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After a few weeks on your initial influencing platform you might want to expand. By adding one addition platform as your influencing base. Where the choice of platform will be a complement to your primary platform.

Review your role in your digital decision journeys

The choice of most suited platform depends on the role you play in your digital decision journeys. You might be an influencer in early stages of awareness building. Or active in shaping directions, choices and decisions further down the journey.

The choice of platform is also dependent on which content you share the most. Short and crisp visuals and videos for a medium with short attention spans. Or longer written texts where you need a larger share of your audience attention.

The third aspect to consider is which platform you think will bring you closer to your target audience. What is their second choice should also be your second target. As we have discussed before it is easier for you adopt a pltform where your audience already exists. Rather than bring your audience to a platform where you like to be.

In my early days I had a weak idea on my fit in the big picture. Resulting in a focus on social media platform metrics centric decisions. Without understanding where I should aspire to engage deeper.

Add one platform to your digital channel reach

Adding a platform is hard work. As audiences not by default follow you on the new platform. It is worthwhile to ask yourself what your second platform should provide.

Twitter can serve a few important purposes. An advertising window for your unique ideas. As well as for relaying ideas you find engaging. In text and visual format. Great for sharing of links to blogs and infographics. Many use twitter as a two-way real-time communication channel around a hot topic or event you what to engage on. Often used for connecting outside the sphere of people you have already met.

If you did not select LinkedIn as your first choice it is a strong candidate to become your second platform. Where you can engage by posting similar content like twitter. With two new options to consider. The ability to repost texts from your blog as stories direct in LinkedIn. And track differences in engagement between posted links and posted stories. LinkedIn is popular for engaging in longer treads on a topic. Where you by engaging show expertise and attract new contacts.

Instagram is the third major platform to consider for professional purposes. Where visuals and long strings of hashtags can increase your reach into new audience groups. A great choice when what you deal with are physical objects. Or where your market towards consumers.

I started with Twitter and branched out to LinkedIn as my second platform. In retrospective I would have flipped my priorities between the two.  And started with my third, Instagram earlier.

Leverage your best and closest friends

Most of us have our best friends on Facebook. A platform with a large advantage over other platforms. It is often the platform we visit the most. And it is far easier to reach an audience where they often go. Than to hope they will engage if they are not even there.

The special interest groups on Facebook is of high value. Either if you join an existing one. Or create one where you take on to build up the group. By attracting both a “authors” and “readers”.

Start by penetrating two questions. What do you want your Facebook network to do for you? What professional content do you feel comfortable about sharing on Facebook? Will pay off in the long run as your Facebook network likely have your most loyal and honest supporters.

Checklist for week 12

Review your role in our digital discovery flows

• What step in our digital discovery journey should I contribute to with my posts.
• What type of content fit that step and target audience best
• Which extra channel will increase my influence for targeted audience/content

Add one digital platform to your digital channel reach

• Twitter as an advertising channel pointing to detailed content
• LinkedIn for reposting blogposts/articles as stories
• Instagram for visuals brining attention to great thoughts and ideas

Leverage your best and closest friends

• What do you want your Facebook network to do for you?
• What professional content do you feel comfortable sharing on Facebook?

Thank you for reading. This is the penultimate module in the 13-week program. And the last module will deal with digital influencer metrics.