Back in the day, social media influencing was not a career that people could pursue. The rapid innovation in technology has opened up new and ever-changing job opportunities. One of those job opportunities is an influencer. There is a rise of people gaining popularity online yet many do not know how to get their foot in the door as an influencer. Luckily, there are a few steps you can take that can make it much easier to become one!
Step #1: Find Your Calling
Before you even become an influencer, some planning needs to come into play. What is your calling? You will need to find your niche for your content. The niche that you choose should be something that interests you so it is easier to consistently create content on it. You also want to find a field you will excel in. If you can’t speak another language, then trying to become an influencer in a foreign market may be harder than if you opted to go towards comedy in your own market. Ideally, you will be skillful in the field you choose within influencing. You can even try to find multiple interests but just make sure it’s not too broad.
Step #2: Enhance Your Social Media Presence
Now that you know your calling, the next step is to optimize your social media profiles. There are many different channels for social media which is why you will want to find only about one or two for your content. Once you figure out which platforms you will use, it is time to either create a new profile or update your existing profiles. If you currently have an existing profile then you can:
- Switch to a Business Account
- Create an Interesting Bio
- Have a Profile and Cover Photo
Step #3: Understand Your Target Audience
You will want to have a gauge for your audience before you start creating content. Your goal is not to please everyone when you become an influencer. You want to find your audience in the specific niche that you chose. From there, your goal is to create a strong and loyal follower base. The best way to better understand your audience is to analyze current trends in the market that you want to get into.
Step #4: Make and Share Your Content
Your audience needs to view content in order to spark an interest. You will want to post relevant and useful content that your audience would appreciate. You should develop a content strategy so that you don’t feel overwhelmed when handling your socials.
Step #5: Be Regular and Consistent
You found your niche, optimized your social media channels/profiles, analyzed your target audience, and created a content strategy. Now all you have to do is keep consistent! There are also certain times that you can get more visibility on posts. There have been studies done that can show you some data so you can figure out the best time to post for your audience.
Step #6: Interact with Your Audience
After you begin a steady flow of content you will likely start seeing likes and comments on your posts. It is a good idea to interact with your followers so you can show appreciation. This will also give your followers a strong bond with you which means they will likely become more loyal as followers.
Step #7: Don’t Forget About Brand Collaborations!
The last step in your influencer journey is making sure you let brands know you are interested in collaborations. You can either provide information in your bio or you can even reach out to brands personally and offer collabs. When you do a collaboration you are able to potentially get brand deals, free merchandise, grow your following, and more! It may take time to get a brand collaboration until your follower count increases but it will be worth it once you are there.