In the age of social media, influencers wield enormous power in the world of digital marketing. With huge followings on most social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and even Linkedin these individuals can shape the opinions, behaviors, and purchasing decisions of their fans.
As social media continues to play a significant role in our daily lives, being an influencer has become a popular career choice for many people who want to monetize their online presence and share their passion with a wider audience. In this article, we’ll provide actionable tips on becoming an influencer in 2023, considering the latest trends and strategies.
What Exactly is an Influencer?
An influencer is an individual who
- has the power to impact the purchasing decisions of their audience through their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their followers.
- a devoted audience in a specific specialty. They typically have a loyal and engaged following in a specific niche, with the size of their audience depending on the popularity of their area of expertise.
With their massive following, influencers have become a valuable asset in digital marketing, as they can effectively promote products, services, or ideas to their followers. They leverage their influence and credibility to endorse brands and persuade their followers to make purchases, acting as a crucial intermediary between brands and consumers. Branded hashtags, Instagram stories, sponsored posts, and high quality content are part of an influencer’s life. In fact, many influencers share a lot of information about their personal lives and personal connections with their followers. In addition, those who decide to become influencers will also need some technical knowledge. In particular, some influencer management tools are required, such as membership management software.
What Does an Influencer Actually Do?
The primary role of an influencer:
- Creating engaging and valuable content related to their niche
- Promoting products or services related to their niche
Influencers use social media platforms to:
- Share experiences, expertise, and opinions to attract and engage followers
Collaborating with brands to:
- Promote products or services through sponsored posts or partnerships
- Leverage their influence to drive sales and increase brand awareness
An influencer’s main focus is to:
- Consistently create content
- Build a loyal following
- Collaborate with brands to promote their products or services
What are the Types of Influencers?
Successful influencers are categorized based on their social media following and engagement. Increased visibility is the only measure of influencers’ seniority. There are different types of influencers such as nano-influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers), micro-influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers), macro-influencers (100,000 to 500,000 followers), mega-influencers (500,000 to 1 million followers), and celebrities (over 1 million followers). Understanding the different types of influencers and how many followers they have is crucial for brands looking to collaborate with influencers for their marketing campaigns.
In addition to the number of followers, there are different types of influencers according to their areas of expertise. Fashion, makeup, health, fitness, art, games and entertainment are some of them. It is necessary to produce relevant content and develop a marketing strategy in accordance with their expertise.
Fashion
One of the first names that come to mind when it comes to fashion influencers is Chiara Ferragni. Chiara Ferragni is a fashion influencer, known for her personal style and fashion expertise. She has built her influencer brand on her fashion blog, The Blonde Salad, where she shares photos of her outfits and fashion tips with her followers. She has also collaborated with many fashion brands to create collections and promote their products by creating a sponsored post.
In addition to fashion, Chiara Ferragni has also expanded her brand into other areas, including beauty, lifestyle, and travel. She has shared her experiences and recommendations on these topics with her followers, making her a lifestyle influencer as well.
Food
Jamie Oliver is a prime example of the effectiveness of social media marketing. As a British chef, restaurateur, and author, he has become a household name in the food industry, leveraging his TV shows, cookbooks, and strong social media presence as a food influencer. With over 8 million followers on Instagram, Jamie shares his recipes, cooking tips, and behind-the-scenes experiences as a chef, further solidifying his status as a leading influencer in the culinary world.
Fitness
Kayla Itsines, the Australian fitness influencer, has amassed a huge social media following by sharing her workout routines, meal plans, and fitness tips. She co-founded the Bikini Body Guides (BBG) fitness program and the Sweat app, both of which have been downloaded by millions worldwide. As a personal trainer and entrepreneur, Kayla Itsines is a household name in the fitness industry, inspiring countless individuals globally to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Kayle, who is also an Instagram influencer, has over 15 million followers.
