What makes you influential on social media?
Just as in mainstream journalism, great content is key. Great headlines grab the reader. Posting frequently and regularly and being the first to break the news is key.
And just as magazines have long known, pass along readership is key to great circulation.
But the main thing that sets social media influencers apart (and sets social media apart from traditional “journalism”) is that they are followed by people who they themselves have strong networks.
An influencer might reach only 1000 people — but those 1000 people also reach 1000 highly connected and active people and so on and so on…which means within seconds, they can reach millions. Which is how revolutions like the Occupy movement and #Egypt managed to spread like viral wildfire. And why your boring: “I just announced a new product” or “Please like my business” plea is often ignored.
As Haydn Shaughnessy wrote yesterday in Forbes:
“What behaviors make the key difference for people who want to elevate their status online?” He breaks it down to:
- Being active in a sufficient number of channels
- Creating and maintaining a high quality network
- Frequency of participation
Social Media is interactive. To have real influence you need to be “social” — and that’s where 99.7% of businesses go wrong.
Social media not a press release or an advertisement — it’s an interactive conversation. If your content is so engaging and interesting that followers feel compelled to repeat it–you will be retweeted and shared, and quickly reach tens of thousands or even millions of people.
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