How To Become A Successful Social Media Influencer?

Becoming a successful social media influencer amidst some talented folks is not impossible, but achievable. It needs a simplified strategy to ace your content creation and gain in following. This article will help in understanding what all it takes in the journey of a known social media influencer.

Image

Today, the social media influencer industry is at zenith. In the world of millennials and Gen Z , social media has saved a sweet spot to get nurtured by everyone.

And amidst this buzz, social media influencer has come to a new full-time career profession. It is an industry that works based on a legit following and your audience who loyally followed an influencer and listened to their recommendations.

Back in the day, the term is alien to many. Posting diligently on YouTube , Instagram , Pinterest , and Facebook was taken only as a hobby, let alone a career profession. In 2021 and the coming years, these hobbyists have become money minting machines that are grabbing fame, a handsome social media influencer salary and are nowhere to stop.

This industry is rising tenfolds, and brands or businesses are leaving no stone unturned to get drenched in this ocean of opportunities.

If becoming a social media influence r sounds like a career profession you can pick, this post is for you.

The 3.6 billion users using social media users worldwide are always eyeing for people they can connect with. They can listen to, and they can read about. 

If it sounds like you, where you would unbox collaboration boxes, get paid for a single post on the feed or channel, and dance on TikTok videos , you can be the next Influencer .

Undoubtedly, the allure of the fascinating world of the influencer industry is real.

With a good resolution phone camera and a platform, you only have to usher in your talent. And remember my friend, where there's fame, there're followers.

But first, let's decipher what a social media influencer is ?

What Is A Social Media Influencer?

Somewhere around life, we all have a social media influence. Be it in writing on TripAdvisor , food reviews, or your general Google recommendations. Your review might have influenced someone down the line.

This is influencing.

When we talk about social media influencers , the term is broad. An influencer has established a strong reputation with their content and has an active audience and engagement on a specific page.

Influencers affect the buying decisions of others because of their authority, relationships, and knowledge in a niche.

Photo Credit

The social media platforms where influences are active -

Youtube 

Instagram 

Facebook

TikTok

Snapchat

Twitter 

Instagram is all the rage right now, so is YouTube.

But there are many strings attached to becoming an influencer than simply hopping on any of these.

The commonalities of successful social media influencer -

While influencers are distinct from their reputations, personalities, and niche, they have common areas with their social media platform and a mass following.

You could be a top influencer who is living a King / Queen sized life with brand promotions or a micro-influencer who has a small but interactive audience.

The common area strikes for most influencers at --

1. A varied yet unique content - There are people where there is unique, out-of-the-box content. The different influencers create content in different niches, making this influencer force a goldmine of opportunities for brands. Every Influencer is crafting content in their particular niche.

2. A true force of followers - Audiences connect with authentic influencers, offering value and giving hacks to simplify the audience's lives. If you are an influencer, you must have a significant reach, which could be thousands or hundreds of thousands. Ultimately, you should know how to monetize from your following.

3. Enticing Content - People land up for content, and Influencers constantly work upon crafting valuable content and know how to monetize them. They market content strategically and are always hustling to post images, videos, or tweets.

The Secrets to Building a successful Social media influencer business 

Let's spill the beans as to what it takes to those captivating latte shots, those splendid GoPro videos, those larger-than-life moments in some fancy 7-star hotel? To have this nearly celebrity status, there goes blood, sweat, and, over the years, hard work that finally made them top influencers . Only 1% are top influencers who get a million dollars for a post. 

But others can still carry it as a side hustle or eventually turn into a business if they work with an actionable social media influencer marketing plan.

If you are tempted to become one, lay the foundation of success with these steps—

1. Set Your Brand Niche 

Conceptualize your brand voice, your page, and the winning content to engage people. Only celebs become Instagram famous by not doing much. If you're not one, let no stone unturned to entice people with your valuable content.

There are multiple niches, and to fit in one, the options are countless. To fit your shoes into one that falls straight as per your interest, choose anything from these Uber cool niche 

  • Travel
  • Food 
  • Health and Fitness 
  • Fashion 
  • Beauty 
  • Home decor 
  • Gaming and tech

Again, more exciting fields always hover more crowd, and you should be ready to make your place there. Shine with content that is unique and glue people. 

