TORONTO--(Marketwired - August 10, 2013) - Getting the right people excited and talking about an organization's products or services has always been one of the best ways to improve brand recognition, expand customer base, and ultimately drive more sales. What people say on social channels like Twitter and Facebook has a powerful and far-reaching influence on business success. Marketwired published a new guide, "6 Best Practices For Influencer Marketing," to help marketers identify and engage their key influencers so they will recommend their brands.

The paper provides marketers with actionable ways to find influencers, build and strengthen relationships with them and tailor tactics to specific platforms; following is an overview of the points discussed:

• Find influencers inside and outside the box: Savvy marketers are looking beyond the obvious by turning to new and different tools to identify influencers. It's important to keep in mind that size of network doesn't necessarily correlate to extent of influence, so don't rule out influencers with smaller networks.

• Use measurement to cultivate from within: Some of your best influencers are already within your network. Remember, consumers are most influenced by what their friends and family do and like, followed by people they consider "like them" -- their friends-of-friends network and similar demographics.

• Recognize and reward influencers: Everyone likes to feel special and in-the-know -- social media influencers are no exception. An effective outreach strategy includes tactics for recognizing and rewarding important players in your social media circle.

• Be personal: In order to effectively build an influencer relationship, demonstrate that you know what's important to your influencers and tailor your approach to their interests. The savviest marketers strengthen their relationships with influencers who talk up their products by giving them a mention in return.

• Tailor the tactic to the platform: All social platforms are not created equal. Most influencers post to more than one social platform, making it critical for marketers to understand when and how to tailor their approach based on where they're posting, sharing and engaging.

• Keep up with the social media conversation: Brands are finding interesting ways to become an integral part of the social media conversation and get influencers talking about them organically. Find a specific tone and voice that works for you, but don't shy away from having an opinion. That's what keeps people thinking and talking about who you are and what you do.