If a person demonstrates passion and knowledge, they’re much more likely to gain traction with people who share their interests and become influential in that respect. Everyone influences someone, so we all have a place to start.

And from the start your comments, the links you share, and your conversations with connections all make an impact on the people who see them.

Creating content about things I am passionate about, sharing, engaging, and building relationships is what has worked for me.

That influence may be subtle, but it may also be the thing that motivates a connection to check out a new brand, reconsider a business or pick up a new interest of their own. These little moments of influence help you extend from a network to a community, and community is one of the most important drivers of consumer habits. A Network Gives You Reach… But A Community Gives You Power!

Just don’t forget about those subtle, important moments of influence that everyone has the capacity for. Watch and listen to your audience, and others, closely for clues as to who influences them, what influences them, and how they engage and interact.

It’s worth the effort to do some social sleuthing, so take a look at their conversations, personalities and interests, and start making connections. The more you do this, and the more conversations you have with the everyday people who influence small audiences, the better you’ll get at understanding why they share and what they share.

Relationships are like muscle tissue… the more they are engaged, the stronger and more valuable they become. #NoLetUp!