The Internet (and the social media boom) gave us an absolutely unique and amazing phenomenon: The emergence of micro-celebrities. It’s that era of “every little guy can get heard“ that we didn’t dare to dream about just a few years ago.
Moreover, it has given small business owners an opportunity to get a competitive advantage without trying to compete with huge brands with huge budgets - by interacting those micro-celebrities (or niche influencers) and turning them into brand advocates.
Now, the process of attracting real people with distinct voice to your brand is not easy - but that’s what makes the outcome such a huge and important asset: If you do that right, you'll be able to enjoy long-term benefits.
Connecting with influential people in your own industry is perhaps one of the most important moves you can make for yourself and your business. But if you have ever gone cold-posting to these people on social media sites, you have doubtlessly come back empty handed.
There is no “right” way of connecting with micro-celebrities on the social web. Often it is a total fluke, or starts to happen as your own popularity increases (or naturally both as rich often gets richer...) but there are definitely tactics to try to form a solid strategy.
One such tactic is drawing those influencer to write for your site. This tactic was very well described by Pratik Dholakiya in this article. And often the smartest and the easiest way to make the first step towards that long-term content marketing partnership is an expert interview.
MyBlogU.com is a new platform that can help you with that.
What Is MyBlogU?
MyBlogU is a content marketing platform. It is a community full of bloggers from your industry (and many others) who are also there for the same reason. You can brainstorm ideas, ask for feedback, or give your own.
It is a great opportunity to connect with others on a peer-to-peer basis, giving them your opinion on their work in a setting where they are specifically looking for comments.
Group Interview Feature
The group interview feature is probably the best part. You know you should be interviewing experts. But trying to nail them down for a talk can be difficult, at best.
On MyBlogU, you can ask questions and get answers from experts all at once. Pull quotes to create a great group interview to feature on your blog. Publish insights from some of the leading members of your industry, without having to pitch an interview, or set up a time.
When you have an interview post, you can share it with that expert. They will likely share it with their followers. Then, bam! You have an instant connection point that you can use later for further interaction. Without ever having to use dirty tricks or desperate tactics that could backfire.
Once you have that interview post, you have one more benefit on your side. Other experts have no idea where that interview took place, or how you got it. What they do know is that someone in your industry who is highly regarded took the time to speak to you.
That is sure to make them more willing to speak to you, as well. You can point to a former interview post, especially one with multiple influencers, when trying to get new influencers to connect. Your own influence will continue to grow as a consequence, and your ability to hook these high profile members of your niche will get easier day by day.
Hooking influencers is a major benefit. But you have to have the right bait. MyBlogU is a good opportunity to connect on a deeper level, and so form for stable connections.
Image: SPS
