Distributing, spreading, and promoting your brand can be a headache if you don’t know what content marketing tools to use, or if you lack knowledge to guide you and your business. Your best content is no better than crappy content unless you have an audience. And that is why you might need to partner with engagement-driving influencers in your niche.

But how do you get experts and industry authorities to share your content and literally sing your praises? And exactly where do you find these engagement-driving influencers? As a small business coach, this is a question often fielded to me.

The internet is full of celebrity influencers, expert influencers, and lately there has been an upsurge in micro-influencers who are taking content engagement by storm. The number of content marketing tools designed to help you identify and connect with potential niche-specific influencers is also on the rise. To help you identify some of the best content marketing strategies for reaching influencers, I have listed 5 great tools you can start using today.

1. HubSpot

When I talk about inbound marketing, the first name that usually pops into everyone’s head is HubSpot. These guys got in the game early and have made their name as the gold standard for what inbound marketing should be.

They have fantastic customer support and amazing tools for creating effective content and monitoring blog post performance. With them, you will also get awesome landing pages and support-intensive content-marketing campaigns.

HubSpot long realized the power of social media, and they have perfected social media integration into their content marketing tools. Their fantastic capabilities include social media analytics and scheduled postings.
With HubSpot you will additionally receive a wide range of white papers on marketing your content. Also freely available are guidelines on social media best practices and guides on maximizing on your CMS.

2. Mention

Many of the top business coaches are now subscribing to a new way of reaching out to influencers. The other 4 content marketing tools featured here work on the premise of you finding influencers then getting them to promote your content, brand, and products.

Mention is a content marketing service with a difference. It is a powerful toolbox that identifies who is talking about you and where. Once you have this information, then you pick out those who qualify as influencers and reach out to them.

The benefit of using such a strategy is that your influencers will already be believers of your brand and products. These are true advocates who already support your brand and come off as more real than other influencers. Plus, they are easier to approach and connect with since they are already promoting you for free.

Mention comes with lots of extra tools that can really help your brand. For instance, the same listening board that’s used to identify influencers can also be used to monitor each influencer’s reach and activity. You can monitor the buzz each influencer’s marketing activity is garnering and create summarized reports of the results.

3. BuzzSumo

Within your industry or niche, what content gets shared on facebook the most? Who is making the most impressions on LinkedIn? How are the industry leaders performing on Pinterest?

BuzzSumo is one of the best content marketing tools for identifying who is making the most and best traction in your space. You get results based on your search terms and filters to identify topics in your niche which are garnering the most attention. Some of the popular filters used are by content type. These include by article, video, interview, infographic, or guest post.

By studying the top performers in your space, you get to know which influencers will work best with your brand. You will also acquire valuable insights as to what topics interest your clients most. You can then focus on creating effective content rather than wasting time on what doesn’t work.

4. OutBrain

While conducting coaching for small business owners, I have found that there are lots of businesses that produce fantastic content. This is no surprise as most people will only start a business they already have expertise in. The problem comes in when they try to get the word out to potential clients.

OutBrain is one of the best content marketing services you can use to amplify your content. With their easy-to-use interface, you can promote all your content, whether they are articles, videos, infographics, or blog posts.

OutBrain is a premium rate service that will give great return on investment. Your content will appear alongside others, showing as related content. So you are sure to be getting targeted engagement from people who are already interested in your niche products and services.

The service will amplify your content by posting recommendations on some of the most popular authority sites. Just think what traction you stand to gain when your content is recommended on the CNN website, ESPN, or on Huffington post. They basically bring together top-rate marketers and publishers to one vibrant marketplace, thus offering your business the best outreach tools you will ever need.

5. Instagram

The marketing power and possibilities of social media are endless. Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn have long held the pole position in delivering influencer-driven marketing. However, I have noted that the influencers in these sites often target large audiences. And once an influencer on these sites reaches a critical mass following, audiences start becoming deaf to their posts and recommendations.

The rise of Instagram celebrities has shifted the influencer paradigm for the last few years. In marketing circles, they are known as micro-influencers. These are self-made instagram celebrities with a minimum of 10,000 followers and a maximum of 100,000 followers.

But why not target celebrities with a higher reach? The ones with millions of followers? Well, according to a study conducted by the influencer platform Markerly, increased following beyond the 100,000 mark is usually accompanied by a decreased rate of likes and comments.

The survey that involved over 2 million instagram users also found that engaging a big celebrity influencer may attract a large audience but most of these will have no interest in your industry products. Thus, a micro-influencer will give you better value for money as followers show a higher rate of conversion.

Maximize Returns On Your Content Marketing Tools

As an experienced business coach, I always tell my clients that a content marketing tool is only as good as the user. If you are not applying it properly, it may not bring desired results. To maximize on these tools, you have to get the following steps right.

• First, get the right influencers for your niche and products. Don’t select an influencer simply based on their celebrity status or number of followers/fans.
• Connect with many influencers. Do not limit yourself to only the most famous personalities in your space. You will gain better value by connecting with personalities who have a more significant type of fan-base rather than numbers.
• Offer your influencers something tangible in return. Mutually beneficial joint ventures will keep your influencers loyal to your brand and active in your campaigns.
• Promote their content. You can share your influencers content, reblog their posts, share their tweets, and even introduce them to new audiences.
• Connect with them offline too. For instance, by attending an event where your influencer is appearing you stand to tighten your bond and open up avenues for more and better opportunities.

Following this recipe will ensure you reach a wider portion of your audience, and attract the attention of influencers in your space.