Many few years ago, I posted a link on Facebook to an article and photo from the local newspaper about a show that my daughter was in.

A gal I went to high school with made the following comment: “I told you she was a triple threat“.

This comment started me thinking about how much times have changed not only in the entertainment industry but everywhere else – including the business world.

Look at the Entertainment Industry

The entertainment industry of yesteryear was completely different than it is today.

MGM Studios dominated the industry in the 1930s. MGM was known for having many big names in showbiz under contract such as: Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Judy Garland, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, and Spencer Tracey.

They also cast Deborah Kerr as the lead role in the motion picture The King and I .

But rather than using her own singing voice, they opted to dub her voice with Marni Nixon.

Marni was also used to dub Audrey Hepburn’s voice in My Fair Lady.

Ava Gardner’s voice was dubbed by Annette Warren’s in Showboat.

Even though Ava Gardner had a lovely voice, it obviously not what MGM was looking for.

In recent times, stars like Nicole Kidman in Moulan Rouge and Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago surprised many by their vocal talents. I, for one, never knew Nicole Kidman could sing.

How about Emily Blunt in Into The Woods? I have seen her in many movies but had never heard her sing. Her voice is beyond amazing!

But these stars and other contemporary performers become well-trained in singing, acting, and dancing; in other words, they know they need to be “Triple Threats”.

Triple Threat Concept Applies to Marketing and Building an Online Presence

In order to build online influence, stand out from your competitors, attract a loyal following, and ultimately grow your business, you need to be AT LEAST a Triple Threat.

It is no longer good enough to have just a great product or service.

Having the right message delivered to the right audience at the right time is still not enough.

In order to be effective, the relevant message to the correct target needs to be compelling enough to be heard above the “noise” caused by information overload.

Build Online Influence: Jack of ALL Trades AND the Master of ALL

Ever feel like you need to be a jack of all trades but a master of just one?

Think again. Building online influence isn’t about piecing together a few good tricks. It’s about mastering every tool in your kit.

You must manage social media, content creation, SEO, and basic coding.

Although this may sound overwhelming, mastering these varied skills sets digital leaders apart.

This post will show you why versatility isn’t just a boon—it’s a necessity—and guide you through becoming good and great at many things.

Are you ready to transform your approach and stand out in the crowded digital space? Let’s get started.

Understanding Online Influence

Building online visibility and influence is more crucial than ever in today’s digital age.

Whether you’re a blogger, entrepreneur, or content creator, having a strong online presence can make a huge difference in your success.

The Power of Online Influence

Influence is powerful. It can drive engagement, shape opinions, and inspire action from your audience.

Imagine your online presence as a ripple in the water. One small action can expand outward, touching others far and wide.

When you build online influence, you can:

• Drive Engagement: Engaging content catches the eye. Good influence keeps people returning for more, encouraging them to like, comment, and share.
• Shape Opinions: Your thoughts and viewpoints can impact others. Like a trusted adviser, you become your niche’s go-to source for information.
• Inspire Action: Want your audience to subscribe, purchase, or donate? Strong influence motivates them to take the actions they desire.

Key Components of Online Influence

Building online influence isn’t a mystery. It relies on several key components:

1. Credibility: This is the foundation of influence. Show your audience that you know what you’re talking about. Share accurate information, use sources, and be transparent. Trust takes time to build but seconds to lose.
2. Visibility: You can’t influence if you can’t be seen. Use SEO strategies, social media, and networking to ensure you’re where your audience is. Visibility creates opportunities for new connections.
3. Connection: Engagement goes beyond just the content. It’s about building a relationship with your audience. Respond to comments, engage on social media, and listen. Connections make your influence personal and relatable.

By focusing on these components, you’re not just shouting into the void but creating meaningful interactions that resonate and spread.

Building online influence takes effort, but its benefits ripple outward, growing your engagement, shaping opinions, and inspiring action.

Key ingredients like credibility, visibility, and connection are the building blocks to becoming a master of influence in your online community.

Becoming a Triple Threat to Build Your Online Influence

To build online influence, you need to become a Triple Threat. This term usually refers to someone who excels in three critical areas.

When it comes to online influence, being a Triple Threat means mastering communication skills, having technical proficiency, and developing strategic networking abilities.

Combining these skills can set you apart and elevate your online presence.

Mastering Communication Skills

One of the first steps to building online influence is mastering communication skills.

