The popularity of influencer marketing campaigns has grown dramatically over the years , and for good reason.
In the past, before the rise of the internet and social media accounts, marketers didn’t have as many options as we do today.
Celebrities are created by mass media, and the only influencer marketing campaigns we see are expensive ones like Coca-Cola or Nike.
However, these days, anyone can become a social media influencer, as long as they take some time to learn how to be a social media influencer, and then put in the work.
Content creators are our new celebrities, in part because of their ability to specialize in a niche.
Now there are nano-influencers and micro-celebrities who are at the top of a highly specialized field.
For example, Gary Vaynerchuk initially worked long hours at his father’s wine store before eventually taking over and exploding through an effective content strategy.
By creating a daily video program where he talks about different wines, he became the go-to guy in the wine industry and sales at his store skyrocketed.
Gary Vaynerchuk is a great example as he uses the same tactics and then becomes a social media marketing influencer by sharing his insights and strategies.
He turned him from one of the early nano-influencers into a celebrity in his own right, which is why he’s now also a bestselling author and owner of a successful advertising agency.
So now that we know why influencers are on the rise, you might be wondering how to become a social media influencer yourself.
The good news for you is that we’re going to do a deep dive into everything you need to know to become the next big micro-influencer.
let’s start.
Is becoming a social media influencer right for you?
Before you start your journey of becoming a social media or Instagram influencer, you need to first figure out if this is right for you.
It takes a certain type of person to wield social media influence, and it’s not a short-term commitment. The advantage is that you can do what you like – the disadvantage is that even if you don’t, you have to constantly hone it.
The good news is that influencer marketing is on the rise, and you could argue that more people than ever can make a living as an influencer. Statistics and research help to prove it.
For example, 45% of influencers receive at least four campaign proposals per month for brands, and influencers on Instagram are driving a $100 million industry.
But is it expensive to get those results on YouTube?
YouTube users with one to three million subscribers earn an average of $125,000 per post.
There’s no guarantee you’ll even succeed, in fact, the odds are against you.
There’s no guarantee of success, and if you’re not doing something you love, you might have a really hard time finding the willpower to stick with it.
That being said, the payoff is worth the risk if you can handle it, and we don’t just mean financially.
If you get your content strategy right and become an influencer on Instagram or another social network, you will form a community and make a living doing what you love and enjoy.
Who wouldn’t want to live that lifestyle?
What is a Social Media Influencer?
Officially exercising “social media clout” doesn’t have a solid definition or a certain number of followers, and technically we all have some level of social media clout, even if it’s just because of reviews we post on Yelp or TripAdvisor.
As a general rule, when we talk about social media influencer marketing, we’re talking about brands finding micro-influencers who have the ability to inform their audience about their products.
For a brand to see someone as an influencer, they often need enough followers and audience engagement to show that working with them will have some sort of tangible impact, even if it’s just exposure.
It’s important to remember that not all social media influencers make a living doing it, in fact, only the top 1% make a living.
That being said, even smaller influencers, such as Instagrammers with a thousand or so followers, can benefit in terms of free products and unique collaboration opportunities, and for brands, this gives them access to the dedicated target audience.
The vast majority of influencers got to where they are by constantly and consistently executing a content strategy.
They become part of people’s lives purely because they publish regular content that people consume and engage with in real-time.
How to Become a Social Media Influencer
By now, you should have a good idea of what being an influencer involves and whether you are the right person.
The next step is to jump in and show you how to become a social media influencer.
The good news for you is that we have a 17-step list that you can follow to give yourself the best chance of success.
Here’s what you need to do.
1. Find a niche market
The niche you occupy will define your entire career as an influencer.
If you don’t have a niche market, it will be very difficult to grow your business or brand to a mass level, no matter what other advantages you bring to the table.
Every influencer on Instagram has a niche, even if they’re famous for their reality TV show. In fact, most reality TV stars end up focusing on fashion, or even just pop culture.
In reality, the niche you find will depend on what interests you.
For example, if you like video games, maybe you’ll focus on Fortnite, or maybe you’ll focus on sniper shooting.
