Influence is a new watchword in the world of client attraction. It turns out that being influential is not about knowing it all, having all the answers or being right. It starts with getting meaningful conversations going with the people you serve. Coaches are good at this, so I invite you to apply this with your niche market for 90 days and see what happens.
Recently, a company called ThoughtLead offered “the shortest marketing conference ever”. The Influencer Project featured 60 thought leaders who offered sixty seconds worth of their best advice on how to increase your influence online. I’m impressed with the creative way that ThoughtLead offered value, started a meaningful conversation and built more influence with their market.
Six Tips to Build Influence With Your Coaching Niche
Here are six influence tips that you might not have thought of before. The first two are social media tips. The last four tips have a common theme weaving through them. Did you catch it?
Get Your Message Out There with Online Video
“Online video is probably the fastest way to get your message out there to increase visibility and to get clients and customers online. Very simple — find a good camera, there’s lots of different types online. The Cannon Vixia is a personal favorite… make sure your lighting is good and you have an external microphone. Come up with some great content — it can be two to three minutes, it does not have to be a lot. Create content around your area of expertise and then distribute with gusto!”
Shama Kabani, author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing
Repeat Your Tweets
“You should repeat your tweets. I repeat them four times every eight hours. And I see about the same amount of click-throughs for each one. So no matter what people tell you—repeat your tweets.”
Guy Kawasaki, co-founder of AllTop.com
Stop Talking About Your Products and Services
“Everything that you create on the web should be valuable information for those people that you’re trying to reach. And it shouldn’t focus on what your company happens to do or what your products and services happen to do. People don’t care about products and services; what they care about are themselves. And they care very, very deeply about solving their problems.”
David Meerman Scott, bestselling author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR
Talk To and About Other People
“… if you’re looking to influence a certain thought leader, or even just a group of people, talking about them, talking to them, instead of about yourself is something that I find exceptionally powerful.”
Yaro Starak, Entrpreneurs-Journey.com
Start Thought Provoking Conversations
“…engage readers in a conversation. And that means introducing topics that are thought provoking and interesting, and on which people have a lot to say. People look to you to start a conversation, to lead a conversation and to engage them in topics that really catch their interest.”
Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, Happiness-Project.com
Earn Trust Through Consistency
“Consistency demonstrates commitment. So, for the people that you’re trying to serve, if you are consistent, they’re going to keep coming back. You’re going to earn their trust because you’re consistent. They believe that you’re committed to them for the long haul.”
Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid
The theme that carries through the Influencer Project presentations is what I call becoming a “champion” for your market. Make all of your messages about them – what they care about, what they want most. Your essence, style and story will flow into your messages to attract the people who resonate most with you.
Are you championing your ideal coaching market?
Do they see you as influential?
What can you do in the next 90 days to amp up that influence and connect more with what is most important to your target market?
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