How to Become an Influencer

There is no growth-hack formula to being someone online that others desire to follow. But, there is a way to become an influencer that will build a rewarding and authentic career on social media. Lucky for you, there are a variety of niches, environments, talents, and audiences that you could be perfectly suited for!

How To Become an Influencer

Over 3.4 billion people actively use social media platforms, creating the optimal space for businesses to promote their products. It is common for brands to utilize influencers to promote new products, as influencers are highly followed and highly persuasive when it comes to selling products on Instagram. Influencers are the highly followed social media users that tend to sway the opinions of many with their enticing products that they post. Influencing is an up-and-coming career choice for many, as it is a creative and innovative career that allows you to work from home and collaborate with some of the world’s hottest brands. But Instagram has not always been this way. In fact, consumer buying behavior has changed, and people discover and buy products on Instagram more and more by the minute. These Instagram statistics speak for themselves:

• 90% of accounts follow at least one brand on Instagram
• 200 million Instagram users visit at least one business profile daily. 

Interested in becoming an influencer? In this blog, we will outline the step-by-step process of how to become an influencer

Find your niche

You must select a niche that you are interested in and can create content about. It helps to have experience or a level of expertise in your given niche, to allow you to be more competent and trustworthy in the eyes of your followers. You will need to research your niche, post about your niche, and embody the niche, which is why it is imperative that you are passionate and knowledgeable about your niche. Here are a few examples of some popular niches on social media: 

• Travel
• Beauty
• Fashion
• Health & Fitness
• Lifestyle
• Parenting
• Business
• Photography
• Music
• Food 
• Animals 

Whether you love animals or travel, there is truly a niche for everyone! Some niches are more profitable than others, some niches are more popular than others. Regardless, finding a niche is made easy by simply evaluating your own personal interests and values. You can learn more about the different types of influencers.

Key Takeaway:

• Passion and Expertise: Choose a niche you are passionate about and knowledgeable in (e.g., fashion, fitness, travel, beauty, tech).
• Audience Research: Understand the audience you want to target. Look into demographics, interests, and behavior.

Optimize your social media platforms

Now that you have chosen your niche, you need to figure out where you will share your content. The majority of influencers are popular on one or two platforms in total. For instance, @jacimariesmith is a popular Instagram influencer who recently started making TikToks in 2020. She now has hundreds of thousand followers on TikTok and has expanded her reach significantly!

Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter, and Pinterest are the easiest platforms for sharing content and obtaining brand deals. Here are a few extra tips for optimizing your social media platform:

• Make sure your Instagram page is a business account
• Make an engaging bio
• Add a profile picture to appear more personable

Create a Unique Brand

• Brand Name: Develop a catchy and memorable name.
• Logo and Colors: Design a logo and choose brand colors that represent your style and niche.
• Brand Voice: Establish a consistent tone and voice for your content (e.g., casual, professional, humorous).

Set Up Social Media Accounts

• Platform Selection: Choose platforms where your target audience is most active (e.g., Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter).
• Profile Optimization: Use a professional profile picture, write a compelling bio, and include links to your other social media accounts or website.

Learn more about your audience

No single influencer can cater to everyone on earth, and that is okay. Every niche is unique and pulls in a different audience. Understanding your audience is crucial for the success of your influencing career. Influencers have strong connections with their audiences because they tend to share similar interests with them, within their niche. You must know who to target to first grow and expand your audience. You can start by analyzing your current follower base to gain insight into demographics and interests. Most social media platforms have built-in analytic tools that can help you find this information about your followers. Once you better know and understand your audience, you are ready to deliver content.  

Key Takeaways

• Use Analytics Tools: Track your performance using tools like Instagram Insights, YouTube Analytics, and Google Analytics.
• Adjust Strategies: Analyze what works and what doesn’t, and adjust your strategies accordingly.
• Set Goals: Set measurable and achievable goals for growth (e.g., follower count, engagement rate).

