Your Circle of Influence is Wider Than You Think

By Carrie Cousins

Thank you to Valley Business FRONT for featuring our Vice President, Carrie Cousins, in their February 2025 issue.

There is no way anyone would ever confuse me with a social media influencer.

I have never danced on TikTok.

I have never sold anything on Instagram.

I don’t even have that many followers on Facebook or X.

But my social actions and interactions have a lot of impact. And so do yours.

There’s a multiplier effect that happens whenever you do something in a public space – such as social media where even private profiles can turn into public spaces thanks to screen sharing and copying.

Let’s follow the path:

You post on social media that you got a promotion. You get 20 likes and a handful of people comment. Maybe your mom shares it. Three people email you or call you with a congratulatory note (and don’t interact at all online).

Every one of those interactions is a multiplier, generating more potential eyeballs and recognition for your original post.

If someone comments about the promotion to you offline, you’ve crossed “platforms” or “channels” with your information, creating an even wider circle of communication.

Weeks or even months later, you may still get residual “congrats” from people you had no idea knew about the promotion.

And you have influenced their thought process. They appreciate you for your work and remember that you were recognized by others. Your message imprinted on them, even if you didn’t know it.

You are an influencer.

As someone who works in marketing and advertising, we are projecting this impact all the time with activities designed to create influence. From selling bikes to event registrations, every post, picture, and soundbite is a touchpoint to create influence.

The multiplier effect has long been identified in advertising as a viable strategy when it comes to creating cross-platform touchpoints that build on each other as more people interact.

It’s why you’ll often hear me recommend an “and” strategy when it comes to marketing. (You should try this and that.)

And it works for a simple reason, you create the greatest influence when you combine reach, communication, and messaging for your brand or cause. Try it and watch your circle of influence grow.

Carrie Cousins is the Vice President at LeadPoint Digital in Roanoke. For 15+ years, she has helped businesses tell their stories and get better results online with practical digital marketing strategies. She is also an active leader in AAF, serving on the local and district boards, and is an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech.