Influencers are individuals with the power to affect the buying decisions of others. They can generate interest on a product or service by endorsing it. Are they celebrities? Some, yes! Celebrities can be influencers and influencers may earn their celebrity. Generally influencers need not be an A-lister to affect decision making.

Who are the ‘Influencers’?

Who are these people and how were they able to possess the power to influence? The term influencer has made its way through the beautiful chaos that is also known as social media on the internet. Anyone can claim to be an influencer. They are this generation’s version of maven, guru and rock stars – not the musical kind. That is why it is very important to spot an actual influencer. Influencers come from different fields and backgrounds, but there are qualities that they have in common.

• Authority - Are they immersed in the industry that they are talking about?
• Advocacy – Is there a specific direction in the topics that they discuss?
• Knowledge –Are the solutions that they propose at work in their own business?
• Presence – Do they create their own content? What types of media do they use?
• Social pull – How many followers do they have? Who is following them?

Ads and interruption marketing has been continuously losing ground. People are reported to have less confidence in brands and more in their community. Customers tend to buy things that are recommended by others. This is why friends and online reviews are relied upon to find out if a product is worth a try. Influencers may have a higher Klout score than the average person. At times, they have the blue ‘Verified’ checkmark following their names. But, their steady presence and accessibility have allowed them to be both above ordinary but still a ‘friend’ or a member of the community.

How do you find your influencers?

Social media and the internet as a whole have made finding influencers easy. Taking into account the above traits, all you need know is where to look.

• Social Media – Influencers know that to achieve a status and stay relevant, they have to be present. Influencers are on different social media channels and many on multiple. They have mastered the art between pushing their advocacy and letting their personality shine through. They keep their followers both informed and entertained. They are both relevant and relatable as evidenced by their vast following. While they may not be the Beygency and the Swifties that come in millions for Beyonce and Taylor Swift have, their social pull is significantly higher than the average person.
• Hashtags – when you search for a topic online, you use keywords. On Twitter (and now on Facebook and Instagram) you can use hashtags. To find your influencers, simply type in a hashtag from your industry and see whose tweets are frequently on the results. These people are likely to be influencers. Their tweets have amassed favorites, retweets and engagements that you see them first, or often when you type in hashtags surrounding their industry or niche.
• Keywords – Authority, advocacy and knowledge are the traits of an influencer. To maintain authority, they are often the first to write, podcast or vlog about hot topics in their niche. Their knowledge on the subject, enable them to dish out information and form opinions that their readers abide by. They write about these topics on their own blogs and are often invited to write as guest bloggers on other sites to further advance their advocacy. Search for keywords surrounding your industry and niche, the people on the first page are often influencers in that niche.
• Live events – We are at a time where we have so seamlessly melded our digital existence and real life. Influencers are your keynote speakers, book authors, coaches, and more.

Follow your influencers

Following your influencers on Twitter can open up opportunities for you and your business. Influencers often share their expert opinions (or a link to it) on Twitter. This is valuable because since there is no university course on becoming an influencer, their advice often comes from experience. Influencers are immersed in their field and niche.

Unlike traditional advertisers that dispense content to their audience in a one-way (push) fashion, influencers create (pull) conversations. They keep their audience updated and they are in tune with what their audience wants to know or have to say. Following your influencers on Twitter enables you to become a part of and contribute to conversations.

Creating an Influencer List on Twitter

1. Go to your lists page. To do this, click your profile icon and choose Lists from the dropdown.
2. Click Create lists.
3. Create a name for your list. If you plan to create multiple lists, it helps to add a description for future reference.
4. Save List
5. You can easily add or remove a person from a list by clicking the Gear icon on that person’s profile and choosing Add or remove from lists.

There are two groups of people that you need to be following on Twitter. The first group is the people you can learn from. These people are your influencers. They are the experts. Sometimes, they are competitors. The second group is the people who can learn from you. They are your potential customers. Listing your influencers according to category is important because you can use them for various reasons.

• Be updated with industry news.
• Learn strategies and techniques about your niche.
• Post questions.
• See the conversations you should participate in easily.

Filtering your influencer list on Twitter is easy:

1. From your profile page, go to the Lists tab.
2. Click on the List you’d like to view.

Filtering your Influencer list enables you to see a timeline of tweets from only the people on it. This helps you avoid excess noise and clutter and see the tweets per industry, niche or interest that you want to view.

About the Author

 

About Angelica Manlunas

Angelica lives off of coffee and pizza. She spends her time online tinkering on social media, watching short films and poetry slams. Her offline time is devoted to trips to the beach or spending lazy days indoors with a book in her hand. Also, she writes at least 1000 words every day. Email Angelica at angelica.manlunas@transeo.com.au and follow Angelica @ang_transeo.