Social Media influence can be swayed by the size of a person’s network and potential reach, but don’t let those social numbers sway you away from the person’s real life value. If a person provides influence for your business or industry outside of social, odds are their opinions will resonate in the social space as well.

Here’s a few ways to find those who could influence for your brand and determine whether they hold that influence on the social side.

Top Consumers
Talk to your sales side and gain an understanding of who’s pushing the dollar figures for your product and industry. Engaging with key stakeholders within these organizations may be the right route to gain both influencers and advocates.

Industry Analysts
Though you may not wish to openly engage with industry analysts in the social space, understanding who’s listening to their social channels may give you a pool of people that are interested in understanding your industry more.

Industry Experts
Industry experts are people who have tons of experience in your industry. They might be the people your company has been trying to hire for a top-level position or whom your organization sees as thought leaders. They are likely strong, knowledgeable voices.

Industry Publications
Checking out journals, newspapers or magazines posting intelligent information about your industry can give you a list of authors and interviewers who understand your space and could be writing in a social sense as well.

Once you’ve complied your list of people influencing your business, hop on social media and see if their presence carries over. Connect with these people now. As your industry matures socially, you can gain from the benefits.

What other ways can you find influential people? How does your company currently connect with leaders in your industry?

Looking to learn more about finding influencers? Check out chapter 1 of this month’s ebook!

Tags: industry, influence