Many people think that building a huge following on social media is all it takes to become a successful influencer. There is actually a lot more to this than you may realize.

While it may be easy for you to create a new Facebook fan page and build a following of thousands of fans, what you need is active followers. An active follower or fan is someone who takes the time to comment and share your content. It is this activity that the major sites like Klout and Kred take into consideration when measuring your influence.

It is possible to get your fans and followers to engage with you by following some simple steps. First remember that social media is about sharing content. While you main goal may be to have others share your content, this will not happen unless you share theirs first.

Another aspect that you want to master is the one of listening. Listen and read the comments that your fans post and then take action on them. By doing this you are actually showing them that you are interested in what they have to say. This will help you build trust and respect amongst your followers and in turn this will improve your power of influence.

Always remember to be yourself when using social media and don’t try to come over as you think people want you to. You should know what your brand is and what message you are trying to convey to people. This places you in an honest light and again helps to build trust with your customers. After all you want to be someone who your customers can happily do business with.

When it comes to adding content to your social media sites then always aim for quality content first. When having any type of social media conversation it is best to have one great conversation with one person than to try and have a mediocre one with ten or twenty people at one time.

Social media is meant to be fun so don’t forget to include this in your business. You don’t always have to be serious. Exposing a fun side will not hurt your business at all. Instead it will make you look more human and friendly to your followers and more approachable.

So instead of worrying about how to become the next best social influencer, just get out there and inject your personality into your sites. You may be surprised by what happens.