How to use social media and websites to grow influence

If you’re looking to build online influence, having a website and a strong social media strategy is essential.

Are you trying to establish yourself as an expert in your industry?

Establishing credibility in your industry takes consistency and commitment. You need to create quality content, across multiple mediums, in order to be considered credible.

Are you trying to grow a loyal tribe of followers?

In today’s competitive market, you need to work hard to set yourself apart. If you want to capture attention from your audience, you need to be entertaining and engaging.

Those who build strong brands for themselves have the best opportunity to establish influence online.

If you want to grow your online influence, you need to have a strong social media strategy and a website.

Strategizing on social:

In order to use social media for brand-building, you need to be strategic.

A few critical elements of any social strategy: consistent content creation and daily engagement. But that’s not enough.

Here are 3 more things you need to strengthen your social presence: 

  1. Strong bios: Creating a strong bio that speaks to who you are and what you do helps people get to know you online. It’s important that your bio is consistent across your different social profiles. You want your audience to walk away with a similar sense of your interests and expertise regardless of which platform they use. Don’t be afraid to be authentic. If you’re a chocoholic, embrace it. If yoga is a huge part of your life, include that! Your avatar (both visual and text,) communicates that you’re likable, trustworthy and competent. It helps your audience feel connected to you. Takeaway tip: make your profile photo the same across each social media network to create instant recognition and familiarity.
  2. Visuals: Using consistent fonts and colors in your social media graphics helps create awareness for your brand. Peg Fitzpatrick and Rebekah Radice are experts at doing this. Peg’s color is hot pink and Rebekah’s is orange. When you scroll through Instagram, 80% of their graphics are instantly recognizable as theirs.
  3. Live video: Video is the easiest way to gain trust online today. Live video in particular, because it’s raw. Through video, you can easily show that you’re an expert in your industry. There’s no faking it on live video which means your audience can trust you. I recommend using Facebook Live to boost your organic reach on the platform. Since Facebook is focusing on video, you should too. It’s a great way to connect with your fans and show your smarts.

Strong bios, branded visuals, and educational videos all serve to bring your followers “in.”

These elements help to amplify your message and create a closer connection to your audience.

The ultimate goal is to use social media to drive people to your website, where they have a chance to become a converting customer.

Creating credibility through a quality website:

Yes, social media is powerful and important. But people don’t convert on social media. Sales don’t happen on Snapchat.

If you want to grow your influence online, you need to use social media to drive people to your website.

Social media is the road; your website is the destination.

Once people are on your website, you have the chance to convert them into an actual subscriber and member of your tribe.

So, what elements do you need to create a beautiful website?

Below are 3 ways to set your site apart:

  1. Unique design: Don’t be afraid to be different on your website by using videos and/or custom graphics. The most important thing is to tell the same story on your website that you do on social media. Your social media profiles should be a reflection of the branding used for your website. Use the same fonts and colors in order to drive home brand awareness.
  2. Content to establish credibility: Your website should have content that helps you establish your credibility. Create an about page that tells your story. This about page will describe who you are and what you do; it’s going to be the way you relate to your online audience. It’s important to have a featured and/or press page with links to guest blogs or articles you’ve been featured in and/or contributed to. Lastly, include testimonials as a way of building trust in the services and products that you sell on your site.
  3. Email list: Growing an email list is probably the MOST critical aspect to growing online influence. However, you need to give your fans a reason to provide their email. I recommend creating a high-quality offering that’s available for free in exchange for an email. People are a lot more likely to give their email in exchange for a piece of quality content, and you need those emails in order to drive sales. Without an email list, you have nobody to market your products and services to.

The reason why you need to invest heavily into your website is because social media isn’t owned.

Putting all of your eggs into the Facebook or Snapchat basket is risky because social channels come and go.

If you’re only growing an audience on one avenue, you’re becoming dangerously dependent on that channel for the health of your business.

That’s why you need both — social media and a website.

You need a website in order to establish an email list, which in turn creates your customers that will drive conversions.

And you need social media in order to drive people to your website.

Without social media, you don’t have a tool to take people to the place to convert. Without a website, you don’t have an avenue for creating conversions.

Lastly, without a free guide, you don’t give your audience a reason to give you their email.

Want to see an example for a good free guide to grow your email list?

Go check mine out and let me know what you think in the comments below! 

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