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

Learn these and other business success methods with my 21 Steps Training.