Social media influencers are the people who get the attention of the biggest brands, have a real following, are actively involved in social media and create great content. With a little patience, you can become a social media influencer. Here’s how to get started.

Create Relevant and Unique Content

Sync up your audience's interests with your area of expertise to create content that answers common questions, solves a problem, entertains or enlightens.

This content should be unique. Your ideas and brand need to stand out. Think about an interesting and different angle you could take on a topic of interest in your community. Maintain a content publishing schedule to ensure you’re consistently disseminating thought-provoking content to spark your community’s interest to evoke buzz around you and your brand.

Be Ubiquitous

Have a presence on many relevant social media channels and ensure each profile is customized with easily recognizable personal branding and consistent tone across all profiles. Syndicate content to multiple social properties, and optimize the content within them to include popular industry search terms for enhanced exposure in search engines.

Build an All-Star Team

People won’t subscribe to your content or listen to what you have to say if they believe the information or conversation is being generated from the faceless avatar of Artificial Intelligence. There’s an expectation for real-time engagement in social media that just can’t be ignored, so meet that expectation head-on and get actual people within your company talking with you and your audience.

Get Offline

Growing your network in order to become an influencer in social media doesn’t need to be exclusive to the online world. Attending industry events and conferences is an excellent way to network with others in your field of expertise and meet other like-minded people in your community.

Hosting a get-together or Tweetup is a sure-fire way to get involved in your community and acquire leadership status.

Be Helpful to Others

As Chris Brogan says, “One thing that helps one become influential is to work on helping others rise up.”

By answering questions or directing your connections to useful information, you will not only help others grow their network by sharing the spotlight with them, but you will also grow your network, learn how to improve your own efforts, and build long-lasting relationships.

Update Social Networks Frequently

The News Feeds and streams of Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social networks are continually updating. To stay top of mind amidst ephemeral conversations, you need to be present there. Engage and publish content at least several times a day to the platforms where your industry peers are active.

Make Time to Find New Connections

While social listening helps you find who is most influential within a specific industry, the recommendation engines within popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook can be extremely helpful in finding additional connections. Twitter’s “Who to Follow” and “Similar To” suggestions are incredibly helpful in finding people akin to those you already follow and trust. Directories are another great place to look; go ahead and give “Find People on Plus” a try and/or discover Google+ users interested in topics related to your industry. Find and connect with other influencers via other social channels as well.

To learn more about becoming a social media influencer in your industry as well as reaching other influencers, check out our free ebook, Win Over Your Industry's Social Media Influencers.