Motivate influential consumers on your behalf and watch your campaign spread like wildfire.

With the rise of social networks and new online tools, influence is no longer the domain of a few super-connected individuals. Large or small, every consumer has some influence potential -- and smart marketers are helping people maximize their power.

How do you motivate consumers to share your brand with their friends? And how do you motivate their friends to become influencers on your behalf? While there's no sure-fire gimmick that guarantees a runaway success, this article shares 10 steps that can make your influencer marketing program more effective.

Step #1: Know your audience.
Not all influencers are equal, so knowing your audience is vital to success. Insight into your customers' social networks, online activities and demographic data helps you improve targeting and engage people to find out what influences, as well as who is influential.

Step #2: Create a compelling experience.
Want people to engage with your brand? Create a compelling experience around your product, content or offer. And remember to make sure that your experience drives an action in line with your marketing goals.

For example, Sephora launched a word-of-mouth program with the incentive to earn spots on Sephora's panel of "In Girls" and the opportunity to receive free products to critique. Through a trend-spotting quiz and personalized web pages, the company figured out what was needed to create buzz. The program yielded response rates that were three times higher than banner ads or email. Participants generated an average of 2.5 peer-to-peer brand impressions each; top influencers recruited more than 100 new brand enthusiasts each.

Step #3: Create a message that sparks a conversation.
You are trying to get influencers to distribute your message through their networks. So put yourself in their place. How would you react to the message, content or delivery method? If you received it from a friend, would you click or opt in? Would you pass it along to your own contacts?

Zecco Trading found the secret to motivating their investors was a combination of altruism and self-interest. The company launched a program that offered a free business-related book and a cash reward deposited right into investors' accounts. The program resulted in participants inviting an average of six friends each, with 45 percent signing up for the Zecco.com community and 64 percent of that group opening a Zecco Trading account.

Step #4: Frame your story.
Some people are natural salespeople, but most can use some help. To help would-be influencers develop their influence, give them the framework they need to get started: messaging, content to share and an engaging website they can invite friends to visit. This helps influencers fire up their friends and contacts.

Step #5: Measure, track, analyze and optimize.
A successful program starts with defined strategic goals that align with business goals. And choosing the right metrics is critical. Your analysis should focus on identifying the most active and influential consumers and figuring out what messages are resonating and what is motivating influencers to talk.

Step #6: Constantly seed traffic.
The days of sending an email to a handful of customers and waiting for your program to "go viral" are long over. To drive long-term success, you need to drive steady traffic into your program. Most of your best influencers aren't in your database -- you need to go out there and find them.

Step #7: Make it easy to connect.
The easier you make it for people to reach out to their contacts, the more people your participants will share your program with and the more they'll have the chance to influence. Make it easy for people to share your content through the channels they already use and be sure to measure and track sharing and success rates. Such tracking will enable you to accurately measure individuals' influence and the true impact of your program.

Step #8: Tout your success.
Nothing succeeds like success. Once something reaches a certain level of popularity, its mass appeal tends to skyrocket. The evidence that other people like something can boost its appeal -- not just people's willingness to try it, but also how much they like it and whether they're willing to recommend it.

Step #9: Segment your influencers.
Your program should build an opt-in database of participants, complete with measurements of each person's influence level. A person's influence level should be based on that person's connectivity, propensity to share your content and ability to drive action among the people with whom they share. These metrics will enable you to segment your new list -- not just on demographic or behavioral factors, but also based on each person's value as an influencer in future initiatives.

Step #10: Keep your influencers engaged.
The most important part of any campaign is the follow-up. Once someone has demonstrated a willingness to act on your behalf, keep them engaged. Send the person special invitations, preview announcements and more. Target your calls-to-action to that person's interest, activity and influence level.

Peer-to-peer conversations are proving to be highly effective at influencing behavior. Your influencers are already talking about you. Joining the conversation is critical to your success.

Jane Paolucci is senior vice president of marketing for PopularMedia Inc.