When clients ask us about using social media to attract their target market, we offer guidance by first asking them with whom do they want to build relationships. Their answers always vary because everyone’s business goals are of course different. But when it comes to how to build relationships, the answers are ostensibly the same. This blog post explores what it means to build relationships online through the lens of an influencer or trust agent and surfaces a range of perspectives on the topic.
One of my favorite online influencers, Chris Brogan with co-author Julien Smith, wrote the well known book, Trust Agents. Chris Catania, author of Live Fix, posted an online book review of Trust Agents where he highlights the “six defining characteristics and critical skill sets” of trust agents or influencers, which happen to be the titles of six chapters: ”Make Your Own Game; One of Us; The Archimedes Effect; Agent Zero; Human Artist; and Build An Army”. I won’t translate each of the titles into the qualities and skills of online influencers more than what they already say. But I will share with you the summary of Trust Agents which briefly exposes the main qualities:
Trust agents aren’t necessarily marketers or salespeople; they’re digitally savvy people who use the Web to humanize businesses using transparency, honesty, and genuine relationships. As a result, they wield enough online influence to build up or bring down a business’s reputation. This book will show you how to build profitable relationships with trust agents, or become one yourself.
Another interesting perspective I came across focuses on a set of characteristics derived from this author’s observations of influencers in the online world. Keren Dagan developed an acronym to solidify his findings, SWARM which stands for:
- S – Storyteller
- W – Well rounded
- A – Ahead
- R – Resist
- M – Motivating
Keren also lays out the skills, impact and tasks affiliated with each characteristic. I recommend stopping by his blog article to examine the rest of his thoughts and a few action items he envisions from the information he collected. It’s a quick, well informed read.
Lisa M. Russell, a contributor to eHow online points to our need for human touch. She says that trust agents (and influencers alike) create a personal touch online by being real for the purpose of starting a conversation. Lisa gives 5 steps on how to do this: Give it away. Share your expertise. Reconnect and make new friends online. Connect through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter with the goal of building trust. Exchange business cards that contain all your social media info with other professionals. She warns, however: Do not try to be a trust agent to trick people into buying your product. Be honest and transparent. Honesty and humility are essential qualities of a trust agent. Keep in mind that practicing these skills is equally important offline as well.
Recently I attended Kent Pelz’ Self Marketing event where Patti Glick presented on a related topic titled, “It Pays to be Grateful – Appreciation Marketing”. Patti is the magic behind her online business, Hand to Hand Contact where she helps business owners build relationships with their customers through greeting cards, the kind you hold in your hand. There is an art to using greeting cards in business, much of which I found to be similar to the qualities of an influencer or trust agent. One such quality or practice goes by the acronym TOMATO, meaning top of mind awareness through others. It stood out to me because practicing it shows your humanity, your attentiveness and your appreciation of what’s important to another. Patti emphasized this concept throughout her presentation with statements like “All other things being equal, people will do business with you if they like you,” to which I will add, “especially if they trust you!”
As you can see, there is a range of qualities that can serve you to build your influence online. Survey them all to see which ones you naturally express and consider a few new ones to bring into your relationships both online and off!
Gather Your Crowd interviewed Patti Glick about her philosophy of success with using social media for business. Here is what she had to say: