Looking to conquer the world of social media?
Then why not give a try to Influencer marketing? It’s no longer a secret that influencers on all social media platforms have massive followings that they amassed in just a couple of years. And, it is not just the celebrities – ordinary people have achieved great success and are now considered social media influencers in their own right.
In the good old days of just a decade ago, uploading pictures with just two to three hashtags was enough to get an enormous reach. Influencer marketing has changed and now has become a popular marketing tactic for many brands. The best thing about influencer marketing is that anyone can be an influencer.
You just need to start with some proven tips and tricks to become a social media influencer, and this article is the right place to start.
Before you dive into the world of social media, you need to first think about the goals that you wish to achieve. You must have the patience to work at it diligently, as success takes time and hard work.
To start, let’s find out what an influencer is. After that, we would discuss how you can begin your journey to become a social media influencer.
Who is a Social Media Influencer?
What comes to your mind when you hear the word influencer?
Someone who can influence others, right?
Let’s dig deeper into that idea. Social media influencers have a vast influence on their followers and the users of their platform. They have a massive audience, credibility, and reputation built by producing content around a niche.
So, a social media influencer is someone with a massive following and could come up with creative ideas that influence and grow their audience. Additionally, they know how to bring attention to their content and motivate their followers to take specific actions.
A social media influencer could be a blogger, a celebrity, or an entrepreneur, who understands how to influence others through their content.
As such, an influencer always looks out for different ways to interact with their audience. They post daily, add stories, always try to cash in trending topics to generate a new following and retain the attention of their followers.
As a result, brands constantly search for new influencers to onboard as product/service ambassadors. Brands could tap new segments without much effort, thanks to the large audience of the influencers. In such campaigns, the brands never display their products by themselves; instead, they choose influencers so that people can buy the products endorsed by their favorite influencer.
Here is a sampling of top social media influencers:
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Justin Bieber best-suited
- Kylie Jenner
- Kim Kardashian
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Huda Kattan
- Murad Osmann
- PewDiePie
Types of Influencers
Well, influencers can be categorized in several ways depending on the niches and audience’s interests.
In terms of the size of their audience, influencers generally consist of micro-influencers (total fan following between 10,000 to 50,000) and macro-influencers ( massive fan following around 500,000 to 1 million+).
Brands also prefer having influencers from multiple social media platforms because each platform has influence dynamics that require a unique set of content creation and marketing tactics.
Instagram Influencers
We have Instagram influencers, commonly known as the ‘Instagrammers,’ at the top of the list. Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks that started as a photo-sharing platform. It soon grew into a feature-rich social media platform that is now used by millions of users.
From photo-sharing to IGTV, Instagram has given an enormous platform to all the influencers out there. Instagrammers usually interact with their audience through visual content, including short video stories and Instagram Live.
YouTube Influencers
Next, we have YouTubers on our list. YouTube has become the go-to video sharing platform and has its share of influencers with a massive audience. YouTubers share long videos (some as long as an hour) covering everything from how-to, pranks, DIY, game playthroughs, and educational content. Engagement is very high on these videos and is a big part of how YouTubers influence the followers.
Bloggers/Vloggers
Do bloggers and vloggers need an introduction? They are considered the original influencers that are active from the early days of social media. Bloggers often post single or multiple images with a long detailed caption, whereas vloggers opt for video-based content. They both have massive fan followings.
Other categories of influencers include Snapchat influencers, Twitch influencers, and Facebook influencers.
The takeaway here is that you need to carefully research these social media channels and opt for the one that best suits your content creation style. In addition, engaging with the followers is an essential activity that requires serious attention from your end.
How to be a Social Media Influencer
Now that you understand social media influencers, it is time to start your journey of becoming a social media influencer.
Decide your Niche
Before diving into the deep end of things, the first thing is to decide your niche. Think of all the things that interest you because you need to create and upload content consistently to engage your audience. As such, your interest would be the motivation you need to discuss and explore your niche and come up with great content ideas.
Now, interests could range from gaming, music, art, makeup to food. You can even opt for two to three interests to spice things up. However, make sure you do not spread yourself too thin.
However, once you have decided on the niche, make sure that it is enough ideas to entertain and engage your followers. Discovering the niche takes hard work and time, but it is worth it once you have found a niche that works for you.
Choose your Social Media Platform
Once you have decided on your niche, the next step is to choose your platform. Whether you want to be an Instagram influencer or a YouTuber, you need to pick it wisely. Each platform has its audience who are picky about what they like. You need to produce content that appeals to their liking and encourage them to interact and share it with their friends.
Are you still confused about choosing a platform? Don’t worry. We will help you out with this. If you want to be a beauty or fashion influencer, Instagram is the best choice. If you are passionate about gaming or IT-related stuff, go for YouTube. For sharing your selfies or photography talent, give Snapchat a try. It is always a good idea to find a match between your niche and the platform.
Switch to a Business Account
Now you have decided on the two core things: your niche and your platform. It is time to optimize your profile. First, add essential information such as a display picture, an engaging bio, and drop your first powerful post. But before dropping it, you need a business profile as it can help you a lot. The main reason for switching to business is that it allows you to get more followers and the verified badge, which adds to the account’s credibility.
Engage your Audience
All set to drop your creative content as an influencer? The next big thing to keep in mind is to engage your audience consistently. As a newbie in the influencers world, you need to create engaging content that your audience would love. Engaging with your audience is a big thing that could require a lot of your time. It is all about having good interaction with your audience.
Make sure you answer the questions and reply to the comments so that visitors could grow into followers.
Pro tip: Why not try some social media management tools like Buffer Alternatives, as these tools will help you post content without significant effort.
Collaborate with Other Influencers
Wondering why you need to collaborate with other influencers?
There is a big reason behind it.
Collaborating with other influencers is an excellent tactic for gaining popularity among the audience currently not consuming your content.
If you are starting, you might need to pay the influencers to promote your content. Your collaboration also helps brands discover your talent. An excellent way to start the process is to schedule Facebook posts so that your audience could make time to view the content.
Wrapping it!
Anyone can be an influencer, provided that they are willing to work hard, give it time, and, most importantly, have patience.
We presented a set of steps that you need to take in order to start your journey. Remember that selecting the niche and the social media platform are significant begin decisions that influence the outcome. Make sure you have business accounts, let the world know about your creative ideas. In the end, collaborating with the other influencers will help you to get more reach. Lastly, don’t forget to monetize once you get all the things done correctly.
