As an influencer in a digitally driven world—promoting your brand can be increasingly difficult. Brands spend loads of money on influencers, so it’s important that you’re not only passionate about your job, but that you’re good at it as well.
When it comes to influencing (specifically on Instagram), using this social media platform to your advantage is key to becoming a successful influencer. Sure, the free exotic destination trips around the world and the unlimited beauty products are amazing, but it’s not as easy as it may seem or even look.
Here’s my top 10 influencing tips on how to be your own boss all while earning your own money!
1. Determine Your Brand’s Identity
Determining your brand’s identity is a much greater task than merely posting eye-catching pictures and catchy hashtags—it begins with you. Your passions, your interests, and ultimately what makes you—you. Using what you love to reach what you believe you are destined for is a powerful tool towards achieving success. Keep in mind that your passion must be authentic, because if it isn’t, your lack of interest will shine through your content and your audience will definitely be able to tell. Be authentic and truth to who you are, and your brand’s identity will manifest.
2. Figure Out Your Target Audience
Your target audience is the backbone behind why you do what you do. Step back and take a moment to dissect what brands you are most loyal to, this in turn will be able to help you determine who your target audience is. In a digital market filled with individuals presenting the same product, content can become oversaturated, so it’s best to be as specific as possible in order to provide an outlet for your target audience.
3. Define Your Niche/Gift
Defining your God given talent is sometimes a difficult task. Get honest with yourself and use your talents to your advantage. In order to truly make an impact on the world of social media, you have to be confident in your abilities or the product you are selling. Are you good in front of the camera? Is writing your strong suit? Capitalize on what you are good at and develop your skills from there. Your brand identity is an extension of you, so tailor it to fit your needs!
4. Engage With Your Audience
Engage! Engage! Engage! Interacting with your followers is so important as an influencer. Remember, you are never too big (or small) to take time to thank and engage with the people that follow and support you and your brand. Something as simple as responding to DM’s and comments can truly make all the difference in the support and growth of your brand. People follow you for a reason, don’t let the lack of interaction cause them to question their loyalty to your brand.
5. Plan + Organize
When it comes to posting content onto your feed, planning and organizing are your BFF’s. Plan when you plan on posting certain campaigns, photos, and videos and make sure you stay on top of that schedule. Your followers enjoy seeing your content and are always wanting more, so give them just that. If you write down when you plan on posting certain content, then it will not only be easier for you as an influencer, but it will also bring about structure within your brand, and trust me when I say it, as an influencer—structure is what you will need!
6. Create a Media Kit and Rate Card
As an influencer, you will need to get all of your pitching materials together—your media kit and rate card. Creating a rate sheet is extremely easy once you’ve figured out the key components which are understanding YOUR influencer, knowing the value of your work, what services you can offer a brand, and how much you are going to charge for each service. A media kit in the influencer world is a document that highlights key information and stats about your blog and brand that a company would be interested in. You provide this kit to brands you are wanting to work with as a way to introduce yourself, and show them why partnering with you would be beneficial to their company as a whole.
7. Contact Brands
Think about the brands you, yourself love and use on a regular basis. These brands should be such a great addition to your life that you are inclined to share them with your audience. There are billions of people in the world, if you don’t take the initiative to reach out to brands—they will never see you. The worst thing a brand can say is no, so go for it—you’ll never know until you try.
8. Host Giveaways
Everyone loves freebies! If your brand is based around a product or as an influencer you have access to free merchandise, use what you have to connect with your followers. Doing a monthly giveaway is an easy way to get your followers to interact with your content and brand. This will not only drive new followers to your page, but it will also boost your following—a total win-win situation! Use your voice and influence to benefit both you and your followers.
9. Utilize Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a very popular way to make money as an influencer. You can use affiliate marketing via Instagram by posting a link on your Insta story, bio or caption, and each time a follower clicks that link and purchases the product, you’ll receive a commission for that sale. This is a good tip for any influencer (rookie or vet) because it’s yet another source of income, and who doesn’t love multiple streams of income?!
10. Stay Consistent in Your Design and Theme
Consistency is key! Your followers are drawn in by the design and theme of your Insta page. Being consistent with both your posts and content will not only attract your followers, but it will separate you from other influencers. In the world of influencing, it’s important to stand out and show your audience that you aren’t like every other influencer on Instagram, but instead, you have something valuable to offer them through your brand.
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