you’re in luck. In this episode, I will provide you with tools to help you find those bloggers and influencers you’ve been looking for. Come out, come out, wherever you are…
IDENTIFY KEYWORDS / HASHTAGS
You want to identify keywords and hashtags that are associated with your business. For example, let’s say you are in the fashion and jewelry industry. Two obvious keywords/hashtags would be “fashion” and “jewelry,” but you have to be more specific than that. Otherwise, you will spend countless amounts of hours trying to sort through tons and tons of bloggers. You need to narrow it down!
This is why you should be using tools like Google Ad Words. It will help you identify keywords that might be relevant for your business. If you aren’t using the tool yet, I encourage that you do! Just by simply including your site’s URL, it will spit out different keyword options for you. Hashtagify.me is another great little weapon to help you find Twitter hashtags, and the best part is you can see their popularity in real time. Keyhole.co is also a great resource for keyword and hashtag research, but what’s great about Keyhole is that it also allows you to search for popular Instagram hashtags.
FIND INFLUENCERS
Once you have those hashtags and keywords set, you’re ready to start your search for influencers. One tool I already mentioned to use on Instagram and Twitter for hashtags is Keyhole.co, but another advantage to using this tool is it helps you find influencers for those specific keywords and hashtags. BuzzSumo is a content sharing analytics tool which also helps you identify different influencers, so you can get a sense of what’s trending. Lastly, there’s Klout which is very simple to use, but it’s gotten some controversy over its influencer grading system, so a side note is to always do your homework and know the pros and cons to each tool!
CROSS-CHECK YOUR INFO
Great! You finally have your list of influencers and bloggers, so you’re ready to go for the gold, but halt! Before you start reaching out to them, you need to take the time to actually read into their blogs, learn what they’re all about, and make sure they resonate well with your overall business.
