Posts Tagged social influence

This has been playing on my mind for some time now. Social commerce has taught us that the companies who listen to their customers and then sell, are the ones that succeed. That is nothing new; but social media has brought this to the fore.

The ability to engage in conversations with customers in real-time, has led to a new explosion of selling possibilities. Customers can not only make or break your products by sharing their opinions and experiences with their peers; but they can do so much more.

In the early days of social media, it was all about celebrities and Twitter accounts. But now, I see a new type of social media celebrity evolving. One with large networks and plenty of opinions to share with them. These celebrities are just “normal” people; but with huge social influence!

So have a think about the social influence you have? How can you leverage it? Perhaps you could start a small business on the back of it. A third-party hub or a community, for example, with content that is recommended by trusted friends and professionals in real-time. Real people participating in social media can unearth incredible amounts of actionable information, with limited barriers to acting upon it quickly.

And once you have a branded community, you can monetise this. Companies will pay you to feature or mention their brand in real-time, and in a relevant context. The more members you encourage to join your community, the more possibilities you will find. You would have created an unpaid army, which companies will want to involve in their own R&D processes, and to help create new applications, or products.

Think about your existing customers, and your own social networks. Identify which accounts you have that are currently underserved. Perhaps, you can generate new business for them, by reviewing their products and inviting your social networks to come up with ideas for them. This will give you a good reason to contact them for new business.

All of us who participate in social networks have a degree of social influence. Your opinions count to your friends. See what you can develop through that. You may surprise yourself!