An interesting post from Marshall Kirkpatrick at Read/Write Web gives some pointers on where to research influencers. As Marshall acknowledged, the six recommendations do provide good starting points, but while they may yield top blogs, the picture will be incomplete. They won’t get you in front of the true conversation. To do that you have to find the back channel.
The six sites Marshall recommended for research are:
- Technorati
- Del.icio.us
- StumbleUpon
- Google Reader
- AideRSS
- Ask.com Blogsearch
Inevitably, any substantial subject matter area has a back channel where top bloggers and influencers chat. For example, PR and marketing bloggers and tend to connect on Facebook, Twitter, and to some extent, LinkedIn. This back channel can yield powerful connections to highly influential minds who may not have blogs top statistical rank.
Consider Laura Fitton, a powerhouse Twitter member. Or Ike Pigott, one of the most respected minds in online PR. How about Shannon Whitley, a driver behind social media release development?
Marketers looking to find their subject area’s back channel should start with a basic search. Once your initial search yields important blogs, please visit them and note which social networks the bloggers use to connect. That’s how you will find the heart of your community. Join their communities. Engage and participate in the conversation. And learn what your stakeholders really care about.
In understanding the relationships between bloggers, it is also helpful for marketers to know about the range of capabilities (and prices) for commercial tools that help you understand the conversation — companies like Buzzlogic, Radian6, Visible (TruCast). As this area gets increasingly complex we have found that we need a dedicated research team (now 5 people) to focus on using a combination of tools to help our clients listen to the conversation.
Good point, Ted! Yeah, I agree, though I still haven’t been thrilled with any of the measurement solutions to date… We’ll see.