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This is Episode 14 of This Old New Business weekly business podcast with Jeff Korhan.

Are you overwhelmed with digital and social media? Then maybe you need a fresh approach.

In this episode Stephanie Sammons shares her secrets for establishing your LinkedIn influence, while also building a profitable digital presence across every other social media channel that makes sense for you and your business.

The practices Stephanie teaches for mastering LinkedIn are universal social media disciplines that will serve you well for years to come.

Our Featured Guest: Stephanie Sammons

Stephanie Sammons is an entrepreneur, a digital business and marketing strategist, and a Certified Financial Planner.

She teaches entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals how to build personal digital influence and create a more powerful, productive, and profitable digital presence.

Stephanie was recently named one of the Top 10 Most Influential women on Twitter and a Top 25 Social Media Expert by LinkedIn.

Leverage Your Personal Strengths

Stephanie is a firm believer in understanding and taking care of yourself first, so that you are then best equipped to help others within your nextwork.

In regards to social media in particular, it’s important to have a clear sense of your own authenticity to know which channels will work best for you. For example, some of us are more comfortable with content creation, while others tend to be more heavily committed to curating and sharing.

In other words, digital can become a roadblock if you don’t have a plan that suits your strengths.

Get in Front of Influential People

When Stephanie left the corporate world she instantly gravitated toward LinkedIn because it allowed her to digitally get in front of influencers in her industry.

Unlike the filtered Facebook newsfeed and the endlessly surging Twitter stream, LinkedIn allows us to see beyond our first degree connections, thereby making it possible to easily connect with just about anyone.

First degree LinkedIn connections are the doorways to hundreds, if not thousands of personal introductions. Another suggestion for building your LinkedIn influence is to upgrade to a premium LinkedIn account and take advantage of LinkedIn InMails to connect with influencers.

LinkedIn InMails can be sent to anyone on LinkedIn. Each premium account receives a given number of InMails every month, depending upon the level of subscription.

Connecting with InMails is a regular habit for Stephanie. She says the trick is the same as when making any connection: Be clear about the value you can offer your new connection.

Share Your Personality, Passion, and Perspective

Stephanie suggests viewing your social media profiles are dynamic digital assets.

Considering the rate at which the digital and social media space is changing, it’s important to completely freshen your profiles at least once every year, while also keeping them personal. That’s what that influencers do, so it stands to reason you should too if you expect to build your digital influence.

Your personality, passion, and perspective are everything when it comes to making new connections and engaging others with the news you share. We can get the news anywhere, but for your community in particular, it’s your perspective that makes it relevant.

That’s your influence. It’s personal.

Lighting Round Tips and Advice

Stephanies’s Top Sales or Marketing Advice – Invest in a professional digital presence.

Her Favorite Productivity Tip – Spend 10 minutes each day personally reaching out and touching 10 people within your network.

A Quote that has Inspired Stephanie’s Success – “Nothing great has ever been achieved without enthusiam.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Key Take-Aways

• You can connect with Stephanie on Twitter at @stephsammons and learn more about her at at StephanieSammons.com
• View your social media profiles as dynamic digital assets. Update them regularly so they represent you well.
• Stephanie and Jeff met as early contributors to Social Media Examiner – the host of Social Media Marketing World. Join us and 2,500 social media practitioners this coming March in sunny San Diego at the world’s largest social media conference: Social Media Marketing World 2015. Yep, we’ll both be speaking on our respective specialities.

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How is your business adapting its selling practices to an environment where buyers have new expectations?

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+