1. Make sure your business Web page is the best it can be. Why spend time trying to get people to your website if it is not designed to be easy to use and doesn’t have the information people need? Be sure that your website navigation is working and easy to understand and that you have stellar content.
2. Develop relationships. One of the best ways to increase your influence is to get to know people. Use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and comment in forums and on blogs. Don’t just talk about your website or your products, actually take the time to get to know people and talk about what is important to them. As you develop relationships, your sphere of influence will increase because your contact base will expand and people will know that you are a person that can be trusted.
Developing relationships with people in your market and beyond is easy with the social media websites that are available today. Be active on Facebook and Twitter. When you comment in forums or on blogs don’t just say “good post” or “nice article”, give an opinion – you don’t always have to agree with the person as long as you are respectful. This shows honesty and that you’re not just spamming them and using their blog or forum as a vehicle for your backlinks.
3. Use videos. YouTube is a powerful website. It is second only to Google for searches and, since Google owns it, the videos you upload onto YouTube will be the first choice for Google’s search results. Videos can be about anything to do with your business: demonstrations, interviews with experts in your field, weekly video newsletters, and anything else you can think of to get you and your business out there in front of people. Be sure to share the links to your new videos on your free website and your social media accounts.
4. Give. Give away your knowledge. You can do this in the form of an e-book, free online seminar, podcasts, newsletters, and articles. Don’t be afraid to give away what you know. This sets you up to be an expert in the field and gets your name out there where people can find it.
5. Master your niche. Pick an area to master and really dig deep down and get into it. Become passionate about what you do and what you know. This shows in all of your dealings with others and they will pick up on it and turn to you when they need information and products in your niche.
6. Look at social media in a new light. Many business owners look at social media as a marketing strategy. Try looking at it as a tool to enhance your existing business model. Make social media an integral part of your business and include it in all of your marketing and planning projects.
7. Get to know and use Twitter. Twitter is the number 2 social networking website and, when you tap into its power, your influence will increase. Use hashtags for each tweet. This makes it easy for you and your followers to keep up with the conversation. A hashtag on the end of a tweet groups it together with other tweets containing the same hashtag. For example, you can use #yourbusiness and have all of your tweets on one page when users click your hashtag. Repeat your tweets every seven-to-eight hours to catch people that are online at different times and live in different time zones. Tweet chats are an excellent way to build community. Set up weekly tweet chats to talk about new products and services and to get to know people. You can also invite experts to your chats and have a question and answer session.
8. Be consistent. Consistency is important online and offline. A consistent look and feel throughout your website gives people security and lets them know they’re still where they need to be. Consistency also gets your brand image recognized. If people see the same brand images and logo connected with you and your website, they will recognize it quickly.
9. Have a plan. Know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. Sit down and make a plan for your business and think of creative ways to get there.
10. Think outside the box. Yes, this saying has almost been beaten to death, but if you look around at very successful people that have the most influence, you will see that they had the courage and foresight to not follow convention. Think of a new way to do the same old thing and go with it. Look at problems from new angles and come up with new solutions.
All of these tips will help to increase your influence online. You have built your free website and now you need to promote it. Do this by becoming a force to be reckoned with online and gain a reputation that speaks for itself and turns into success for you and your business.
