A major corporate, recently told me that I’m becoming an influencer in the personal finance space.
I'm happy to hear that but I’ve been thinking a lot about how to go from becoming an influencer to being an influencer.
Influencing people isn’t about being loud; it’s about being able to persuade people to buy into your vision and be part of your journey.
Sounds easy enough… Sigh and roll eyes*
How to get people to buy into your vision
Understand the value of relationships and that everyone has different styles of communication.
You have to constantly communicate the same thing in different ways with people, in order for them to remember you.
Understand the communication style that works best for you and to master that style.
When Barack Obama decided to run for election in 2008, he realized that Gen Y would be his strongest supporters, so he did what no other politician was doing: he communicated with them via social media and mastered that communication style.
He used Facebook and Twitter to reach them. He enlisted hip hop musicians and spoken word poets to his campaign.
How to become an influencer
1. Be authentic
A friend recently told me to stop sharing my financial failures on the blog or on social media.
He advised me to focus on my successes and position myself as the expert.
Clearly I didn’t listen to that advice.
Because what’s so awesome about perfection?
If we want to influence people, we have to win their trust and to do that we have to be authentic and allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
Share your story with people.
Be human and let others see you.
We learn and evolve through each other’s stories.
Make the facts relatable to real life by sharing stories about your life, that people can relate to and let them draw their own conclusions.
2. Understand your target audience
Understand your industry and the people you’re communicating with on a personal level and get to know what moves them.
Decide how you'll communicate with people – are you going to do it through traditional media or social media?
You may be speaking to an audience of 1 or an audience of 1000, but the principle is the same: people respond to people that are similar to them.
Some people understand words and poetry, others understand numbers, some understand images, others understand body movement and some understand feelings.
3. Listen
Great communicators are also great listeners; they read between the lines and speak to people’s hopes and dreams.
People are more than happy to tell you what they need and want from you, as long as you listen and are willing to change the way you think.
How do you think people become influencers?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below