Entertainment
One of the inventors of influencer marketing is the Kardashians. Kim Kardashian, the American media personality, socialite, and entrepreneur, is a leading entertainment influencer who has made a name for herself through her TV shows, social media presence, and successful business ventures. With over 250 million followers across various social media platforms, she is proof of the power of social media marketing strategy. As an Instagram influencer, she regularly posts content related to her lifestyle, fashion, and beauty. Kim’s highly successful businesses, KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance, are a testament to her influential status in the industry, with a loyal fan base that eagerly awaits her latest offerings. Most influencers today are inspired by her. There is no doubt that her and her family’s personal stories have contributed to her success.
Game
PewDiePie, the Swedish YouTuber, Twitch streamer, and comedian, has amassed a huge following on social media by sharing his gaming experiences and providing tips to fellow gamers. With over 110 million subscribers on YouTube, he is one of the most viewed and subscribed channels on the platform, making him an excellent example of how to be an influencer and build a massive following on social media. As an influencer, PewDiePie’s success is a result of his unique perspective, engaging content, and constant experimentation with new ideas. For aspiring influencers, including micro influencers, following his influencer tips could be helpful for those who want to expand their target audience.
Who is Considered a Social Media Influencer?
Anyone can become a social media influencer if they have a unique voice, a strong personal brand, and engage with their audience. Influencers can be celebrities, bloggers, entrepreneurs, or everyday people with a passion for a particular topic. It should be noted that there is no one right way to influencer marketing. It is possible to become an influencer on Twitter, on YouTube, on Facebook or Instagram. Typically, a social media influencer has accounts on multiple social media platforms and creates niche-specific content to engage their target audience.
5 Skills You Need to be a Successful Influencer
- Authenticity: Authenticity is one of the most important skills in an influencer journey. Influencers need to be authentic and true to themselves. They need to share their experiences, opinions, and advice in a genuine and relatable way.
- Creativity: Influencers need to be creative in their content creation. They need to think outside the box and come up with unique and engaging ideas. Although an influencer has similar points with fellow influencers, creativity is important because it makes them different from each other. A well-known person can appeal to the target audience on the platform by producing a post regularly that is specific to that platform or any other platforms.
- Communication: Influencers need to be good communicators. They need to engage with their followers, respond to comments and messages, and build relationships with their audience. The most effective factor on the follower count is that an influencer has engaged followers.
- Business Savvy: Influencers need to have some business skills to negotiate deals, contracts, and partnerships with brands. For the simplest example, having a social media influencer’s contact details on their account makes it easier for brands to communicate with them.
- Consistency: Influencers need to be consistent in their content creation and posting schedule. They need to maintain their brand image and engage with their audience regularly. In order to create a loyal follower base, it is necessary to regularly create relevant content that aligns with the interests of the followers.
How to Become an Influencer in 15 Steps
As a full-time content creator or influencer, managing your audience can be a challenging task. You have to keep track of your followers, engage with them, and consistently post in order to become an Instagram influencer. One solution to this problem is Raklet, a powerful audience management tool that can help you organize, communicate, and grow your audience. In this article, we’ll discuss why content creators or influencers should use Raklet to manage their audiences.
Step 1: Define Your Niche
To become an influencer like Instagram influencers, you need to know what you stand for. Identify your niche and focus on it, so you can build your expertise and credibility on social media channels. A successful influencer usually has a niche and consistently creates content to attract and engage their followers. There can be many types of influencers, whether you want to focus on fashion, gaming, fitness, food, or any other niche. The decision is yours. While the focus of the content produced by a fashion blogger is clothes, beauty, care, jewelry and so on, a fitness influencer produces regular content on healthy life, sports, balanced nutrition, diet and similar topics.
Step 2: Choose Your Platform
Decide which social media platforms you want to focus on. Consider your audience and your content type, and choose the platforms that align with your goals. If you don’t want to act alone, you can research influencer marketing campaigns.
Step 3: Optimize Your Profiles
Make sure your social media profiles are complete and optimized. Use high-quality images, keywords, and hashtags to make your profile stand out. For example, it is impossible to find an influencer without a profile picture.
