What is a Social Media Influencer?
By definition, a social media influencer is a user on social media who has established credibility in a specific industry. A social media influencer has access to a large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach.
The Glam Life
So you’ve heard of the “glam life” that comes with being a social media influencer. Free trips, free clothes, trying out different products etc. Truth is it’s actually a job and requires hard work. The thing about this field is that its “self-made”. Anyone with drive and ambition can become one.
According to Gary Vaynerchuk, social media marketing king, the industry is just getting started and is on the rise to becoming a multi-million dollar industry.
More and more people are jumping onto this wagon and wanting to become a social media influencer. Here are some quick steps to get you on your journey on becoming a social media influencer.
1. Find your Niche
Niche= something you want to talk to people about, what’s going to be your expertise.
A Social media influencer has a specific niche that they specialize in. The first thing to do is to find something that you are passionate about talking. For example fitness, cooking, sports, dogs, design, books…etc. It literally can be anything. This will help in forming your audience. Whatever you chose make sure it will add value to someone else. Why should people follow you? Maybe they learn how to exercise properly or maybe you know a lot about fashion and hidden spots people can buy cheap clothes from.
2. Pick a Name
I struggled with this one a lot and changed my name too many times. Make sure you pick an interesting name that people can remember. You are forming your own brand so you need to stand out. Maybe you can mix letters from your first name with your middle name like I did. Or pick a name that relates to your field such as SquatQueenB. Something like that.
3. Keep a Look
This one mostly relates to fashion social media influencers. Social media influencers that keep a consistent look are seen as more professional and they also attract more viewers. If you are going for that fashion blogger look make sure to check other accounts that you like and see what they do and how their pages looks. This relates mostly to Instagram. Here are some examples of great accounts with a consistent feed:
4. Take Good Photos
When you are just starting out, your goal is to create lots of content that reflects your style. You definitely do not need a professional camera to become a social media influencer. I take most of my photos on my Google Pixel 3 using the regular camera, portrait mode and some external lenses from Moment. Learn more about the phone on my Working with Google blog post. Smartphones have great cameras and work great.
The trick is to make sure you have good lighting and not blurry photos. I like to shoot outdoors because natural light is the best lighting. Good photos will show brands the kind of work you can bring and they get to see if they want to work with you or not. This applies to video also. Content is key!!!
5. Grow an Audience
I would say before reaching out to brands to have at least a couple followers. I would say around 10K at least. One way to attract new followers is to interact with those in your field. Go to their pages and comment on their stuff; they are likely to return the favor and follow you. Follow some accounts that you think might like what you have to offer. Don’t follow huge accounts that are not likely to follow back.
Here’s one trick. Let’s say you focus on vegan meals. I would go to a big vegan account and look at all their followers. I would then either follow or interact with the followers of that account. Since you have similar content, they are likely to follow you and be interested in what you have to offer.
6. Reach Out to Brands
So now that you have your niche picked out, got a memorable name, great quality content, and some followers, it’s time to reach out to brands. You want to email brands and tell them what you’re account is about and what you can do for them. Say something like this:
Hey, (company or person in charge)
I’m (name) and I focus on vegan meals. I love your product and would love to work with you in exchange for the product. Let me know if you are interested. My social media links are below.
Keep it nice and simple. At the beginning yes you will have to work in exchange for the product. When you are ready to charge just state your rates or wait till they show interest and then tell them your rates. Always make sure to work only with brands you believe in. Don’t take a deal just because you need the money. In the end, your followers won’t trust you and think you’re just in it for the money.
I hope you learned something today. If you are past this level and ready to make money check out my post on “Making money as a Social Media Influencer/Blogger” Any questions or comments be sure to reach out.
xoxo, Xio💚