Effective communication can significantly impact your reach and engagement. This involves:

1. Writing: Clear and compelling writing is vital in blog posts, social media updates, and emails. Your words should grab attention, educate, and inspire action.
2. Speaking: Public speaking isn’t just for physical events. Webinars, podcasts, and live video streams require good verbal communication skills. The better you articulate your ideas, the more trust you build with your audience.
3. Engaging on Social Media: Being active and responsive on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is crucial. It’s not just about posting content but interacting with your followers, answering their questions, and joining discussions.

Effective communication builds trust. People are more likely to follow someone relatable and clear in their messaging.

Cultivating Technical Proficiency

Knowing how to harness technology gives you an edge in building online influence. Here are some areas to focus on:

1. Website Management: Knowing how to maintain your site, update content, and ensure it’s user-friendly can make a big difference. A well-managed site keeps people engaged and coming back for more.
2. SEO: Search Engine Optimization helps your content get discovered. Understanding keywords, backlinks, and other SEO strategies can significantly increase your visibility.
3. Content Creation Tools: Familiarize yourself with tools that can help you create high-quality content. These might include graphic design tools like Canva, video editing software, or even simple tools for checking plagiarism and grammar.

The internet is your stage. Technical skills allow you to manage that stage effectively and engage your audience.

If you don’t have the necessary technical skills, it is imperative that you outsource these tasks to a professional.

Developing Strategic Networking Abilities to Enhance Your Online Influence

Building and nurturing relationships is pivotal for expanding your influence. Here’s how networking can help:

1. Online Communities and Forums: Participating in relevant Facebook groups, Reddit forums, or LinkedIn groups can help you connect with like-minded people and get your content shared.
2. Collaborations: Teaming up with other influencers, brands, or bloggers can expose you to new audiences. It’s a win-win situation when both parties benefit from the partnership.
3. Attending Virtual Events: Webinars, online workshops, and virtual conferences are excellent opportunities to network and gain new followers. Always be ready to introduce yourself and explain your expertise.

Strategic networking is like planting seeds. The more seeds you plant, the more your influence grows over time.

By becoming a Triple Threat, you set yourself up for greater success.

Mastering communication skills, technical proficiency, and networking will help you build and maintain long-term online influence.

Content Creation and Consistency

Building online influence isn’t just about being present; it’s about making that presence felt.

To do this, creating valuable content and maintaining consistency is critical.

Below, we’ll explore how to create content that connects with your audience and how to stick to a reliable content schedule.

Creating Valuable Content

Creating content that resonates with your target audience is crucial.

It’s not just about putting words out there; it’s about making them count. So, where do you start?

First, know your audience. Understand their needs, interests, and pain points.

Gather this information using surveys, social media insights, or direct interactions.

Once you know what they care about, you can tailor your content to meet their needs.

Second, focus on quality over quantity. Instead, your audience would read one well-thought-out post rather than skim through five mediocre ones.

Make your content educational, entertaining, and informative.

Provide actionable tips, share stories, or offer unique insights they won’t find elsewhere.

Here are some strategies to make your content valuable:

• Solve Problems: Address common issues your audience faces and offer clear solutions.
• Inspire: Share success stories or motivational quotes that can encourage them.
• Educate: Teach them something new, such as a how-to guide or a deep dive into a specific topic.

Let’s imagine your content as a meal. If it’s delicious and satisfying, people will return for more.

If it’s bland or poorly cooked, they’ll look elsewhere. Ensure every piece of content you create is a feast for your audience.

Establishing a Content Schedule

Once you’ve nailed down what to create, the next step is to ensure consistency. Consistency is critical to building online influence.

An irregular posting schedule can cause your audience to lose interest. To stay consistent, establish a content calendar.

A content calendar is like a map for your content journey. It outlines what you plan to post and when.

It helps you plan, ensuring you always have something ready for your audience. Here’s how to create one:

1. Identify Key Dates: Mark important dates, like holidays or industry events, which can be tied into your content.
2. Plan Content Themes: Identify specific weekly or monthly themes based on your audience’s interests or current trends.
3. Set Deadlines: Allocate time for research, writing, editing, and posting. Stick to these deadlines to maintain a steady flow of content.
4. Use Tools: Tools like Google Calendar, Trello, or dedicated content calendar apps can help you keep track.

Consistency doesn’t mean posting every day. It means posting on a regular schedule that your audience can depend on.

Whether once a week or twice a month, make sure your audience knows when to expect new content from you.

Creating valuable content and staying consistent is like the two wheels of a bike. Without one, the journey becomes wobbly and uncertain.

Make both a priority, and you’ll ride smoothly towards your goal of building online influence.

Leveraging Social Media Platforms to Boost Your Online Influence

Building online influence is like growing a garden. It requires the right tools, the right soil, and, of course, some patience.

