Influencer marketing on Twitter is a valuable way for marketers to target niche audiences and interests. Twitter, best known for quippy witticisms and snappy critiques, is the place to go for real time commentary on just about anything. Whether it’s a sports game, current events, or trending news stories, if it’s happening in the world, it’s being talked about on Twitter.

And that’s why influencer marketing can be so effective there. Influencers can help seed conversations, or join into existing ones, on behalf of their brand partners. However, as is the case for influencers on any other platform, context matters. You don’t just want to inject your brand into any conversation with any old influencer. You need the right people, with the right message, in the right place, for it to work. Let’s dive into some tips for finding influencers on Twitter:

1. Decide on your influencer criteria first

Before you start any search, you should identify the attributes your potential partners should have. Ideally, you’ll figure out what the demographics of your target audience are, and match that to the influencers you’ll look to work with. That means everything from their age, race, and sex to the way they talk and the things they’re interested in.

Related: Check out our ebook, “Finding the Right Influencers”

2. Use Twitter’s advanced search

Twitter’s advanced search feature is a powerful tool to find tweets and accounts that match exact criteria. If there are specific keywords, hashtags, or locations you’re looking to target, advanced search is a great way to identify it. Be warned, though, you’ll likely find a lot of results.

3. Identify hashtags relevant to your audience

Hashtags on Twitter are one of the most visible ways that digital communities organize. They can be temporal (e.g. an event hashtag like #SMWLDN2019), communal (e.g. #gaming), or even chat oriented (e.g. #CreditChat). Hashtags help organize tweets about a particular topic, and are key to understanding the conversations of your audience. Follow some accounts of people you know are fans of your brand, and check out what hashtags they use to help start your search.

4. Check out Twitter lists

Twitter lists are a feature that anyone can take advantage of: they’re quite literally lists of people. Lists exist for just about anything, from marketers and CEOs to beauty influencers. You can search Twitter lists by clicking the “lists” tabs on anyone’s profile to see what lists they belong to, or you can search for lists by clicking “timelines” in any Twitter search result.

5. Leverage a platform like Julius to dive deeper

Looking for influencers on Twitter can be rewarding yet time-consuming work. Leveraging an influencer marketing platform like Julius, or even a social listening platform, can help save you time and effort. They’ll offer you deeper demographics insights, as well as curated searches for influencers on Twitter to ensure you find the right advocate for your brand.