How to Identify Hidden Influencers in Your Network

How to Identify Hidden Influencers in Your Network


Your network is more powerful than you give it credit for. The internet makes it much easier than it used to be to find the hidden influencers that you have access to. 

The basic definition of a hidden influencer is somebody who can reach a few hundred people with one post on the internet. It doesn't matter what social network they use, as long as they're reaching hundreds of people per post. You can find tons of people like this if you know where to look. (Please note that it takes deeper diving to find true influencers as a lot of people pay for followers, engagements etc which definitely doesn't mean 'true influence' but that is a topic for another day)


Your Creative Friends

Creative people are the most likely to seek an audience on the internet. You can therefore start your search for influencers by talking to your artsy friends. Most of them have social media pages with hundreds of followers.

You should use research to find unexpectedly influential creatives in your network. Scroll through your friends list on Facebook to remind yourself of the creative people you know. Check out their fan pages, looking for profiles with more than about 2000 likes or that has good engagement going with their fans. You can also look at their personal Facebook profile and you can immediately tell if their network is engaging and listening when they talk. These are your hidden influencers. 

Be careful. Some artists are overly protective of their web presence. Make sure you know somebody's style before you ask them to promote your stuff on an art page.


Friends of Friends

You can use social media to search for second degree connections too. These are people who your friends know but you haven't met yet. Getting in touch with a friend of a friend is as easy as asking for an introduction.

Second degree connections are often surprising. You may be connected to powerful people in politics, business, or culture without even realizing it. What if a prominent radio DJ or magazine editor is within reach and you haven't noticed?

Browse through your friends' public conversations on Twitter to dig up some connections. LinkedIn is another good place to look. You can ask your close friends directly if they know anybody who you should meet. Through this process, you will get introduced to many new people.


Search Local

Being from the same place as somebody else creates an automatic sense of kinship. You can use this to forge connections with local influencers.

Look for bloggers, small business owners, and community leaders in your area. Connect with them on social media and introduce yourself through a private message. Keep it to fifty words or less. When they reply, see if you can strike up a conversation.

It's great to connect with local influencers since you can meet with them in person. This is not only useful, it's fun to do. 


Bottom Line...

Between your friends, friends of friends, and local community, there are probably tons of people in your network that you haven't connected with yet. Do this process once every six months and you'll never run out of interesting people to meet.


About the Author:

Adel de Meyer is a new media specialist, brand ambassador, author and mentor with a top-listed digital and tech blog. Adel is recognised as a leading Instagram and Twitter influencer on Social Media and business in Australia. She regularly writes articles and speaks at events on influencer marketing, technology and social media solutions. Adel works with global SMB enterprises, corporates, entrepreneurs and personal brands by using social media and technology to captivate their audiences.

Adel has recently been listed on the Top 100 Marketing Influencers 2017 global list by Brand24 and she reaches over 9 million people globally across social media per month.

She works/ed with many different brands some including Hootsuite, Pitney Bowes, Adobe, Brand24 and Huawei as a Brand Influencer and a Key Opinion Leader.

If you want to get started or fine-tune your digital presence - Connect with Adel. Find her on LinkedIn Twitter Google+ or Facebook. Read more of Adel's articles on adeldemeyer.com

Ian Judson

I help CEOs who are committed to growth but cannot figure out how | CEO & Leadership Coach @ Judsons Coaching | Business Coaching, Strategic Execution

6y

Good read, thanks.

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