How to find and connect with influencers

Getting influencers to notice you is one of the fastest ways to promote yourself and your business. Here are the best methods for finding influencers on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

LinkedIn.

• LinkedIn Groups are a great way to find influencers. We like

• Finanical Advisor Magazine
• Financial Advisor Network 
• Financial Social Media Marketing (of course!)

• LinkedIn Influencers is a fairly new program that allows thought leaders to share content directly with users.
• Search articles by keyword. With this method you can find authors who have written about certain subjects.

Twitter.

• Use the search function to find information on keywords and industry publications, such as @ThinkAdvisor and @NEWSfromIN. Once you find a publication, navigate to their “lists” and you will likely find their journalists and editors.
• Follow hashtags.
• External apps, such as Simply Measured, Followerwonk and InkyBee, use Twitter Analytics to gather information on thought leaders.

Facebook.

• Now that you’ve found these influencers and media resources on Twitter, use Facebook to learn about them.
• Check out and join industry-relevant Facebook groups. (In search bar, type: “Groups named [keyword].”)

Now that you’ve created your media/influencer list and started adding information, it’s time to make connections. The best way to update your PR approach is stop constantly pitching. You can build connections by being truly engaged in what influencers are posting about. Do this by:

• Repost their content. (ex. If you tweet someone’s content and mention them, they might retweet something of yours. This would expand your reach to include the influencer’s audience. )
• Comment on their posts.
• Develop a rapport and starting a conversation.
• Share their events.
• Set up a Google alert for your most-targeted influencers to stay on top of their happenings.
• Send non-spam-like direct messages.

Lastly, if you ever use a quote or example from an influencer in your content, make sure you not only give them credit but also tag them and tweet at them when you share it. Hopefully this will encourage them to share in return, which can dramatically increase your reach.