Have you ever wondered how to gain attention on social media and expand your brand? Wish you could make powerful connections, create differentiation, and establish credibility?
You can! But it will take some work, flexibility, and a commitment to consistency. Ready to make it happen?
In this episode of the Brand Authority Podcast, I share 5 proven steps to build influence on social media.
Subscribe to Brand Authority Podcast on iTunes
Highlights from episode 10
1. Make your content ridiculously valuable
If you're looking to build loyalty and trust with your audience, then valuable content should be your number one focus.
This is the type of content that addresses your audience's needs and pain points. Whether it be an infographic, white paper, ebook, or blog post, everything you create should be targeted for your specific niche. But before you even begin to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), make sure you've done your research.
Analyze your keywords. Identify personas. Research the competition (what they're sharing, what's working, what's not). Nail down your brand story. It's only then that you can be sure you're writing for the reader (and not yourself!).
Bonus: The great news about all the content you create is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel every day, week, or month. You can repurpose it.
Source: Scoop.It
Take your old email, blog posts, newsletters, or any other marketing collateral you have lying around, and turn it into quick tips on graphics or even a short video.
If you give your followers the information that will help them save money, make money, or win in a negotiation, they'll be sure to keep coming back for more.
2. Share content at the right time
If you want to set yourself up for social media success on Facebook and Twitter, you need a solid posting strategy. This begins and ends with nailing down the right times to share your content.
You don’t want to post about your brand new, data-packed case study if your audience is sleeping - and you certainly don’t want an empty feed when they’re actively looking to consume your content.
So, take a look at when your audience is actually interactive and engaged.
Source: CoSchedule
Once you understand your followers' habits, you can time out your content accordingly.
3. Post timely content
As a thought leader, you want to be at the forefront of everything that's going on. Constantly look ahead at everything that's happening in your industry and break it down for your followers.
Make sure you're not just pushing out content, but instead explaining what and why it matters. Put your spin on the news and add relevance. Still not convinced?
Here's 3 reasons to stay on top of current events and share them with your following:
1. It capitalizes on the conversations happening in real time in your industry.
Use social media as your very own water cooler - a virtual place for your fans to come together and share their thoughts.
Not only will this give your opinion relevance, but will also help you organically show up in the news feed.
2. It's the perfect opportunity to add context to the content.
Don't just push out news stories. Instead, share your own thoughts and feedback, and establish expertise.
A great example of this is the Facebook Live video below, where Twitter expert Diana Adams and I broke down all recent updates on the various social networks.
Instead of simply regurgitating the news, we told people why they should care.
3. It’s shareable.
If the content you're posting is timely, interesting, and relevant, your audience will be more inclined to share it. Don't pass up this opportunity to increase your reach, build momentum, and get more engagement.
Source: Buffer
4. Building connections with like-minded business professionals
If you want to build your social media influence, you need to connect with other business professionals with similar interests as yours.
As counter-intuitive as building connections with your potential competitors may seem, know that relationships are everything in the online world.
As you start to engage with others and share their content, the connection grows and they'll likely reciprocate the gesture. It's mutually beneficial and exposes both sides to a larger audience. Be careful though!
Be strategic in who you contact and what you say. For example, you shouldn’t randomly send out requests or long DMs, especially if you haven't established a prior relationship. Focus on building relationships and not numbers.
5. Collaborate and engage with your audience
Instead of speaking AT your audience, you need to speak WITH them. Join their conversations and become an active participant.
Don't get so carried away with creating content that you forget about the relationship-building aspect of social media. Listen to what your fans, followers, and clients are saying about you and your brand.
Once you know what's going on, you can easily inject yourself into those conversations. Do so by sharing advice or timely information. This will help you become a valuable resource and build bridges.
There are a lot of tools that can help you listen and personally respond to your audience. Here's a few of my favorites.
Source: Socialglims
Final thoughts
There are many ways to build influence on social media, but it all begins and ends with having conversations and being human.
Show your audience that you're real and that you care. They need to know you understand who they are and what they find valuable.
So, get involved in the conversation and start building authority and influence today!
Subscribe to the Brand Authority podcast
People, brands and resources mentioned:
Want to View on YouTube instead?
About Rebekah Radice
Rebekah Radice, co-founder of BRIL.LA, has traded narcissism for purpose. When not driving growth, you'll find her tricking family into thinking she's Emeril Lagasse - likely covered in marinara. The spotlight was fun, but impact is better. These days she's using 20+ years of brand brilliance for good.