Why Influence is Crucial to Social Media Strategies

Are you building your influence to get the most out of your social media strategies?

Influence is key aspect to all social media strategies, but it is often overlooked by those putting strategies together. Whether it is the growth of your own clout when it comes to different social media channels, or your engagement with other key industry influencers, one of the cornerstones of any of the most successful social media strategies will undoubtedly be a focus on influence.

So, why exactly is influence important? We have often pointed out that establishing yourself and your brand as an industry leader is crucial to finding success through your social media efforts. In doing so, you increase the reach of your communities, gain tremendous credibility and become a go-to when people are looking for answers from the expert. Connecting with other influencers in your industry also brings exposure to your brand and, just as important, helps you learn from the experts and find out why they are so successful in your industry. It is hard to compete with the best when you do not know what makes them the best.

Now that the reasons behind the importance of influence are clear, how should you go about increasing your influence in social communities? A few years ago, Brian Solis conducted a poll to determine what industry leaders believed were the most important factors to increasing influence. The graph below details where the responses lay:

Insightful, engaging content is most important. We mentioned this earlier this month and anyone familiar with social media strategies will tell you that without great content, your efforts are doomed to fail. It is by posting this kind of content that people can see your expertise and recognize you as an influencer in a particular industry. But it is not enough to simply post the right content, you need to know where the best places are to post it. Below are a few examples of the best places to increase your influence on social media.

LinkedIn

This is especially true if you are a B2B company. LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to respond to questions by people in your industry, which can then lead to endorsements for a particular skill or expertise. LinkedIn is also a fantastic forum in which you can not only increase your own influence, but connect with other industry influencers.

Google+

Yes, it’s true – Google+ is one of the top areas in which you can increase your influence on social media. This came with the advent of communities on Google+. By engaging in conversations with other members of your targeted communities, you can directly increase your influence and connect with other influencers within the community as opposed to hoping your community finds you. This is an excellent tool and one that brands and individuals should certainly be taking advantage of.

Forums

Forum replies are a great way to showcase your knowledge to a community of individuals in your industry, particularly because you will in all likelihood be answering questions that exemplify your expertise. So look for forums that are either directly or indirectly related to your market and engage with those users to build your clout.

Influence is crucial to the success of your social media strategies. Where else do you think you can be building your social media influence? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!