Collocations for influential - adj.

be, prove
become

extremely, fairly, very, etc.
deeply, enormously, especially, highly, hugely, immensely, particularly
This was a highly influential work.
As a writer she was hugely influential.

increasingly
potentially
widely
politically

in
The group was influential in setting up the new schools.

Influential is used with these nouns:
article, artist, book, commentator, critic, economist, figure, leader, member, newspaper, paper, patron, politician, position, report, role, sculptor, text, thinker, work, writer, writing