Increasing Your Circle of Influence Online

Q: Do you have any tips for increasing my circle of influence online?

A: If you seeking business growth, you definitely need to consider expanding your circle of influence online. I know you have heard how important “word of moth” marketing is. The reason for this is, almost half of all Americans will ask their family or friends for advice when shopping for services or thinking about trying a new product.

Establishing relationships with people you meet online can certainly help your business growth. Online networks are very powerful resources.

Here are some simple tips that will help you in this process:

1. Begin by doing market research and think about what type of business you are in and where your target market will congregate online. You may choose to explore business-to-business networking by joining a site such as www.linkedin.com. This site would be the business equivalent to MySpace and if people like John Kerry and Bill Gates both belong to this site, you can too! This site allows you to network with other business people and have the opportunity of sharing clients or forming partnerships.

2. Use a direct approach with people that you want to do business with. Send them an email and let them know you have visited their site. Inform them of your intentions such as teaming up together on a joint project, sharing leads, referrals or whatever it is you have in mind.

3. An alternative to that would be to go directly to your target market. If your website is focused on pet care, then find websites with a similar theme. Some may have a message board or forum. Participate in the forum posts and get familiar with other pet lovers who may form an interest in products or services you offer.

4. When visiting a message board, go there with the intentions of helping other people not yourself. If someone posts a question, and you have feedback to offer, then by all means, you should post a reply. If people begin to see that you are sharing useful information, they just might click on your signature link to learn more about your business. Do not spam boards with ads about your business, this will not help in gaining any client contacts for your business and will only put a damper on your reputation as a business owner.

5. Start a blog; it will also help expand your circle of influence online. It will help establish trust between yourself and your visitors. They will get to know you and will begin to view you as an expert. When they or someone they know are in need of your service, they will turn to you. You might want to ask questions and have readers respond. This will give them a chance to interact and enjoy some feedback as well.

As your circle of influence begins to grow, you will notice people coming to you, asking if they can hire you. You will then be able to maintain a growing client base and will save money on advertising as well.

Read more with this Online Partnerships Report.