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Becoming a successful influencer takes time, passion, and dedication. But doing something that you love is rewarding and super exciting! If your social media accounts have more than 3,000 followers, you can turn this into a full-time job and make a living out of being a social media influencer. Starting your own business may seem daunting and overwhelming. But we are here to help! This article will assist you in achieving the basic steps to make sure you rock this new career.
What Is An Influencer?
Influencers are social media users who use their accounts to establish credibility in a particular industry such as makeup artists, hairstylists, photographers, or food enthusiasts.
Social media influencers have access to a large online audience and can stretch their brand on a wide platform. Influencers are experts in researching topics relating to their brand and then translating them to their fanbase.
Influencer marketing is a phenomenon that has become a mainstream business tactic. Check out these helpful marketing tips to kick-start your career as an influencer.
We are seeing a rise in influencers in almost every industry making it a competitive business with a high paying rate. Being a successful influencer has become so profitable that it’s no surprise everyone wants it to be their full-time job. Take a look at these top tips for being a profitable influencer.
As a social media influencer, you will be the face of your business. So, it’s vital that you acquire all the characteristics that will make you successful and sell your brand.
Influencer Job Description
First of all, we need to understand what exactly an influencer’s job consists of. To put it simply, influencers influence! They create a platform in order to sway the purchasing decisions of their audience based on their knowledge of a particular subject.
- An influencer creates their business through their social media account
- An influencer needs to be familiar with internet terminologies
- Professional photos are a must for an influencer
- Instagram stories are used to sell their brand or product
- Influencers need to be able to stream live videos
- Capable of regular interaction with other social media users
- Skilled at creating effective hashtags
- Understand advertising
- Sell products on Instagram
- Create and edit YouTube tutorials
As an influencer, you will need to establish a following based on a specific niche. Influencers actively engage in their audience because their full-time job is to be consistent and regular in their posting.
It is important to note that influencers are not marketing tools. Influencers are actually the medium between the brand and the buyer. They develop a social relationship that introduces a person to a certain market.
Influencers are all about enhancing and accentuating original content in order to sell and show off their brand.
Being an influencer is also about having excellent product and industry knowledge. You need to understand the tricks of marketing your work and also be familiar with social media platforms as a business.
We’re here to guide you step by step in understanding what exactly you need to do in order to be the most influential influencer. Let’s see what’s next on your to-do list!
Guide To Becoming An Influencer
#1 Select Your Niche
Start by selecting your niche. Choose a niche that you are passionate about and make sure you regularly create original content for it. We highly recommend having a level of expertise in the field in order to be able to establish yourself as an influencer.
You will have to do lots of research and post content in your chosen interest area. So, it’s important to choose something you will enjoy spending your time on. Whether you love the beauty or fashion industry, you’re a hairstylist, or you love photography, you need to be certain of your calling. Understanding exactly what your brand is will help you on your journey.
#2 Switch Your Account to a Business Profile
As soon as you sit down to revamp your social media and get it in “influencer shape,” you need to switch over your personal profile to a business one. Or you can create a business account from scratch. This will open the gates for you and make you easier to find.
Most of the platforms that you will be using to promote yourself, like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook have the option to create a business account in the profile settings.
Remember, many features on your social media account will change when you switch over to a business profile. So, make sure to familiarize yourself with how to navigate your new account with this helpful guide: https://later.com/blog/instagram-business-profile/
#3 Create an Engaging Bio
Your bio will be one of the first things people read about you so, you want it to stand out and be easy on the eyes. Stay away from long, complicated bios with unnecessary emojis. You want to invite your audience with transparent information about yourself, not confuse them.
Mention who you are and what your brand is in a concise, professional blurb. Always include your full name, location, contact details, and areas of expertise. Remember, this is your business so, make a good first impression!
Start with these simple steps:
- Your name
- Briefly explain your brand
- Use keywords to emphasize your brand’s description
- Use a consistent font
- Space out each point to make it clear
- Include the link to your website
#4 Add an Eye-Catching Profile Pic and Cover Photo
You want your account to stand out and make social media users check out your page when they come across it. Invest in a professional photographer on Thumbtack to take your profile picture for you in order to capture the quality of your brand’s image.
Your profile picture will become the face of your business and the public will associate it with your brand. So, it’s important to get it right!
Check out these helpful tips on what to remember when you’re taking that all-important profile picture for your business!
Make sure that your main attraction (your face or logo) is clearly visible in the photo and that it’s not positioned in the distance too much. This is especially important to remember on Instagram where the profile picture icon is significantly small.
#5 Create A Signature Style for Your Profile
Social media influencers are trendsetters. They attract an audience not only by their content but with how their social media accounts are stylishly designed. Here are some of our top tips for creating that perfect look for your brand:
- Choose a design that suits you, and that relates to your personality. For example, if your lifestyle is minimalistic, design your website with the same simple look!
- Get creative with your business and experiment with colors and designs.
- Keep your brand’s look consistent. Use the same filter for every Instagram post or keep the same font for every YouTube video description.
- Pick a look that people will associate with your own brand.
An influential makeup artist or photographer will not only draw their audience in with their talented skills. They will also attract followers with how attractive their profile account is.
