Becoming a successful Influencer Marketing doesn’t happen overnight. Gone are the days when posting sporadically led to thousands of followers and a constant stream of engagement.
With the right tools and strategies, aspiring influencers can still tap into a source of success.
In this article, we break down how to become an Influencer Marketing: from establishing your content pillars to landing your dream collaboration with a brand.
Find your niche
We recommend that when you start your career in social media, you choose a niche. It makes sense to be very focused.
Especially in the beginning, you’ll want to be known for your work in a specific area. This way, your audience will associate you with that topic as you post more about it.
People are more likely to follow you if they know what to expect from your content. Focus and hone in on your niche, and it will be much easier to grow your following and be seen as an expert in that niche.
Passion and Knowledge
If you have an existing passion, perhaps even a good level of experience and skill, you might choose that to give you a head start and be more motivated to create content around that niche.
Popularity and Profitability
From a business standpoint, it makes sense to find a niche that is trending or at least steadily growing and where brands are willing to spend money to advertise.
These are the most popular and profitable social media niches:
- Technology
- Fashion
- Health and Fitness
- Food and Cooking
- Business and How to Make Money
- Lifestyle
- Beauty
- Breeding
- Pets
- Trips
Find one that aligns with your interests and expertise, is popular and monetizable, and has an audience you can engage with over the long term.
Choose the right platform to get started
We recommend starting on just one platform, preferably the one where your audience spends the most time, so you can focus and grow your audience more effectively.
Of course, you can expand your business later and join other platforms.
First, try to understand who your audience is:
- What age group are you targeting with your influencer campaign?
- What is your average income level?
- What is your gender, in percentage?
- What is your family situation?
- What are your hobbies and interests?
- What circles and communities are they in?
The answers to these questions will guide you towards the platform you might want to start on. For example, if you are in the knitting niche, you might start by posting on Pinterest. If you are a gamer, start an account on Twitch. Model Trains, Facebook. Etc. This information changes over time and there are many factors to consider when selecting the right platform.
Here’s a quick rundown of the platforms that make the most sense for you as an influencer, based on your niche:
Facebook: Highest adoption across all demographics, but trending toward an older, wealthier audience. Good for niches that have a middle-aged audience.
Twitter: Ideal for more intellectual niches like writing, business, and self-improvement.
LinkedIn: The number one platform if you want to become an influencer in the business and income generation world.
Pinterest: Mostly female audience. Perfect for crafts, among other things.
Instagram: A very visual platform, ideal for many niches, including fashion, travel, food and pets. The audience is somewhat younger.
TikTok: It has the youngest audience. But the platform is also becoming interesting for older generations. Ideal if you focus on your specific audience and are able to capitalize on trends.
Prepare your profile
After choosing your niche and the platform you’ll start on, you’ll need to create and optimize your social media profile.
Switch to a business account
If you want to be an influencer, you should upgrade to a business account because it gives you a lot more possibilities, specifically for analytics and monetization. You can create a business account in the profile settings of most networks, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Create a good bio
When someone visits your profile, the first thing they see is your bio. Make sure you make a great first impression.
Your bio should explain your narrative in an engaging way. It should also include all relevant information about you, such as your full name, address, phone number, and areas of expertise.
Add a profile photo and a cover photo
You should also include a profile photo and a cover photo, as these are crucial components of your personal brand identity.
People can usually recognize a social media profile by its profile picture, so choose one carefully. Also, make sure your face is visible and the photo is high quality.
How to Create Your Brand as an Influencer Marketing
You should be able to identify the qualities and characteristics that set you apart from others in your niche on social media. People like to follow someone with a strong and interesting personality. It doesn’t mean you have to invent a new personality for yourself.
Ideally, you authentically express what’s interesting and special about you. Of course, with social media you’ll want to emphasize the most attractive aspects of your personality, but you should never be fake. Just dig deeper into what already makes you naturally special.
Your personal brand
You should also think about creating your personal brand. This means taking your influencer persona and your approach to content and turning it into a recognizable brand.
How do you create your personal brand and make it stand out?
- Convey a similar vibe with images and videos – they are created in a similar way, using the same filters, etc.
- Intentionally use your own consistent color scheme across your profile and marketing materials.
- Have your own way of speaking and addressing your followers in your content and descriptions; the brand tone is consistent.
- Give your followers a special name.
- Create a logo and tagline that people instantly recognize.
And most importantly, your personal brand tells a story, one that is engaging and resonates with your audience.
You’ve chosen your niche, you’ve thought about your brand, and now it’s time to build your expertise. Your goal should be to become an authority on the topic you create content about.
You want your audience to look up to you, trust what you say on the topic, and follow your recommendations. How are you going to build your authority?
Study your niche
Start by researching everything there is about your niche on the internet to get a good overview of the topic. Subscribe to relevant podcasts. Read any books and print publications available on the topic.
Establish your web presence
In addition to your social media profile, consider creating your own website. This will give you another opportunity to promote your personal brand and showcase your portfolio. It’s a sign that you’re a professional and will give you even more authority as an influencer.
Start networking in your industry
Attend conferences. Reach out to other influencers in your niche. Reach out, find peers and mentors, and collaborate with others. Not only will it make you an even more knowledgeable insider about your niche, but it will also increase your status.
How to work as an Influencer Marketing
To keep up with your content creation and ensure you have a growing social media profile, we recommend you first create a content strategy.
Your content strategy
First, set up a posting schedule. Decide how often you’ll post to keep your followers engaged without burning yourself out. Remember how long it can take to create a single social media post.
Next, decide on the types of content you will post regularly. This can, and perhaps should, be different types of posts on different days. Depending on the platform, you have the option between:
- Videos (short, long, stories)
- Images
- Audio
- Infographics
- Text
Finally, the topic of content: What topics are you going to cover? What approach are you going to take with your content? Jot all of this down in your strategy document. Now you know exactly what to post each week.
Study your analytics
Executing the publishing strategy you just created is a great start, but it’s not all. You also need to learn from every post you make, and you do this by studying your analytics. With a business account, you’ll have access to those statistics.
Every week, analyze the performance of your posts.
- How many people saw your post?
- How much did you interact with her?
- How many likes did it get?
- If it was a sponsored post, did it resonate with people?
How to grow and stay popular after becoming an influencer
In addition to your short-term strategy, be prepared to stay on top in the long term.
Always be engaged and present. You should treat your followers like your tribe, maybe even a second family. This means you’ll always be there to respond to their comments, answer their questions, and offer support.
Cultivate your community. Do this by launching special campaigns, such as challenges, surveys and giveaways – fun initiatives that keep your audience excited to hear from you.
Know your audience inside and out. Keep studying your followers. What are their goals? Their deepest desires? What motivates them? Know all of this… then try to satisfy those desires with your content.
Stay on top of trends. If you always keep your personal brand relevant to the times, you won’t have to worry about people getting bored of your content and unfollowing you. On the contrary, you’ll keep your audience engaged with fresh stuff and your community will only continue to grow.