The internet is crowded with immense content, but if you stick to your niche and yet serve something that makes a difference to the online community, why not? Creating an online identity could take years, but the audience will trust it with closed eyes if it is rendeantes with them.

2. Find Your Target Audience

Set yourself as a business. Being an influencer or becoming one is like constantly polishing your content to make it better.

The content that reflects with your target audience strengths their trust more in your brand. In a nutshell, make content and market it to your t arget audience .

Once you have figured out your audience, it's time to engage with them.

The engagement varies distinctly in various social media platforms - it is different for Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

The number of likes, comments, and shares gauges engagement.

If you are a newbie, the engagement itself defines your progress. But don't feel let down if it does not pick up initially; the algorithm is such. The social channels focus on surfacing content, which has already proved it in the past.

3. Social Media Platforms 

Now you have your niche and target audience , discover the social media channels where you will post.

In the stride of becoming a social media influencer, a strategic approach always opens the doors to success. 

If your niche is tech and gaming, then YouTube could be your thing.

For the career and education niche, nothing beats LinkedIn

Once you have identified where you are perfect, consider that to build your following as your way of communication.

Comfortable in front of the camera, then what's stopping you from churning some unique YouTube content ? Or some excellent micro-blogs on Instagram ?

Find your zone of comfort, zen, and don't look back.

4. Create Valuable Content  

Why would anyone be landing on your page or channel if they have no business with you?

They land up because they wish to seek value from your content.

To begin with, build a content arsenal that is worthy of ushering meaningful information, value-loaded content, and answering people's questions.

Photo Credit

Anything that adds value to your reader's life is worth creating for.

No matter which niche the Influencer belongs to, audience will support you if the content resonates with them.

Crafting content for social media channels or your brand does not differ from any business. Again, be top-notch with content to cut through the noise and vibe with the audience. 

Simplify the complexities of content creation for social channels by minting content they would use or seek help from. In summary, if you know your audience, you can create content likewise .

To churn impeccable influencer content , there is no shortcut or an automated approach. You need to come up with new ideas every time. They say out-of-the-box ideas always gleam in the hustle-bustle of social media ; well, they certainly do!

The internet is flooded with some fantastic online social media tools that make the job seamless. Be it for an Instagram post or a YouTube video; the free online tools are so handy. 

5. Share Your Story 

Personal, real-life stories speed up reach . Yes, if you are comfortable coming out and sharing your story, your audience would click with it.

As a creator , sharing your story is everything.

Many ace influencers have shared their personal life stories and set the entire community by that. You never know when and where you are inspiring others. 

Your story may be the greatest superpower.

6. Use Algo Friendly Captions, Titles, and Hashtags 

I agree you are on your own, but here to sparkle, you need to abide by the laws of the social media  algorithm . Use keywords in your videos, titles, and captions to let your content be easily searchable.

Optimize your bio with names and tags. Not doing the basic optimization would minus the chances of being found by potential viewers.

And what's the point if you cannot reach your target audience after all the diligent work.

7. Craft a Fail-Proof Content Strategy 

A social media influencer on Instagram or a famous YouTuber has come far with a well-crafted social media content strategy. 

It is the pivotal aspect of any business.

Having a fail-proof content strategy would make things simpler, more vivid, and you can tap on buyer personas .

Content creation need not be a task, and it is something that does not need the world's best equipment or a force of people to assist. 

A simple Facebook post, a small tweet or a meaningful YouTube video could be the content your audience needs. 

Don't get bogged down and work as per your social media influencer content strategy .

8. Explore Various Revenue Streams 

To be Instagram famous or a YouTube wizard is all measured by the follower count and traffic, and those who have both can unlock multiple revenue opportunities.

How?

Sponsored / brand post - When a brand pays you to promote their products or brand on your page.

Sell ​​your products : You sell your digital products or brand on your profile to make it profitable.

Affiliates: Affiliate marketing is where brands pay you for every sale that happens with your offered link to your followers.

Sounds easy, right?

But there goes a long path. Building the social media influencer empire is more of a marathon than a sprint. So, be consistent with the content, experiment with your ideas, follow your passion, and maybe you could sit under the Maldivian sun with a fully sponsored leisure vacay!