Social media is a powerful force and, with the right strategy and content, can attract significant attention to your brand. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to reach out to someone who already has access to the audience you desire to reach.
In every industry there are polarizing figures who build large communities of followers, followers they may gladly direct to you. In order for this to happen, you need to give them a reason to do so. Below are a few ideas that may help.
Mention the Person or Brand
Let’s face it, we all like attention. It’s the way we’re wired. Often, popular figures and brands use monitoring tools like Google Alerts to let them know when they are the subject of discussion. If you mention them or something they have done, they will be more likely to share or comment on your content. Many social networks make it easy to mention other users, profiles or pages on their platform, effectively tagging them in your post and notifying them that they have been mentioned.
Try Sincere Flattery
Post something that flatters them, and they may share it.
I came across an excellent example of this on Facebook. An aspiring Christian singer, Hailey Dawn, posted a video on YouTube of herself singing one of Toby Mac’s songs. Toby shared it with his fans on Facebook, and it now has over 3,300 views.
Since then, she has written a new song praising Dave Ramsey, an iconic Christian financial adviser. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.
Should you decide to follow Ms. Dawn’s example, it is always a good idea to be mindful of intellectual property rights and ask permission before borrowing someone else’s work.
Ask for an Interview
Email a list of questions and publish the responses on your blog or ask the person or brand representative if they would be open to a phone interview. Let them know how the responses will be used and where they will be posted. Offer to link to their own site.
If they are nice enough to grant you a phone interview, ask for permission to record it, so you can share it with your followers.
Attract Guest Bloggers
Invite influencers to write guest posts for your site and give them permission to link to their own blog in their bio. When soliciting guest posts, it’s important to stress that the content should be largely educational and not overly promotional.
Using this approach will give you fresh content and can increase the credibility of your blog, if your contributors are well-know and respected. It also increases the likelihood that they will link to your blog, since it will be hard for them to resist the urge to share their work with their followers.