There are many top influencers online in a variety of different industries. The big question is how do you start talking to them? The best way to connect with these influencers is through social media.
There is no doubt that it feels intimidating to try to connect to a top influencer in your field. After all, they are extremely busy with thousands of followers, and their blogs have hundreds of comments. However, it is possible to connect with top influencers. It is hard but it can be done.
In this post I’ll go through some ways that you can start connecting with top influencers in your field.
Work On Building Relationships
You need to work on building relationships with top influencers if you want to get their attention. Whilst you can certainly retweet one of their tweets, share a Facebook status, it’s not going to be enough because there are hundreds of other people doing the same thing. However, if you consistently retweet their content - whilst including in your own comments - it will make it easier for them to remember you.
Initially, they may not recognise you at first but if you do this consistently they’ll start to recognise you and sooner or later you’ll be able to connect with them in a meaningful way. Adding your own comments also makes you stand out compared to the many people who don’t do that. This way when you reach out you don’t have to say that you’re a fan because you’re already showing them.
Work on building relationships. It isn’t something that will happen overnight but if you use this strategy consistently you’ll get better at it and eventually be able to connect with top influencers in your field.
Share Their Content
If you want to build a solid relationship with an influencer then you need to share their content. Start sharing their content without expecting any favours in return, just share it because it’s great content and you want to help spread the word.
You can’t just ask them to share your content if you haven’t built some kind of relationship with them. It would be like going up to some random stranger on the street and asking them for a favour when you have no relationship with them. If you want influencers to share your content you need to earn it from them first.
Again, this won’t happen overnight but with consistent effort it will happen eventually.
Follow Influencers in Your Niche
You need to be following the influencers in your niche. This is the best way to establish contact with them so you can start to build a relationship. If you want to ask for a favour from them then your content needs to be something that is similar to their content and their views, etc. For example there would be no point in asking someone to share an article on web design if they clearly don’t have anything to do with web design.
Comment on Their Posts
One of the easiest ways to get the attention of a top influencer in your field is to comment on their content. Watch for when they post new content and then comment something that contributes to the discussion in a unique way. Don’t post something generic like “Great article!” because everyone does that.
Instead try and post a comment that adds to the content they’ve posted and is something that is thought provoking. This way you’ll stick out in their mind and they’ll remember you. It is a great way to gradually build a relationship with top influencers.
If you’re views don’t reflect that of the influence, don’t be shy to disagree in your comments. You don’t have to make out the influencer is perfect and disagreeing can often lead to healthy debate, making you stand out from the crowd.
Tag Them When You Share
When you share their content make sure that you tag the influencer so they know you’re sharing their content. Many of them will notice and even start to follow you back. You can also ask them for their opinion on controversial topics. Doing this will allow you to move from an influencer/fan relationship, to a mutual partnership talking about the industry.
Be Persistent
As I’ve already mentioned this entire process won’t happen overnight. It can be easy to lose faith and think you’ll never be able to connect with these top influencers but if you stay consistent with your efforts you will eventually. If you set aside even just one hour per day for connecting with top influencers you’ll get there in the end.
It’s Not All About You
You need to make sure you don’t put the focus on trying to get something out of them. Focus on producing content of value and eventually they’ll see it and notice. The key is to focus on establishing a mutually beneficial relationship that is based around providing value. If you do this then you have a far greater chance of establishing a relationship with a top influencer than what you would if you asked for something without giving back.
In Conclusion
Connecting with top influencers through social media is not easy and requires a lot of time. However, it can be done with consistent effort and with the right strategies. If you focus on building a quality relationship using the strategies outlined above then sooner or later you’ll be able to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with a top influencer in your field.
Have you had any success connecting with a top influencer using these methods?
Christian Michaels
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