Social media influencers give a branded campaign an authentic voice. This is one of the reasons why a brand influencer is increasingly essential, connecting the brand and social users for conversion purposes. A brand can work with social media influencers, although it is always advisable to collaborate with those influencers who can bring value to your business.

The question now is: as a brand, how can you find influencers on social media? Here’s H-O-W.

How to find social media influencers on social media

1) Scan own social media fanbase

Start your search with your own social media pages. This works even if you don’t have a sizable social media following. Chances are, one or two of your followers are actually an influencer or an agency that can connect you with the influencers that you’re looking for. You’d be surprised to know that nano and micro-influencers are among those who follow you, which also signals instant synergy because they won’t be following your brand if we do not find you follow-worthy.

Influencers are generally wary of who they follow on their platforms, specifically brands they have never worked with before. But if they are following you despite not working for you in the past, it means they believe in your brand already.

Before you do that, though, make sure you visit the influencers’ social pages. Sca through the profiles of your chosen influencers to check the types and quality of content they publish, making sure that they are related to your niche. Also, you want to make sure that your values align with theirs and that the influencers’ representation of your brand won’t tarnish your reputation.

Once you have established the fit, you may now approach them with your offer. Convincing them to join your campaign is relatively easy because they are already your followers. All you need is a little push to initiate the conversation for a possible collaboration.

2) Perform hashtag research

Whether on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you may conduct a hashtag search to find the relevant social influencers for your niche. For instance, all these platforms allow a hashtag search.

Facebook and Instagram instantly display posts using that hashtag–you may sift through these posts to find the influencers that best resonate with your target audience. For example, search for #foodblogger, and the platforms will display posts that use such hashtags. On the other hand, Twitter offers filters of people you follow who use the said hashtag and their location (anywhere or near you). Through this, you may narrow down your to include only local influencers.

Getting the services of local influencers is crucial if your target market needs to visit your place or order from it for quicker deliveries to experience your products or services.

3) Use Google to do site searches

Google and other search engines are your best ally when finding the right influencers for your campaign. However, you need to know how to streamline the process. One reliable way to do such is through a site search.

A site means putting site:instagram.com followed by your target keywords, like food bloggers in manila. Google will display the list of food bloggers in Metro Manila. Alternatively, you may also use a hashtag with your search (e.g., site:instagram.com #foodbloggers for more targeted results.

A site + location search always does the trick. Again, this is critical when looking for local influencers. This is more so when you want to work with the influencers in-person, such as during photoshoots and promotional events. Logistically, planning and coordination tend to be easier when the brands and influencers are near one another.

4) Run a poll, contest, or giveaway

As a brand, you need to find a creative workaround. For example, you may run a giveaway with the most uncomplicated mechanics of requiring followers and subscribers to tag their favorite influencers to work with them. The same goes with a poll, listing various influencers’ names and asking your community to vote for their favorite influencers.

With this tactic, however, one needs to tread carefully. For example, if you have a private group, you may host the poll or contest there so that you need not purposely tag or mention the influencers with who you are not working yet.

One more thing, if you are going to solicit names or approval from your followers, you need to follow through with hiring the influencers receiving the highest votes. If not, you’ll only provoke the ires of the community that you work so hard to build in the first place. Not carrying on with their wishes would also alienate them from your brand, so don’t.

5) Use own digital assets

If you have a website, you may create a sub-page letting the world know that you are hiring social influencers. List down your requirements, such as the platforms they work with, the number of followers or subscribers, the brands or industries they previously worked with, and the link to their social pages and portfolio, if they have any.

Or, tell them directly that you are waiting for their pitches. You can save the hassle of searching for the relevant influencers while also proposing how they want the collaboration to progress. This will definitely give you an idea of how to market your brand and its products and services to your target audience, leveraging on the influencers’ steady followers. This indicates how serious you are at hiring influencers for your next campaign.

If you have a Facebook page, you may leverage this one too. Post an update announcing that you are looking for influencers to represent your brand. Make the post public so others may share it, and open the comment section so your followers may tag the influencers they know. Additionally, you may offer a reward for a successful recommendation.

6) Use influencer databases, tools, or apps

Discovering the relevant influencers is not without challenges. You’re not alone in this aspect, though, because over 65% of businesses regard finding suitable influencers as a real challenge. Not to mention doing this manually is a tedious and time-consuming process.

Good thing there are several influencer marketing platforms such as BuzzSumo and BuzzStream. The first one can be used in finding content creators on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, whereas the second one is useful for prospecting and contact info discovery. Also, BuzzSumo is a freemium tool, while BuzzStream is a paid tool.

Thusly, there’s an amount involved in using these tools and databases. Although, the quality and quantity of contacts they can come up with are highly commendable.

7) Scan competitors’ tags and mentions

An unpopular tactic when finding social influencers to work with you is combing your rivals’ accounts. If there have hired influencers previously, they would surely publicize the name of those. You may check the profiles of these social influencers to have an idea of what you have to look for in influencers that you want to work with, in turn.

While exploring the said profiles, go to the influencer’s friends list. Now, you may also get leads from here. Influencers befriend their co-influencers. Do this because you want to discover more names within the same niche because the influencers who worked with your competitors may no longer be available to work with you.

Check out the campaign and the hashtag as well. This will give you an idea of how you want to create your campaign on the same scale or capacity. A word of caution: if you discovered that the influencer is working exclusively with a brand that is not yours, don’t try to sway that influencer to your side. This is not how influencer marketing works–respect is key in this industry. After all, hundreds to thousands of other influencers are waiting for you to be discovered. So continue with your search.

8) Leverage the network effect

Again, the influencers themselves are a community of their own–an influencer’s network is composed of other influencers. So do not hesitate to ask the influencers you are working with if they can introduce you or recommend other influencers who you can work with as well.

Another good thing about influencer marketing is the network effect wherein they can tag along their other influencer friends to participate in the same campaign. In addition, some influencers appreciate a working relationship with brands that want to grow with the help of more influencers. Thus, they gladly recommend friends they know can also become an asset to the brand.

9) Enlist the help of an influencer marketing agency

If all else fails, know that influencer marketing agencies work to match brands with relevant influencers. They maintain a roster of influencers worldwide, which means having access to these people–proven the synergy between you two.

An influencer marketing agency can help you set up the campaign while guiding you through the process. For instance, the influencer managers can inform you which influencer types to choose (nano, micro, macro, and mega influencers), depending on the objectives of your campaign. Ultimately, the agency aims to design a collaboration plan that works best for your brand, so it’s definitely a win-win.