14 Key Steps for Entrepreneurs and Leaders to Build Influence
As an entrepreneur or business leader, building influence in your chosen niche can cement your status as a credible industry thought leader. Being influential requires strategic actions that establish your expertise and encourage relationships with key players in your field.
To help you do this, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their top recommended strategies for elevating your influence within your industry. These strategies can make all the difference when you are trying to establish your reputation as a sought-after and respected expert.
Identify and Solve Pain Points
Be a problem solver. Identify your target niche by finding those who value you most, whether it’s for the information you provide or the product that improves their lives. Set up systems that encourage customer feedback and incentives surveys, analyze social media analytics for demographics and insights, and stay on top of the conversations that form between users within the comments sections. – Cynthia Johnson, Bell + Ivy
Engage Authentically Outside of Social Media
Building influence while focusing on others’ brands, particularly in a highly regulated space, can be challenging and time-consuming akin to “the cobbler’s son has no shoes.” For this reason, I’ve been mostly quiet on social media — but very vocal behind the scenes — making connections, offering insights directly and doing good work. Engage authentically and consistently to establish your presence. – Brianne Dezzutti, Higher Collective
Prioritize Transparency
It’s important when building credibility and influence to always keep it real. Talk about the struggles, and explore what can (and sometimes does) go wrong. Those learnings are much more valuable and insightful than boring humble brags from leaders in any space, no matter how niche. – Sarah Jenkins, The Romans New York
Build Trust in Your Field
Trust is the foundation of great leadership and influence. Build trust within your company and stay humble. Provide a chance for small wins as you continue to think big for the team around you. True leadership is about the influence of those around you instead of the authority over them. Positive influence focuses on empowering, developing and serving the people who work with you. – Josiah Corbin, Elite Multimedia Productions
Editor’s picks
Determine the Needs of Your Niche
You must first investigate the needs of your clientele in order to better understand their challenges. Only then can you deliver a product or service that gets to the root of customer problems, delivers value to them and builds their loyalty to your company. – Dustin Eide, CanPay
Teach in Your Desired Field
When you have a niche you believe in, teach it. This solidifies your intentions and establishes you and your team as experts. Living and breathing your “why” not only builds influence but also drives success by aligning your passion with your actions. Sharing knowledge consistently helps attract followers and foster trust, positioning you as a leader in your field. – Kelley Swing, Head Case Hair Studio
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
Engage With Your Network
Provide valuable content and engage with your audience. An important step is establishing thought leadership through blogging, social media and public speaking, as well as sharing insights, industry trends and practical advice, which shows expertise and builds trust and credibility with the target audience. Networking with other influencers and participating in relevant events can enhance visibility. – Kristin Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
Engage Physically in Your Industry and Community
There’s no substitute for genuine, active engagement, and there are no shortcuts to building influence. To become a key player in your niche and garner respect, you need to be personally involved in the industry and the larger community. Consider engaging with advocacy or development initiatives in your sector to become a relevant figure in the industry. – Evan Nison, NisonCo
Determine Your Unique Perspective
Spend time focusing on what is uniquely yours to give. Ask what you are better qualified than anyone else to lead on. Then focus on — and continually refine — that piece. The world is full of general advice (and people competing to give it). But to really stand out, it is essential to elevate your unique expertise in as narrow a field as possible. Expand from there over time. – Scott Curran, Beyond Advisers
Provide Valuable Content
Entrepreneurs can build influence by consistently sharing valuable content that meets their audience’s needs. Engaging actively on industry forums, social media and blogs, and networking with other influencers and thought leaders helps them establish credibility and authority in their niche. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors
Share Your Real-Life Experiences
Be a part of your story, not just a narrator. Share behind-the-scenes insights and anecdotes about why you’re doing what you’re doing. Ensure your narrative conveys your expertise by creatively sharing your real-life experience through posts and campaigns focused on engagement. This authenticity captivates your niche, who will find you both exciting and trustworthy as an authority on the topic. – Andy Hale, Hale & Monico
Respect Other Voices in Your Field
Find people within that niche and take one of them to lunch. Take another to coffee. Meet up with yet another for happy hour. Ask questions. Listen. Focus on understanding. Get their perspective. Keep doing this, and three things will happen: You will know the key players in that niche; they will know you; and they will respect your viewpoint because you began by respecting theirs. – Jed Brewer, Good Loud Media
Create Authentic Connections
Entrepreneurs can build influence by forming authentic connections within their community. Engaging genuinely with industry peers and customers fosters trust and credibility, which are essential for establishing a strong presence in a niche. – Red Rodriguez, GRAV
Share Your Thoughts However You Are Comfortable
Writing is one way I am able to build influence. Expressing my well-thought-out opinions on relevant topics that can help others is the way I do that. But it does not have to be just writing. Some people prefer videos, for example. You can do a YouTube podcast, write a newspaper column, write a blog or create a Facebook or TikTok video. It depends on what you are comfortable with and the topic you want to discuss. – Zain Jaffer, Zain Jaffer Foundation