A Twitter influencer list is a marketing strategy that’s used successfully in advertisement and endorsement campaigns. The difference today is the online marketing applications do most of the research work. Some call it the “hero campaign” describing this marketing technique using product recommendations from known sources. It works when all of the marketing elements support each other. Think of a product brand name that you started buying because it was associated a hero, celebrity or athlete, or a goal that seems to be so far out of reach, yet one person you admire against all odds accomplished it. Our first human reaction is, if it works for that person why not me? The result is an emotional trigger, establishing a trust.

The purpose for using social media analysis is to find an influencer relating to a brand as an authority in the industry. This is the one of the first elements of influencer marketing to accomplish with the intent to cause the second action, which is to get the customer to buy, fulfilling just about every aspiration imaginable for a business. Creating a list of Twitter influencers who attract buying customers to the action call line is the object to this form of marketing. If it’s done well, this marketing strategy can add multiple sales, product credibility and open the flood gates for growing the business online.

As a marketing strategy and like all campaign, data and information need to be collected and demographic targets identified. There are several recognized media means to help identify both the influencers and the categories of potential buyers. Most have been part of the evolution of this marketing technique improving the process and access to online data over time.

Influencer Profile

This marketing method is based on finding the influencer with an established social following that’s aligned with the targeted group. The rationale for working with an established following is to build a long term association with the product quickly using a direct relationship connected to the influencer. Something to keep in mind, influencers are not always established personalities; they can be friends or people who know people interested in buying what you are selling. It is important to select influencers recognized by the targeted audience. The lack of familiarity with the product can affect the “genuineness” causing the viewer to question the product’s integrity.

Influencer List Building

Today, social media has made finding influencers easier, and the social media search tools continue to simplify the function using topics, or names for search controls. There are several media analysis tools online offering free and paid services to find the authority influencers and target groups associated with particular business themes and products. Here’s a good starting list for creating searches to identify influencers and who’s following.

1. Google’s URL shortener is Google’s keyword replacement. The design is easy and tracks tweets through its own platform with site information from the number of clicks, browsers and countries.

2. Tweetdeck customizes lists showing home posts, notifications, activities and messages on a single page. Searches are made using events, hashtags and keywords, weeding out the less popular and collecting the higher volumes.

3. SocialBro uses hashtags and keywords found in user profiles. Filters include influencers, locations, followers, competitors and the best time to Tweet.

4. Klear (formerly twtrland) searches are guided by keywords, skills or specialties in the profiles and additional category filters for demographics; gender, age and location. The site offers a free trial.

5. Buzzsumo searches pull up a variety of media from articles, blogs, companies, journalist, social media trends and the number of times a post has been shared.

6. Followerwonk is a listing sorting the number of followers, along with charts and reports. The site offers a free 30 days.

Influencer Marketing Tips

It takes time to develop a successful marketing campaign, so the more you learn about the target group the better the outcome and working with the right influencer can produce some phenomenal results for brands and businesses. Consider using the #PPC discussion on Twitter, and get involved in the online conversations pertaining to business and buyer topics and issues. These conversations have a wealth of information that can make an average marketing campaign outstanding.

There are precautions, consider the formats and applications thoroughly before launching the campaign. Here are a few tips:

• Clearly define the target to get a true measurement of success
• Keep in mind this is business, it’s about the market outreach and revenue potentials
• Set an authentic tone matching the influencer, association to the product and the target demographics
• Respect the rules and boundaries for creating appropriate material, especially within cultural groups, languages, and terminologies care make or break a campaign.