Influence is NOT…

Influencer Marketing
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Today’s topic is influence. Because influence is often difficult to define, it is a good idea to determine what influence is not as well as what influence is.  Understanding influence will help you to surround yourself with influencers who can help to make you a greater success.

So here goes…Influence is NOT:

  • About technology or an algorithm that captures a score; influence is about the people and about your peers.

  • A measure of your ego; it is, however a measure of trust within your community or network of peers.

  • A right, it’s a privilege and as quickly as it’s awarded to a person, it can be taken away.

  • Control or authority over a peer’s behavior, yet influence, depending on the level, can certainly steer or guide behavior.

  • Just about the numbers, and can’t be completely defined by a metric; we rely on scores for reach, resonance, and impact. But, remember there are personal ways that people affect us, and a number or score may not capture the meaning of the influence on a personal level.

  • A popularity contest; popularity is demonstrated with large numbers of followers and friends.  For influencers, the numbers range from one end of the spectrum to the other; it’s not the quantity, but the quality of your interactions.

  • A one-time award or something that you can sustain without constant maintenance.  Influencers must continue to captivate their communities and grow strong relationships with peers.

  • The power to push messages, you have to keep listening to provide valuable information to your community.

  • Static, it can change every day.

  • Influence is not made up of just one characteristic; it’s made up of many.

  • Influence is not exclusive to social media.  People have been influencing their peers for hundreds of years, yet we’re hearing more about influence through social media.

  • Influence is not the end game; it’s only the beginning. It’s not what you’ve done in the past; it’s how you continue to grow your relationships in the future.

Conclusion

When it comes to your business, you should think about what influence is for your business and how it affects what you are doing and what you are offering. Help me to define influence by telling me what it is NOT.  Please add to this list so that we can understand influence so that it becomes a part of growth and not something that’s out of reach.

This guest post, Influence is Not…, originally appeared on the PR expanded blog on April 22,2011.

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6 Responses

  1. Jennifer Wadsworth says:

    +Lula Lanbrum via Google+

    I try out to let no one influence me,Who am I’d to say to say who is right or who is wrong, So if I choose wrong, then I have no one to blame but myself.

  2. Walter A. Sella says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Medical Education Communications and Pharmaceutical Marketing
    Discussion: Influence is NOT…

    Influence is NOT underestimating the people around you and their value upon the business and its future growth.

    W. Sella
    By Walter A. Sella, MD, MBA

  3. International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL) says:

    +International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL) via Google+

    Influence is NOT: trying to trick or coerce people into buying a good or service they don’t need by appealing to insecurities.

  4. Belinda Forgy says:

    +Belinda Forgy via Google+

    I would say that’s a pretty comprehensive list! A great reminder too… I try to remind businesses that social media is not an ad for a product or a service, it’s a venue to build trust for yourself and your business… some folks just don’t get it 😉

  5. Joanne McGhee says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: WomenSuite
    Discussion: Influence is NOT…

    Thanks Carolyn for sharing your insight. I always say to know me is to love me. That is my biggest sphere of influence.
    By Joanne McGhee, CPC, ELI-MP

  6. Rev. Gordon AR Edwards, Sr. says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
    Discussion: Influence is NOT…

    Influence is what results from the flow of one person’s life into the life of another. It is all about impact: the impact of the inflow of life. Influence has not taken place unless movement happens in the subject, the recipient. It might be just a slight shift in the mindset but it is movement. I believe that influence ought to be a part of our consciousness; it should be intentional; it should be a part of ones modus operandi.
    By Rev. Gordon AR Edwards, Sr., PhD, PsyD, ABD, LMFT, LP