Generate More Traffic Via Social Media Influencing

Word-of-mouth, 20-50% of all purchasing decisions are made from it.  Customers are more likely to respond to endorsements from a person they respect than to advertisements.  In the world of digital relationships, word of mouth extends beyond friends and family, and into the realm of influencer marketing.

Twitter has shown that: 

• 49% of buyers will seek advice from social media influencers.
  
• 20% of users said that Tweets from an influencer motivated them to share their own product endorsements.
  
• 40% of users claimed they made a purchase as a direct result of an influencer’s Tweet.

Who Is a Social Media Influencer?

A Social Media Influencer is a user of social media who can show a level of authority in a specific industry. They have access to large audiences through their knowledge and scope of impact.

So, what is Social Media Influencer Marketing?

Influencer Marketing is the practice of creating relationships with people who can then build additional relationships for you in return. Whether the audience is small or large, an influencer can touch consumers via social networks and blogs, in ways traditional branding may not be able to reach.

Influencer Marketing Strategy Components

Celebrity endorsements were the original form of influencer marketing.  We’ve all see T.V. commercials where a well-known person takes 30 seconds to tell you how great a product is.

Now, with online media, regular people have become online “celebrities” with highly engaging social media followings.  A survey last year found that YouTube creators took eight of the ten top spots in a survey of influencers, outranking traditional celebrities.

Increase Your Traffic by Becoming a Social Media Influencer

Social Media Influencing has become very popular with blog enthusiasts to make passive income through affiliate marketing and utilizing these Influencers have become standard practice among many of the top companies selling on the market today.

But why stop there?  Why not generate even more leads and traffic to your Brand by becoming one of the Influencers yourself.  There are a number of recommended actions out there to become a social media influencer.  Here we’ve gleaned together some steps to help you to get started.

Choose 2-4 social media channels you’ll use to cover your subject, taking into consideration what you excel at.  Are you good at writing engaging posts on Facebook and Twitter, or are you better at photography or creating and editing your own videos?  The type of content you want to publish should showcase your best skills.  If you’ve decided to be a platform-specific influencer, clearly, you’ll want to use that as your primary social network then utilize the others for greater exposure.

Create a strategy for your content. What are your information preferences? Try to imagine why people will be enthusiastic to follow you, then plan accordingly.  Try to plan for at least 3 months in advance, prepare the strategy, and then start posting.

The purpose of your content is to attract people.  To accomplish this, you must be publishing consistently. You know what message you want to convey so stick to it, but also make sure you are keeping a lookout for new info.

Promote yourself by guiding your audience to your content.  Share it everywhere it might seem interesting to other followers.  Build your community by going to forums, fan pages, and inviting new people to engage with them as well.

Contact other people and brands in your industry.  Chat, comment on other posts, exchange likes and ideas.  One of the fastest ways to gain status is to contribute your unique content to other blogs and publications.  Guest postings can improve your merit among peers and increase traffic to your own blog. Show that you notice other people and you’ll start to be noticed too.

Over time your efforts will start to pay off.  You’ll begin to cultivate an audience that will listen to and follow you. The more people that join your audience, the more seriously your views will be taken and the level of influence you create over others will increase.

Publish on LinkedIn.  People generally believe LinkedIn posts are from the most influential leaders in a particular subject. So, in addition to your own blog, create posts using LinkedIn’s publishing platform.  You can accomplish this most easily by cutting and pasting your previously published blog posts and add a headline with keywords and an image to draw the eye.  Consequently, when people in your network also see your articles on LinkedIn, they will start to view you as an authority too.

Finally, keep your content and sources organized for easy access.  This way if someone asks a question about a particular post, you can easily answer the question or elaborate. This will also assist you in giving the appearance of having a good knowledge base of your subject.  There is no reason to hold anything back.  Sharing your expertise is how you can truly be a good influencer.

So, make sure you interact and build meaningful relationships with your audience as well as your peers.  This way you can present yourself to brands as having a strong following in your subject.

For additional info on becoming a Social Media Influencer, check out this post at Marketingland.com

How to Help Your Content “Go Viral”

As a digital marketer, one of the biggest things you can hope for with your content is that it goes “viral.” Viral is a social media and internet term that has been widely used and abused in the digital marketing world as the principle behind viral is much simpler than many people lead you to believe.

When something “goes viral” it means that it spreads and grows without any paid support. For instance, a Facebook post from a company about a marriage proposal that creatively used their products could go viral and then the company could see a boost in online web traffic and potentially even online sales.

For content to “go viral,” it needs to be three basic things:  clickable, playable, and shareable. If someone is captured by your content, clicks on it, and like it enough to share it, it has a potential to go viral. The shareable aspect is where a lot of marketers miss the mark. Here are a few ways that you can help your content become more sharable and help it go viral.

Consider Personal Attributes

People respond better to ads that connect to their personal attributes. To encourage sharing, come up with an ad concept that taps into your target audience’s personal attributes. When they feel more connected to the ad, they are more likely to have it resonate with them and share it with their social network.

Take Advantage of Tribe Mentality

People like feeling like they are a part of something. Tribe mentality is a strong motivator for people to take action. Companies like Apple have taken great advantage of this. They made people feel like they needed the iPhone or iPad to be part of an elite group and it worked to Apple’s advantage propelling them to tech stardom.

Make your content tap into the tribe mentality of a certain group. This can include political affiliation, regional location, generation, or interests.

Help Push Insightfulness

Content that helps you realize something about yourself or confirms a flattering trait that you feel you have is more shareable. Tap into creating these insights to make your content more shareable.

Embrace the Humblebrag

Humblebrags are actually pretty popular now. Pointing out something about your company or organization that you are proud of or think is impressive can create great shareable content. Just make sure that the bragging isn’t too obvious.

Keep it Topical

Successful ads that go viral take advantage of current events and trends. This was seen the most recently with the “mannequin challenge.” Companies that show that they are up to date on current events can ride the coattails of the latest viral trend if they jump on fast enough. Just make sure that you don’t wait until a month after something has become popular before using it.

Create Pleasure

Your ads should delight the people seeing them. Create joy and happiness with your ads to increase their shareability. There is no shame in using an adorable puppy or confetti because those are things people like. Take advantage of small things that create a lot of happiness.

Creative Collaboration

Participate in your community and with the companies and people around you. People love to see organizations and companies leaning on each other’s strengths to create better content and products for everyone. Find people and organizations that you can collaborate with to help your ads be more shareable.

Quality Above All Else

When things look good, people notice. Do not skimp on the quality of your content for quick clicks and potentially viral content. People recognize quality when they see it and they expect content to be creative and impressive. Take time to create good content and it will pay off in dividends.

Want to make your content more viral? Take a look at my done-for-you system to learn more about how to create great marketing campaigns.