The power of asking

In a recent meeting, we spoke about growing our base via social, and doing it by asking social media influencers for their support and opinions.  As we spoke, I realized that not everyone just asks for support even though it seems so simple to me.  The social media game can be a difficult one to play. 

There are countless people working to get their brand seen in a sea of online content who would like to be noticed by an influencer.  Many people put content out and just hope it gets found but in the end they just don't ask directly for support .  

My training from years of sales and working at fortune 500 companies quickly kicked in. The idea is simple, anybody can implement it and grow their social influence quickly.  It's a rarity when there is viral organic reach where a blog or a person is just discovered by the public and develops millions of followers quickly.  That’s an ideal model of growth, but the majority of the time you have to work hard at gaining influence and you almost always have to have help. 

Eventually if you like enough of a social influencers photos, they may recognize you and lend their support; although, it's more likely that media influencer has thousands, or maybe even millions, of followers, so you may never get noticed .  They might respond to flattery with a thank you, but the point is, if you don’t directly ask for support, they are unlikely to spontaneously give it.  They most likely won't know you need it or want it.

The more help you get the easier it will be for you to grow your social influence.   Reach out to influencers doing things similar to you and simply ask for support.  Knowing your target is a key element about how to approach.  Whether your approach is soft or direct always ask for support.  It creates a call to action for the influencer, and the clearer you can be in asking for what you need, the easier it is to get that support.  

So simply ask for it.  Get comfortable with saying the words "will you support us?".  Or you just may disappear in a sea of endless content.