Social media platforms are some of the most powerful tools for turning your online presence into a bustling hub of activity and engagement.

However, not all social media platforms are created equal. So, how do you choose the right ones and then engage effectively? Let’s break it down.

Choosing the Right Platforms

Selecting the right social media platform is like picking the right seeds for your garden.

Different platforms cater to various audiences and types of content. Here are some critical steps to help you decide:

1. Know Your Audience: Are they teenagers glued to TikTok or professionals hanging out on LinkedIn? Understanding where your audience spends their time is crucial. Conduct surveys, analyze demographics, and look at your competitors’ followers.
2. Content Type: What kind of content do you excel at? TikTok or Instagram Reels might be your go-to if you’re great with short, snappy videos. For detailed articles and professional insights, LinkedIn is the better option. Visual content works wonders on Instagram and Pinterest, while text-focused content shines on Twitter.
3. Engagement Features: Some platforms offer unique features that can enhance your outreach. YouTube Live and Twitter Spaces provide different ways to engage with your audience. Choose platforms that offer tools aligned with your engagement strategy.

Making the right selection can significantly boost your efforts to build online influence.

It’s about being where your audience is and meeting them with content they enjoy.

Engagement Strategies

Engaging with your followers is like tending to your garden daily.

You water the plants, remove the weeds, and nourish the soil.

So, let’s talk about how to keep your social media garden flourishing:

1. Be Authentic: People can sense when you’re being genuine. Share your experiences, successes, and even failures. Authenticity builds trust, and trust is the cornerstone of influence.
2. Consistent Posting: Regularly updating your content keeps your audience engaged and returning for more. Develop a content calendar and stick to it. Consistency shows commitment, which can build a loyal follower base.
3. Interactive Content: Use polls, Q&A sessions, and live videos to engage your audience. The more they interact with your content, the more involved they become.
4. Respond to Comments: Respond to comments and messages. This shows that you value your followers’ opinions and foster community.
5. User-Generated Content: Encourage your followers to create content related to your brand. This could be testimonials, reviews, or even creative projects. It not only increases engagement but also adds credibility.

By focusing on these engagement strategies, you can build a community of engaged followers more likely to interact with your content and spread the word about your brand.

This way, your influence grows organically, one authentic interaction at a time.

Measuring Your Influence

When building online influence, measuring the effectiveness of your efforts is crucial.

It’s like sailing a ship without a compass without tracking specific metrics.

Knowing what to look for can help you adjust your sails and stay on course.

Let’s discuss some key ways to measure your influence effectively.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, are the metrics that clearly show how well you’re doing.

Think of them as the gauges on your car dashboard. Here are a few essential KPIs you should be tracking:

1. Engagement Rates: This measures how your audience interacts with your content. Likes, comments, shares, and retweets all count. High engagement shows that people find your content valuable and interesting.
2. Follower Growth: Monitor how fast your follower count is increasing. Steady growth means your efforts to build online influence are paying off.
3. Conversion Rates: Are your followers taking the actions you want? This could be signing up for your newsletter, downloading a resource, or purchasing. High conversion rates mean your content reaches people and motivates them to act.
4. Website Traffic: Monitoring the number of visitors to your website can give you insights into how effective your online efforts are. Pay attention to both the quantity and quality of the traffic.
5. Social Media Mentions: The more people talk about you online, the better. This includes direct mentions, tags, and even user-generated content.

By tracking these KPIs, you can gain valuable insights into how well you build your online influence.

Adjusting Strategies Based on Data

Once you have your KPIs in place, the next step is to use this data to refine your strategy.

Think of it as having a treasure map. You might miss the treasure if you only follow the map without checking your surroundings.

You can see what’s working and what isn’t using analytics tools.

For example, if your engagement rate is low, your content may not resonate with your audience.

Here are some steps to take when adjusting your strategies:

1. Review Analytics Regularly: Set aside weekly time to look at your analytics. This will help you catch trends early and act on them.
2. A/B Testing: Experiment with different types of content, posting times, and formats. Compare the results to see what performs best.
3. Feedback Loop: Don’t be afraid to ask your audience for feedback. They can offer invaluable insights into what they want to see more of.
4. Content Refresh: Update your older content to keep it relevant. Search engines favor fresh content, and so will your audience.
5. Competitive Analysis: Study your competitors’ activities. Learn from their successes and avoid their mistakes.

By continually adjusting your strategies based on your collected data, you can ensure that your efforts to build online influence are always moving in the right direction.

Like a skilled navigator, you’ll be able to navigate the digital world’s ever-changing landscape.

Originally published January 28, 2015; Republished August 2, 2024, to update content and video.