There are countless ways to grab the attention of your audience, but keeping them coming back for more is where the real value lies—it’s where you build influence. Mom bloggers are a good example of this. Those who developed the greatest influence did so with good content—and kept their audiences engaged by producing more of it. But just because they were moms and their audiences were moms didn’t make them influential. It was the quality of the content they produced that resonated with a particular audience.
It doesn’t matter what we call ourselves, we can all create our own content and influence hubs by listening, engaging and sharing with those whose voice either echoes our own, or incites us to think differently. Effective content creation does not depend on labels or names—it does depend on understanding your audience.
As human communicators we all have the power to influence someone. Whether we build on that influence is largely a function of how well we listen, and how well we can use what we learn to produce content that means something to people. The nuts and bolts of content creation is often solitary work, but everything else about the process is ripe for conversation and collaboration. You’ll find what you need to reach your goals, as long as you’re willing to listen.
Welcome to the ‘Age of Influence,’ where anyone can build an audience and effect change, advocate brands, build relationships and make a difference.
Previously posted at TedRubin.com