#6 Create and Post Original Content
Once you know what message you want to pass along, focus on how to pitch your message and market your brand. Your content must be able to attract people but also showcase a new idea at the same time. Is there a new style you really love and want to introduce? Do you have a different idea on how to create a tutorial? Begin creative is the best way to stand out.
Creating content is an important step in becoming an influencer. You need to be able to engage with your followers. Your audience needs to be able to both relate and look up to you. People will listen to you if you are relatable and influential in your opinions and recommendations. In fact, this is what it’s all about, your followers actually listening to you.
For example, let’s take Robin Black’s Instagram account. Robin is a makeup artist who documents inventive makeup styles on models. She posts photos of clean faces, pairing a nude natural look with a focused bold feature but she also takes recommendations from her followers.
You will also see on her Instagram account how she only displays the models’ faces against a pale white background to draw attention to her own style.
Robin Black’s Instagram @beautyisboring has reached 143k followers. She knows her brand and what her message is. She is also confident in knowing who her audience is. Her selling point is attracting those who are interested in makeup and skincare as well as those who like to experiment with bold and vibrant colors that jump out at you.
It’s important that influencers keep their feed centered around their chosen niche like makeup, photography, and hairstyling. Most of the time, influencers don’t mix their professional posts with their personal posts in an attempt to separate their business from their everyday lifestyle. Keep your content focused on your niche. Provide value!
#7 Build Your Community and Engage With Your Audience
Once you start posting content on social media, you’ll find it difficult to ignore the comments. However, if your account blows up (which is the goal!) and you become successful, it’s important to at least try to reply to most comments and answer any questions that your followers might have.
You can even show your appreciation by “liking” their comments. After all, your account is a business and you want to show that your company is responsive and in touch with its followers.
Check out these Influencer Market Statistics that highlight how much your followers rely on you when researching a certain product.
A great way to engage with your audience is to start a conversation about a topic of mutual interest by asking them a question. This is how you can build personal connections with your followers and strengthen your position as an influencer.
There’s nothing more irritating than reading influencer posts with typos and misspellings. To be an effective influencer, you must list the exact brands and products that you use. Details always matter. You can’t be an influencer if the people you target don’t see you as an expert in what you are posting.
To build your community you can always invite new people by becoming part of a forum linked to your niche. You can also contact other influencers and brands in your industry for advice and/or to collaborate. You can exchange comments or maybe ideas. Make yourself noted. Check out these Top 10 Tips On Collaborating With Influencers
Related: 18 Makeup Artists to Follow on Instagram
YouTube Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Following and Making Money as a Video Influencer
#8 Stand Out as an Influencer
As an influencer, you have to be able to influence people. But if your content looks like all of the other influencers, you will just become one of the many faces that people will scroll past during their daily swipes. You need to be original!
What type of beauty influencer do you want to be? Find your own voice and start by developing your own content that comes from what you really like. Have a listen to Jazmine Monreal‘s advice on how to be unique in this competitive industry.
Oh, and don’t be afraid to let your audience in and talk a little about things that are going on in your life. Allow them to see the real you. You want to know that your audience will binge-watch your YouTube tutorials!
#9 Be Consistent and On-Time with Your Content
As an influencer, one of the first things you’ll need to do is finalize a posting frequency and design a schedule around what to post and when. As Instagram is the biggest marketing platform for influencers, it requires a regular posting frequency for heightened visibility.
YouTuber, Joi Wade talks about creating a Content Calendar in order to manage your time and produce regular content for your followers. Take a look at her YouTube video for all the essential tips.
If you are a lifestyle influencer, remember to take advantage of all the beautiful locations you visit, delicious meals you eat, and page-turning books you can’t put down. Keep your audience engaged, and inspire them!
Be regular in your posts and keep that content coming! Your audience wants to be kept up to date with content that impresses them. In order to keep your viewers in the loop, daily updates are a must. Don’t let your audience forget about you!
You should definitely check out these 4 Common Mistakes influencers make that compromise their career, and make sure that you don’t do the same!
#10 Collaborate with Others in Your Field
We mentioned before that it’s important to introduce yourself as an influencer to other professionals in your niche and make connections. Networking is valuable in this industry and audiences always love a collaboration from two of their favorite influencers.
Collaborating gives you the opportunity to grow your brand and open yourself to a wider platform as well as gaining more followers.
Take a look at Selene Mendez‘s YouTube tutorial on how to become an influencer for beginners and how important it is to collaborate with other brands.
Add to your bio that you’re open to collaborating and provide your contact details for potential clients. This is the easiest way for them to connect with you.
Of course, you can do your own outreach and message others in the industry with your pitches. If you want to save some time in this process, you can design a template and send it to various different brands. Or, you might want to consider an indirect way to engage with your relevant brands by tagging and mentioning them when you post about their products.
Take a look at our top 5 videos that give a step-by-step guide on how to network in your career as a social media influencer:
- Julianna Astrid: How to Become an Influencer in 2020
- Hannah Ashton: 3 Steps to Start Being an Influencer and Build Your Platform
- Georgie Stevenson: Want to Be an Influencer? Do These 5 Things Now
- Jade Darmawangsa: How to Be a Social Media Influencer
- PatrickStarrr: How to Become a Successful Beauty Influencer
Start Your Journey
Remember that this is a process. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your brand won’t be either. Be patient with your business. Plant your seeds and watch them grow! Find your own voice and start researching for your own original content, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a successful influencer.
