5 Ways to Find Meaningful Influencers on a Budget

Non-celebrity influencers are just as, if not more than, influential than celebrities. Use these five tips to find better influencers for your startup, without having to pay astronomical fees.

1. Ask Friends and Co-workers for Influencer Recommendations

Starting with your own network to find influencers is a way to convey an established relationship when you’re approaching potential new influencers. It might also be possible to ask whomever is the follower of the influencer to approach them or provide an introduction for you. Bloggers and social media users with high engagement (not just followers) are great accounts to start following. You’ll want to learn more about their content and their interactions, so when you pitch them to check out your product or service, it is relevant to what they are consistently producing.

2. Search Forums on Reddit

While it’s not a traditional social media site, Reddit’s content reaches far beyond its website users, as its posts get shared and distributed after showing up on the site. Subscribe to communities that relate to your business, connect with other Reddit users, and see whose content they’re posting to get a better idea of potential influencers so you can ultimately build your business.

3. Form Relationships on Social Media

Social media provides your start-up with the opportunity to directly and deeply connect with leads and customers. Don’t neglect your interactions on these sites and use them as direct pathways to find influencers. Pay attention to those who emerge as your biggest brand advocates on social sites and examine their potential to promote your brand to their followers.

4. Reach Out to Journalists

Businesses should know that journalists are hungry for story ideas and are very active on Twitter. In a fast-paced news world, any coverage that can be given to the next giant product or service is huge for a journalist. Most newspapers, TV stations, magazines and other traditional news outlets feature “tips” sections, where media consumers can submit story ideas. Don’t be afraid to use them, since whoever covers your brand may become an advocate who can influence on your behalf in the future.

5. Browse Influencer Tools

Klout and BuzzSumo are two tools that will show you who notable influencers are based on topics you submit. When you find influencers through wide-reaching tools like this, the best way to get noticed by influencers and form a connection is to follow them on social media, subscribe to their blogs and consume their content. By paying attention and citing specific examples of why a partnership with your business would benefit the influencer, they’ll be more likely to consider your business in their content coverage.