If you’re having a hard time figuring out which niche you should be in, try delving into what you’re really good at or what your weird quirks are.
Sometimes our strangest things become our more valuable assets.
When you successfully find your niche, your audience will quickly follow because you will naturally attract them because you love what you do.
2. Select the social channels you will use
Once you’ve identified your niche, you’re ready to choose the social channels you’ll be using.
Deciding on the best social media channels to sign up to is an art and science, but if you know which niche to target and who to contact, it can give you a head start.
If your niche is educating small business owners, you’re more likely to find your audience on LinkedIn than on Snapchat.
Another thing to consider as an influencer is which social media channels you are best at.
If you’re a natural in front of the camera, try making some really cool YouTube videos or start an Instagram account instead of blogging every week.
You really want to find something that makes you feel comfortable and happy, and do it.
3. Find and engage with your target audience
Finding your target audience is the first step to becoming a successful and well-respected influencer, in fact, it’s the first thing you should do once you decide which niche to serve.
This is done before creating a content strategy because, without a strictly defined target audience, you have no way of knowing what kind of content will lead to engagement.
Engagement itself comes in many forms and can look very different between Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.
Generally, engagement is measured in terms of likes, comments, shares, and clicks on posts.
Having a lot of engagement with your content shows that people are interested in your brand and what you have to say, but it can also become a self-fulfilling prophecy as social networking sites tend to display content that has been proven to generate engagement.
4. Create and give away free content worth paying for
Let me start by saying you shouldn’t give bad content.
The world and the internet don’t need more mediocre content.
People want something juicy. People want real shit. People don’t want bullshit! People don’t want to be sold every time they turn around.
Stop selling so much and start having more conversations.
This is how one can become a successful influencer of anything.
It doesn’t matter which niche they’re in, if you connect with people on an authentic and authentic level, they’ll root for you.
No matter which social media platform you decide to use or which niche you choose to serve, if you have strong energy and believe in what you are selling, you will be successful.
Remember that when you post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social network, you are competing with every other content creator on the platform.
If you want to cancel out the noise, you need to be at the top of your game, and the best way to do that is by creating content worth paying for.
My general rule of thumb is that you should be willing to charge $5 to promote it, or you shouldn’t post it at all.
I mean, when you really understand your audience, you can create content so they will find value in it.
If you think you could do more research on your audience, read our #R3MAT methodology to help you reach the right people at the right time.
It also teaches you how to reach your dream client.
5. Have a powerful message and story that you can share with your audience
Your message and story will depend in part on your audience and your personal brand, but it also needs to be grounded in authenticity and authenticity.
Everyone has a story, and each of us tells our story in our own way.
That’s why our stories are so powerful. It’s so powerful because we can use our stories to connect with people all over the world.
As a creator, your message and story are everything.
Going back to the example of Gary Vaynerchuk, his early story at the Wine Library gave him credit for becoming a social media marketing guru.
At the same time, he has a powerful message when it comes to his relentless promotion of the “hustle” mentality.
It’s a message his audience engages with every day, and it allows him to build an entire community.
You have to find what works for you and run with it.
Don’t be afraid to use your story, whatever it is. This may be our greatest superpower.
6. Create a content strategy
Content strategy is one of the most important aspects of any business strategy.
Here, it helps to focus on the #R3MAT approach, which helps you reach people where they are.
If you can do that, if you meet them at the right time in their customer journey, then you’ll have no problem building an audience around your personal brand.
It’s hard to overstate how important your content strategy actually is. After all, at the heart of what you do as an influencer is creating and distributing high-quality content that other people find valuable, not just you.
If you want to build a following on Facebook and Instagram, you’re going to need great content.
Creating content doesn’t have to be difficult, and it doesn’t mean you need to spend money on the best equipment or the latest, coolest gadgets.
Creating content can be as simple as a tweet, a video, or even a Facebook Live.
Don’t get bogged down or intimidated by having to create content.
Take a simple approach and post something, if only to see how it’s done. There’s nothing wrong with trying to figure out what your audience can most engage with.
You just have to find what your employees value and give it to them. You might even find that sometimes your audience doesn’t care how your content looks.
