How do you influence others over the Internet? Whether you want to change a mind or make a sale, the better you are at influencing, the more you’ll get what it is that you want.
With that in mind here are 27 tips in no particular order to strengthen your own online influence and get more of what you seek.
Pick one niche and become the master of that niche. The thinner you spread yourself, the less influence you have. That’s why you want to thoroughly cover one niche rather than haphazardly trying to cover several of them.
Get out of your own online world and into new communities. We tend to get stuck in a rut of our own making, and we view the world from that one perspective that we’ve chosen. But if you’re going to influence others, you need to hang out with them, experience their world and see what makes them tick.
Build long term relationships. The longer and better you know someone, the more influence you have in that relationship. Work on making your customers stick to you for years, until they’re sure you’re a friend and there’s no hesitation on their part when you recommend something. The oldest customers are almost always the least skeptical and most trusting because you’ve taken the time to really get to know them.
Be authentic and consistent. If you are being your true authentic self, it will show. And in being authentic, you never have to worry about being consistent. You know how a liar has trouble keeping his stories straight? As the real, honest authentic you, you’ll only have one story – yours.
Know who your target prospects are and then find other people who already have your prospects on their lists. Now co-create products with those people to put yourself in front of your prospects. Instant influence!
Speak for those who are afraid to speak. Sometimes it takes guts to say what needs to be said. Become the person in the theater who asks the noisy patron to be silent, and the rest of the theater will love you. It works the same way online – be the one to speak up for others and you will have influence over those you speak for.
Give. Lots. Often. Too often we are focused on our goals, our business, and on ourselves. Try giving as much as you can and as often as you can without thought of what you might get in return.
Be passionate. No one follows a mediocre, middle of the road person. People follow others who are passionate in their beliefs. An ounce of passion will out sway and out influence a pound of reasoning and logic nearly every time.
Share the internal stuff. Having a nightmare moving your website? Confounded by the speaker in the conference you’re sitting in? Thrilled that you just got a great big order? We’re taught to always keep it professional, but it’s through sharing both the good and bad that people feel they know you and your business.
Create video content for your niche. In your videos, be bold, be passionate, be exciting. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, just correct them and keep going. Be human. Be fun. And distribute your videos like crazy.
Share good content today. Tomorrow. Every day.
Tell stories. Who doesn’t love stories? And who can’t be influenced by the right story? Learn to become a master at storytelling and you can persuade even the most ardent enemy into joining your side.
Focus on a smaller niche. It’s hard to exert influence when you are one of 10,000 bloggers writing about weight loss – it’s easy to be influential when you are writing about weight loss for new moms in the Phoenix area.
Choose 5 to 10 people you admire in your niche and gradually get to know them. Share their stuff with your readers, ‘like’ their posts, ask them questions and pull them into your circle of influence. And don’t forget to thank them for what they have done for you, how they have influenced you, for the insights they’ve given you along the way.
Share yourself. Share your ideas, your thoughts, your ambitions – share what you’re doing today or what you did today. Not the, “I ate oatmeal” stuff, but rather the, “I thought about my grandad today and wondered what he would do if faced with this decision.” People listen when you share what’s close to your heart.
Align yourself with the best people in your niche. Not necessarily those who are making the most money, but rather those who are doing the best work and helping the most people. Those are the people you want as partners.
Don’t worry about how you’re going to get attention. Instead, make or do something worthwhile, something worth talking about.
Be different. Defy convention and do what others aren’t doing and say what others aren’t saying. People notice those who dare to be different.
Do interviews. Even if you have to get a friend to interview you, just do it. Get it online and make sure it’s seen by your people.
Become an advocate. Identify people on their way up in your niche and help them to succeed. By becoming their advocate, they in turn become yours.
Get people talking. People want to express themselves and they want to be heard. But start simple. Ask if they prefer smooth or crunchy peanut butter, or what their favorite food is. Work up to the bigger stuff. There may be no greater source of influence than simply listening – REALLY listening – to your people.
Choose who to influence by micro-targeting to find just the right people for your blog – product – niche – service. Only want women in their 30’s who work in Albuquerque New Mexico? Use Facebook advertising to find those people.
Make connections online, and then every chance you get, meet them in the real world. This might be at a conference, or it might be locally. Nothing beats meeting face to face.
Put your business ahead of your own fame. Sure you can become the top dog on a forum, but is it enhancing your business? If not, why are you doing it – for the fame? Keep your eye on your business goals, and if what you’re doing doesn’t further those goals, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
Stop talking about your products and services and start talking about your customer. No matter what you write or say, always keep in mind, “Is this what the customer wants to know? Am I communicating with them, or just tooting my own horn?” They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care is as true today as it was before the Internet.
Be the go-to person of your niche for content. Filter and aggregate your niche content so that your website is a one-stop-shop for the latest news.
Have a point of view. Sure, not everyone will share it – but that’s a good thing. Those who do share it will follow you anywhere.
Leverage some or all of these tips, and you’ll become a better influencer in all you do.
