Gaining and Measuring Social Influence in 2012

Social influence was a hot topic this year, so today we’re going to take

another look at exactly what it is, and how you can prepare to get some in

2012.

There are a lot of definitions available on the internet explaining what social influence is about, but we’re going to give it to you from the viewpoint of a

social marketer.

Why Does Social Influence Matter?

Social influence happens, when you’ve gained enough authority and

credibility online to influence your reader’s decisions or actions. This

comes from a great content strategy, and a lot of work feeding your social campaigns. It can be intentional or unintentional – but it does matter.

If you look at any social marketer’s ultimate goal – sales – then you’ll

begin to understand why social influence is important. The more

influence you have over your community, the more they will listen to you, buy from you and share your

content with the world. It’s an ongoing process, and it does fluctuate.

How Do I Gain Social Influence?

Social influence is gained when your content starts to make a real impact on your readers. Whether its video,

image or text content – it all contributes to your overall influence.

This ‘influence’ can differ from platform to platform, depending on

how much effort and time you’ve spent stimulating and entertaining

your communities there. As such, you need to keep an eye on where your business messages make the most

impact.

The first step is getting your readership to take your advice. Once they trust

you, they will be more inclined to become a social contributor, and share your content with their communities. They’ll also feel confident taking part in your buying process, because they know your advice or content is worth

buying.

When you increase your social influence, more people begin sharing,

buying and listening to you.

How Do I Measure Social Influence?

In 2011, a lot of companies came up with ways to measure your social

influence. First of all, these are basically flawed, so take the results with a pinch of salt. View them as

guidelines, and you can get a general idea of your social reach.

Klout is the front runner, and measures your overall influence

online. All you have to do is add in all of your social accounts. It tells you

handy details, like who you’ve been influencing and how. There are several other social measurement sites around that can give you an indication of how

influential you are.

Check out Peer Index, SproutSocial and Twylah for detailed break down’s of

the way you are influencing your community. Don’t take these scores

literally though, they change very quickly. When you’re contributing a

lot, they’ll be high – when you’ve slowed down, they’ll drop. Don’t

become obsessed with the numbers!

Think of creative ways you can boost your social influence in 2012. It will

improve your social sales funnel, and that means more growth in the new

year!

Social Media Marketing University (SMMU) is the creation of John Paul Souza, a serial entrepreneur who's held senior managerial positions at Banc America Capital Management

Group and JP Morgan Chase. Serving marketing professionals,

entrepreneurs and corporations, SMMU differentiates itself by offering

hands-on training from hands-on experts who are actively applying their

skills on real-world projects.

SMMU was recently honored as one of the top 5 finalists by the leading blog

site, Mashable, as one of the top provider of social media services for businesses. The firm has earned the title of "most trusted social media

firm" with over 900 unsolicited testimonials.

For more information about social media webinars and social media

online courses, please visit http://www.socialmediamarketinguniversity.com