What Tools Can I Use to Find Influencers?
Caught this question on Quora and thought I'd share my POV...
I’ve used several over the years, most recently Traackr and Appions. Both had strengths and weaknesses. I think they certainly save time in identifying influencers, but the key is that their methodologies can assess influencers against a wider pool using known behaviors.
Traackr, for example, measures people on Reach, Relevance and Resonance. While it does skew towards Twitter, the three R approach means you can introduce other influencers into your survey and they’ll be measured against the wider set.
My experience is mainly looking for B2B technology influencers, and third party tools aren’t great at creating definitive lists. I’d always recommend using other data sources (such as best selling authors on Amazon, client recommendations, third party influencer lists…) then add them to your tool. This means you’ll get the best of the existing database, the wider community, and a consistent measurement methodology.
I’ve used several over the years, most recently Traackr and Appions. Both had strengths and weaknesses. I think they certainly save time in identifying influencers, but the key is that their methodologies can assess influencers against a wider pool using known behaviors.
Traackr, for example, measures people on Reach, Relevance and Resonance. While it does skew towards Twitter, the three R approach means you can introduce other influencers into your survey and they’ll be measured against the wider set.
My experience is mainly looking for B2B technology influencers, and third party tools aren’t great at creating definitive lists. I’d always recommend using other data sources (such as best selling authors on Amazon, client recommendations, third party influencer lists…) then add them to your tool. This means you’ll get the best of the existing database, the wider community, and a consistent measurement methodology.