Step 4: Create Valuable Content
Produce high-quality content that provides value to your audience. Be consistent with your posting schedule, and use different formats, such as images, videos, or live streams. Having a good content strategy can help you get sponsored content, have loyal followers, and reach your target audience fast.
Step 5: Engage with Your Audience
If you want to become an influencer, engaging with your audience is essential. Replying to comments and messages is the answer to the question of how to become an influencer. It shows you value your followers’ feedback and opinions. When you engage with your audience, you can build a loyal following, gain valuable insights into what your audience is interested in, and create content that resonates with them. Make it a priority to respond to all comments and messages, and consider asking your audience questions or soliciting feedback to encourage engagement. By prioritizing your audience, you can position yourself as a trusted authority in your niche and grow your influence.
Step 6: Collaborate with Others
Collaborate with nano influencers or brands in your niche. This can help you reach new audiences and establish new connections.
Step 7: Attend Events and Conferences
Attend industry events and conferences to network with brand collaborators and learn about the latest trends and insights of brand collaborations. In addition, appearing on most platforms of the organization or event can contribute to gaining new followers. Especially organizations that embrace people, such as charity organizations, can contribute to having loyal social media followers and an engaged audience, regardless of the follower count.
Step 8: Use SEO Techniques
Use SEO techniques to optimize your content for search engines. This can help you reach a wider audience and improve your visibility online. Search engine optimization allows people who search for you to quickly find information about you and get to know you. At the same time, your potential followers can reach your social media accounts faster, such as your Instagram account. It is one of the indispensable parts of an influencer career.
Step 9: Analyze Your Performance
Analyze your performance regularly to see what works and what doesn’t. Use analytics tools to track your engagement, reach, and growth. For instance, if you want to become an Instagram influencer, you should learn to use the Instagram algorithm effectively. It can be considered as the only technical skill required part of influencer marketing.
Step 10: Offer Something Unique
Offer something unique to your audience, such as exclusive content or access to your products or services. This can help you stand out from the competition. Knowing about different content formats can help you produce written or visual content while developing your own niche.
Step 11: Build Your Email List
Build your email list and use email marketing to reach your audience directly. This can help you build a stronger relationship with your subscribers. If you want to be a social media influencer just like an Instagram influencer, you can use any social media platform and direct message channels for similar content strategy.
Step 12: Monetize Your Content
Find ways to monetize your content, such as posting content, affiliate marketing, or selling your own products or services. The most common method today is the collaboration of a social media influencer with a famous brand. This commercial collaboration coined the term influencer marketing. By the way, don’t forget that many successful Instagram influencers post content regularly!
Step 13: Stay Authentic
Stay authentic and true to your brand. Don’t compromise your values or beliefs for the sake of gaining followers or making money. For example, your social media posts should be original, you should not look like you are imitating different people. Being authentic is extremely important, especially for people trying to build their personal brand.
Step 14: Network with Other Influencers
Network with other influencers in your niche and build relationships with them. A strong white label social network can help you learn from their experiences and get inspiration for your own social media content. Remember, the answer to the question of how to become an influencer is to establish good relations with other people. As much as the number of followers is important, who follows you is also extremely crucial for the influencer’s brand and reputation. To increase visibility, it is necessary to be in contact with other influencers, which in turn brings new followers.
Step 15: Use Raklet to Manage Your Audiences
Content creators and those aspiring to become Instagram influencer should use Raklet to manage their audiences. Raklet provides a centralized platform to manage your audience, automate communication, and analyze your performance. With Raklet, you can save time and effort, personalize your messages, and provide a better experience for your audience.
In conclusion, becoming an influencer takes time and effort, but it’s achievable with the right mindset and strategy. Follow these 15 steps to establish yourself as a thought leader in your niche, and use Raklet to manage your audiences and grow your following. Remember to stay authentic, provide value to your audience, and have fun along the way.