7. Engage with your target audience consistently
Your content is the fuel that burns the fire at the heart of your influencer marketing strategy, but engagement is the spark that ignites it.
When people engage with your content, it sends a strong signal to Facebook and Instagram that you’re posting what your audience wants to see.
When they see this, it in turn makes the algorithm more likely to show the content to others.
Engagement is also healthy because if you want to have a huge social media presence, you need to be able to push people to take action.
A brand looking to launch a social media influencer marketing campaign will be looking for someone who can nudge their followers to make a purchase or follow them, rather than just silently observing promoted content.
The important thing to remember is to make sure you are actually building a real relationship with the person.
8. Track everything
One of the great things about creating digital content, whether it’s on Twitter and Instagram, or Facebook or YouTube, is that it’s inherently measurable.
By keeping tabs on your analytics and metrics, from followers on Instagram to traffic to your website, you can see if your efforts are paying off as you hoped.
Honestly, if you’re wondering how to become a social media influencer, one of the best things you can do is learn by trial and error.
By keeping track of everything, you can experiment with different content types and approaches and see how your audience responds.
By knowing what’s working and what’s not on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you can make sure everything you post is trending.
9. Be consistent and authentic
I’ll keep it short and simple.
People can sense when you’re not authentic. People can sense when you’re just going for the end result.
So, always be honest and genuine, people will sense this and want to do business with you!
Believe in what you’re doing and consistently build relationships with people on every level.
10. Invest in good equipment
Authenticity is important and it will get you off to a good start, but eventually, the time will come when your content needs to be refined.
Shooting video clips on the iPhone and making thumbnails for Instagram posts or YouTube videos was fine in the early days, but if you want to be successful long-term then you need to pay more attention to quality.
Of course, we’re not saying that buying expensive gear is the secret to how to become a social media influencer.
In fact, if at all, you should avoid investing in gear until you start building a following, otherwise, you end up with a lot of flashy toys but no community.
As long as you have a basic level of quality, the content will shine, at least early on.
Here are some of my favorite devices for video calls and social media content:
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Spotlight on Scarlett 2i2
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Logitech C922x Pro Streaming Webcam – Full 1080p HD Camera
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Audio-Technica BPHS1 Broadcast Stereo Headphones with Dynamic Cardioid Boom Mic
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Inkeltech Ring Light – 18″ 60 W Dimmable LED Ring Light Kit with Stand
11. Create a website or blog
Just like your email list is an owned asset you can rely on, starting a website or blog will allow you to set up some real estate that doesn’t depend on social media channels.
It’s more than just learning how to be a social media influencer and helps set you up as a long-term influencer and expert, not just a passing fad.
Remember, just like if you want to build an Instagram following you need to create posts and Instagram stories regularly, your website/blog needs to be updated regularly if you want people to keep coming back for more.
12. Research and learn every day
Reaching the top of your game as an influencer requires you to keep learning new things every day.
It’s not like going to an interview where you have to do well once or twice and then you get a contract.
An influencer’s Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter feed is like a constantly updating portfolio, and you’ll only be as good as your last day.
If you stop learning, stop doing research, and stop improving, your Facebook or Instagram followers will soon get tired of seeing the same old content and they will look elsewhere.
Social media marketing, and making money on Instagram by extension, is all about relevance and timeliness.
If you don’t continuously learn and refine your strategy, you will lose this relevance.
in conclusion
Now that you know the steps you need to follow if you want to become a successful influencer, you still need to be willing and able to put in the work.
The content creator you look up to doesn’t wake up one morning to find that they have hundreds of thousands of followers on their social media accounts.
Instead, they develop a content strategy and then stick to it, tweaking their approach as needed to ensure they get the best return on their marketing investment.
The good news is, you can follow in their footsteps, and the tips we share in this article are designed to help you do just that.
So if you haven’t already, be sure to set aside some time in your calendar to revisit your content strategy and make sure you have a strategy behind what you’re doing.
As long as you have a content strategy and a clear target audience, and as long as you follow through and deliver on your plan, there’s no reason you can’t be the next hot Instagram influencer or social media guru.
Other than that, all you need is a little luck – good luck!
