5 Tools to Help You Find Your Social Influencers
When it comes to online marketing, your network is truly your net worth. Social influencers are those who have a strong online following with devoted fans who hang on to their every word. Not all of us can build a following that quickly, but aligning yourself with those who have a pre-existing base is the first step. So, what’s the best way to find, analyze and approach these Twitter titans? There are several handy tools that can lead you in the right direction.
1. Right Relevance
If you’re looking to get your toes wet, Right Relevance is a good place to start. The interface is clunkier than most of its peers, but most importantly, it’s free up to a certain number of results, and then you ‘pay’ by granting access to your Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook feeds. Not bad considering some other options start at $250/month and go up from there.
2. FollowerWonk
Once you’ve identified some key influencers of interest, FollowerWonk allows you to dig deeper into who’s following them and why. An interesting free feature allows you to search Twitter users by keyword (as displayed in their bio or profile) and sort matches by number of followers. There are a ton of great paid features as well, from graphic results to segmentation.
3. BuzzSumo
This is a powerful tool that is similar to FollowerWonk, but even more robust — albeit with a steeper learning curve. With BuzzSumo, you can start your research with topics most important to your business and view not only how many shares related articles have been getting on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more, but also which influencers have been doing the sharing.
4. Klear
This robust platform features high profile clients like Nike and Microsoft, has an engaging UI, and is easy to use — but is definitely one of the more expensive options. Still, it does have free influencer search tools similar to Buzzsumo and FollowerWonk and a Chrome extension that allows you to see how users rank on the Klear influencer algorithm in real time on Twitter.
5. Traackr
Going one step beyond the research, Traackr provides a platform to help you rate influencers and develop a strategy to connect with them. Once you get some influencers on board, Traackr’s software provides an easy way to manage an entire team of influencers at one time — from what they’re saying to who’s listening.
With these resources in your back pocket, not only will your network grow but you’ll find that your reach and brand awareness expand as well.
G. Lee Wall is president at Raison Brands in Richmond, Virginia.