3 Ways You Can Influence Online Without Being an Influencer

Anyone working in online sales and marketing knows that competition is tough. Consider the fact that people spend an average of five hours of shopping online each week, according to Tech Crunch. It is important that your brand finds its way into that span of time for your target audience. One key strategy that business leaders rely on today is the power of influencers.

Influencers are individuals who have and wield the power to affect buying decisions because of their authority in a given area, such as fashion, housewares, music and other areas in the marketplace. Influencers generally have a large reach in their particular niche area due to their authority, position, knowledge or relationship with their audience.

Do you believe your business could benefit from an influencer, but you aren't one? You can certainly do what it takes to become an influencer for your own company.

Here are four ways for you to try.

1. Adjust and Adapt to Different Social Styles

Remember, as someone who is not an influencer, it may take a brief time to understand that you need to adapt to whatever voice your brand needs for your audience. You may be someone who is reserved, but your audience is ready for bold and direct writing and high-impact images.

If you try to market high-end, stylish clothes with just-the-facts writing and no images, you are not going to influence your audience.

Here are four primary types of social styles you need to keep in mind:

• Driver: Direct and results-oriented
• Expressive: Outgoing, creative and social
• Amiable.: Easygoing, dependable and sensitive
• Analytical: Logical, systematic, accurate and structured

Learning what your audience needs to hear in order to attract them to your product will help you work within the appropriate social styles to better connect with them and offer them the sense authority they crave.

2. Discover and Develop Your Own Power as an Influencer

There are two distinct types of power in business. One is personal and one is positional.

Personal power is based on relationships and your ability to connect with your followers on a truly personable level. Positional power stems from expertise, which is important in relaying information about products and services, but with too much, you may come across as dry and impersonal.

Strive to create a fine balance between the two so you create a sense of authority technically and personally.

3. Don't Fall for the “It's Fake” Fear

Some people think of influencers as hucksters or modern-day snake oil salesmen due to high-visibility on platforms like Instagram. Some may see the idea of an influencer as losing sight of the product or service's use, or the company's mission.

When done properly, an influencer is an integral part of the sales process and has great value for the brand.

Take a business like Amway that has been around since 1959, yet has faced concerns for decades. People have wondered: Is Amway a scam or not?

The company has provided valuable products to satisfied customers for 70 years, so it is easy to see how an influential brand faces scrutiny when they simply offer direct selling via their own talented independent sellers. The company works with its sales team to help reinforce the brand's vision and mission to provide quality goods to loyal customers.

Even if the idea of becoming an influencer for your brand seems a little overwhelming, you can do it with the right tools and strategies. Work to find the right social style and power you need, then believe in the process and that what you are doing is true to your brand.

You will soon find that you too can become an influencer.