Social media influencers are rising in popularity every day and they will earn up to $24.1 billion by 2025. Brands of all sizes are looking to influencers for help launching their new product lines, announcing giveaways, and offering discounts.
And the best part?
You don’t need to have millions of followers to get started because brands happily work with nano- and micro-influencers. In fact, many brands prioritize working with influencers with fewer followers but higher engagement rates.
However, to become a successful influencer, you need to build a loyal fan base. You will have to get people to trust you and look to you for advice, tips, and product recommendations.
Wondering how to build a community of like-minded individuals and get them to trust you?
I’ve put together this guide on how to become a social media influencer to help you get started.
Find Your Niche
If you want to become a social media influencer, you need to provide value to your readers. For this, it is essential that you choose a niche you care about and are good at. An easy way to identify the right niche is to assess your strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Do you love to travel? Are you a foodie?
If there’s something you’re passionate about, you should start building a personal brand that reflects your interests.
Many influencers will even combine two closely-related niches. For example, you can easily combine travel with food or fashion.
Pick Your Social Media Channels
The next step to becoming a social media influencer is to choose your platforms. Building a social media presence takes time and effort and you can’t ace all social networks right away.
You should pick one or two platforms that have the features you need and an audience you want to engage. Many social media influencers prefer Instagram over other social networks. However, vloggers tend to start on YouTube.
To manage multiple social media accounts, you should use automation tools that can help you schedule your posts in advance, track mentions, and get insights about your audience’s activity.
Create and Optimize Your Profiles
Once you’ve picked your social channels, it’s time to create profiles and optimize them to attract the right people.
Pick a nice headshot for your profile photo that is clearly visible. It’s always a good choice to use your own well-designed photo instead of a graphic or icon because people are more likely to interact with another human.
Also, your bio or about section plays a crucial role in helping people learn who you are, what you do, and what they can expect by following you.
Shane Barker’s bio clearly defines his professional roles and expertise. He has also included a list of important links that can help people learn more about him by using Linktree.
Image via Instagram
Build a Website
When it comes to boosting an influencer’s visibility, there is ample advice about growing your presence on social media channels. However, it is also important to build your own website because social media platforms are susceptible to algorithmic changes.
Even if you may have invested a significant amount of time and money into building a loyal follower base, you may see your numbers dwindling suddenly. There is also a risk of apps getting banned suddenly due to political or security reasons.
That’s why having a website can ensure that your online branding is affected by such external changes. It can also go a long way in boosting your credibility. Having a well-designed website can help you showcase all that you have to offer and win the trust of your audience.
Even if you’re not an expert at coding, you can seamlessly create a website using WordPress. All you gotta do is find a reliable WordPress hosting platform and then select a template for your website. You can then seamlessly customize it and have your website ready with ease.
Provide Value Through Great Content
This is the most important part of being a social media influencer. You need to consistently create content that:
- Is relevant to your niche
- Your audience can resonate with
- Is engaging and unique
- Answers the common questions your audience may have
- Addresses their concerns and pain points
- Helps them learn new things or do certain things in a better way
- Helps your community grow
When creating graphics for your Instagram Stories, posts, or video thumbnails, you should consider capitalizing on the latest design trends to attract your audience. Use a combination of carousels, short and long videos, graphics, photos, and memes to build an engaged community.
Remember, creating high-quality content is the key to grow your followers on social media.
Partner with Brands in Your Niche
You should talk about the products you use and the brands you love from time to time. If a brand likes your style of content creation or is impressed by the engagement you generate for them, they may offer you sponsored work opportunities.
You can also select brands in your niche and reach out to them for collaboration by sending emails. Don’t forget to follow the best practices for writing persuasive email copy.
You should tell them why you like their brand and what makes you a good fit for their marketing campaigns. Share insights about your engagement rate, audience demographics, and your top-performing content.
Are you good at creating funny videos or are product flatlays your forte?
You should clearly define what the brand can expect if they collaborate with you. This will help them make an informed decision.
What are the other ways to connect with brands for collaboration?
Once you’ve got your first 1,000 followers, you can register yourself as an influencer with the top influencer search tools and marketing agencies. They can help you connect with brands who are looking for content creators like you.
Ready to Become a Social Media Influencer and Start Making Money?
Becoming a social media influencer requires that you consistently put in a lot of effort, create valuable content, and engage your audience.
It is also important to focus on one specific niche, be it fashion, travel, or content marketing. But you shouldn’t mix all of them together if you want to build a loyal fan base.
