How to Succeed as a Social Media Influencer

An article published in Forbes mentioned that influencers could be traced back to ancient Rome and that the partnership between Wedgewood and King George III in 1760 was admittedly one of the earliest renowned collaborations. Marketing continues to remain as an important aspect of business but much change had happened in the marketing landscape since those times. Businesses are now aware that they could create brand awareness and recall not only by collaborating with highly paid endorsers and celebrities but by working with many social media influencers as well.

With the average influencer earning $30,000 to $100,000 annually, as reported in a Fox Business article in March 2020, more people are now becoming interested in becoming a social media influencers, or influencers for short. While social media influencer marketing might be a new term, some tips on how to become a successful blogger can also apply to becoming a successful influencer as well. Here they go.

Define Your Niche

A shotgun like method in posting about any topic is not the way to go if you want to become an influencer. Unless you are already quite popular that people just wait to hear anything you say about any subject or issue, you need to define your niche so your posts will be focused and specific. Especially when you are just starting out, focusing on a certain niche will help you attract the following of people who are interested in that topic, even when they do not personally know you. This includes focusing on just a few social media platform first. Just make sure that you are passionate about your niche or topic because it will show in your work when you are not and working on a topic you do not enjoy will not be fun for you.

Post Relevant Content Regularly

Now that you have identified your niche, you need to post regularly on your preferred social media platform whether it be Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter or other sites. However, it should not just be any content; it has to be relevant so people who are interested in the topic will be enticed to follow you and share your social media posts with others. When people know that they will get value from your post, they are more likely to look forward to your posts. It helps to plan your daily/weekly/monthly topics and have a regular posting schedule.

Optimize Your Posts and Profile

Make sure that you have a compelling profile bio, complete with profile picture. A spammy looking bio does not elicit trust and may make people dismiss your profile straightaway. Use hashtags to help people find your posts but do not go overboard lest you end up looking, again, spammy. As much as possible, include pictures in your FB posts, Twitter tweets and other sites.

Engage With Your Audience

While some influencers conduct giveaways and contests for followers as a tactic to keep and increase their fan base, you can apply other strategies as well. First, it is important to allow comments on your posts to give your fans a way to communicate with you or add to your topic. Encourage your followers to interact with you by posting questions, encouraging feedback and replying to their contributions.

Encourage Collaborations

Let businesses know that you are open to collaborations. You may mention that in your profile bio, you can join websites that offer a venue for you to work in partnership with businesses, or you may contact the organization or business directly to offer your services. Some influencers on YouTube sometimes mention some brand names in their videos and announce publicly or by way of giving out hint that they would like to work with that specific brand.

Final Tips

These are just some of the tips on how to succeed as an influencer. Just remember that it is important to indicate when you are compensated to discuss, review or endorse a certain product, service or issue. While this fact does not matter to some followers, you do not want FTC to come after you. Besides, promoting transparency and accountability helps maintain your credibility.