Create content

Posting relevant content within your niche is the key to gaining followers and obtaining brand deals. Posting useful and relevant content will, in turn, allow you better market products from brand deals to your followers. Mixing up your content is a great way to connect with your audience and keep your page fresh. Mixing in content about your niche and content about personal life can allow you to appear more authentic and relatable in the eyes of your followers. However, you must keep your content focused on your niche if you want to target a specific audience and get those brand deals.

Key Takeaways

• Content Types: Decide on the types of content you will create (e.g., photos, videos, blogs, stories).
• Content Calendar: Plan your posts ahead of time and maintain a consistent posting schedule.
• Quality over Quantity: Focus on producing high-quality content that adds value to your audience.

Be Consistent

Make a posting schedule. Plan your content. Staying organized and accountable is very important if you plan to become an influencer. Social media platforms algorithms give preference to accounts that are posting regularly, especially for Instagram. Some platforms require more frequent postings than others. For instance, Twitter is an app that is known for having multiple posts per day! Whereas on YouTube you can get away with posting once a week. You must find a social media platform that aligns with your desired posting and content schedules. This will allow you to have better reach and visibility. Check out our blog to learn the difference between YouTube and Facebook, it could help you gain consistency in your social media use!

Key Takeaways

• Content Types: Decide on the types of content you will create (e.g., photos, videos, blogs, stories).
• Content Calendar: Plan your posts ahead of time and maintain a consistent posting schedule.
• Quality over Quantity: Focus on producing high-quality content that adds value to your audience.

Engage

Staying engaged on social media can be challenging, but It is imperative that your followers feel connected to you. A great way to foster a relationship between yourself and your followers is through introductory posts and personable posts (within your niche, of course). A perfect example of this is how Instagram influencers are sharing what they are doing during quarantine to give their followers some insight into their daily lives.

Here are a few more tips for better engagement on social media:

•     Comment on other influencers posts within your niche
•     Make captions more personal to foster better connections with followers 
•     Be authentic in posts and captions 
•     Giveaways are a great way to remind your followers that you care!
•     Go live on Instagram for a Q & A. Learn more tips regarding Instagram live here!

Key Takeaways

• Engage with Followers: Respond to comments, messages, and mentions.
• Collaborate with Other Influencers: Network and collaborate with influencers in your niche.
• Host Contests and Giveaways: Increase engagement and attract new followers.

Be Transparent with Brands

You must let brands know that you are willing to work with them! Declare yourself an influencer who is willing to do brand deals, and with time brand deals will find you. 

How do you do this? Well, you can start by writing in your bio that you are an influencer. You can add an email for business inquiries so brands can reach you with ease. You can even reach out to brands. Messaging relevant brands is an easy and effective way to get the brand deals you desire. With time, you will build a name for yourself and network with enough brands in your niche that you will achieve the status of social media influencer. 

For more tips and tricks on how to make it big as an influencer, check out this post on how to go viral on Instagram!

Key Takeaways

• Brand Partnerships: Reach out to brands for collaborations and sponsored posts.
• Affiliate Marketing: Promote products and earn commissions on sales through affiliate links.
• Merchandising: Create and sell your own merchandise.
• Ads and Sponsorships: Use platform-specific monetization options like YouTube ads and Instagram-sponsored posts.

Self Care and Self Optimization

To thrive as a social media influencer, it’s crucial to prioritize continuous learning and personal well-being. Stay updated with trends, platform updates, and new features to keep your content relevant and engaging. Continuously improve your skills in content creation, photography, videography, and editing to enhance the quality of your work. Regularly seek feedback from your audience and peers to identify areas for improvement. Equally important is maintaining a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout, taking care of your mental health, and seeking support when needed. Always stay true to yourself and your values, ensuring authenticity in your interactions and content to build genuine connections with your audience.

Key Takeaways

• Stay Updated: Keep up with trends, platform updates, and new features.
• Skill Development: Continuously improve your skills in content creation, photography, videography, and editing.
• Feedback: Regularly seek feedback from your audience and peers to improve your content.
• Balance: Maintain a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout.
• Mental Health: Take care of your mental health and seek support if needed.
• Authenticity: Stay true to yourself and your values, and be authentic in your interactions and content.