Find your voice and go for it.
So you have decided to become an influencer but you aren’t exactly sure where to start.
My first suggestion is to really study top influencer and look how they create high-quality content and maintain a top content channel. Forbes has creates a great list that allows you to see a variety of influencers that gives their followers the opportunity to follow their lives by creating content with a specific niche.
The life of a social media influencer may seem to be extravagant and luxurious but it’s not easy to road to build a large and engaging audience. It requires a lot of patience, determination and large investment in time and money. The main struggles many aspiring influencers face when getting started are growing and monetizing channels, and creating consistent content.
If this is you, you’re not alone, many of the largest influencers have encountered these same challenges and some have even shared some great tips on how to become an influencer.
Tips from Alex Tooby “Being an Instagram influencer is all about your relationship with your audience”
Getting Started By Choosing Your Niche
Whether it’s blogging, Instagram or YouTube, you have to find a niche that you are passionate about and something that suits your personality. Something you have knowledge and interest in. Something you can stick with and not get bored of doing it.
What you choose should truly reflect whatever interests you not just something that you have seen someone else become successful in.
Your Bio Says It All
One of the first things potential followers sees is the bio on your account. So it’s crucial you make it noteworthy. It should catch people’s attention but also needs to tell your story in a way that engages people.
Ellie Green has a short and simple bio that tells people what she does but yet still engages people to join her by following along with her adventures.
thegingerwanderlust on Instagram
Be Genuine And Share Your Story
If you choose to be an Instagram influencer because you think it’s just sharing photos…well sorry to burst your bubble but there is a lot more to it than that. The content you generate has to connect with your followers on an emotional level. This gives them a reason to connect with you, trust you, engage with you and follow you.
Again use your passion and your niche to really captivate your audience. If you are doing something that makes you excited, let that be known, use that to make your follower excited.
Be genuine. Be Authentic. Be Personal.
Stick To One Theme
I’m going to use Instagram as an example again because it’s a channel I most relate to. Your photos should be consistent and follow an overall theme. Which means they all have the same aesthetic style and look good against one another.
This can as simple as following a particular editing style so the colors or composition are uniform.
Maria Marie does this really well with her Instagram account. She uses pastels throughout her photos to make them all correlate with each other.
Be Consistent With Your Content
Many influencers follow a schedule to post their content. Some do it daily, multiple times a day, or just a few times during the week. This part is really based on what you think works with your content and your schedule.
Being consistent is the key.
Whenever you decided to post your content it still needs to be done right and at the right time. Luckily for you, I recently wrote about The Best Times To Post On Social Media, that will give you an idea of right times to post for better engagement.
Just remember whatever you decide on how much to post and when to post needs to be realistic and something you can stick with.
Final Advice
You won’t become an influencer overnight. It is going to take a lot of time, energy and practice. But if you are doing something you are passionate about it should be fun and enjoyable.
If you stay patient, do your research and stick with your goals…you will see results. It may take weeks or months but results will happen and all that time spent will be well worth it especially when sponsorships start coming in.
Feature Image Photo by Erik Lucatero on Unsplash