How Influencers Become Influencers
Social media has created a stage for people around the world. Anyone can create an account, build an audience and become an influencer these days.
We work with amazing influencers each day and have observed best practices and core tips that successful influencers and content creators follow.
We are lucky to have influencers work on our team here at SheSpeaks. One of our amazing team members and influencers, Stephanie Caruso, is now sharing the steps to becoming an influencer, so that you can have a better understanding of how influencers:
- Build an audience
- Create authentic content
- Partner with brands
1. Decide on a Niche
“The riches are in the niches!” There is a category on social media for everything. Influencers know that they need to tap into a category that serves them best. It is extremely important for influencers to be sure they can authentically follow through and create quality content within their chosen category.
The best way for them to do that is by following their passion and narrowing down their niche as much as possible to be sure they are following their passion or area of expertise.
An example of this would be an influencer in the food / cooking category focusing on a specific area, like Keto or Baking, or in the fitness / wellness category. Combining multiple categories can also work, as long as an influencer remains consistent and their audience knows what to expect.
2. Select a Platform
Influencers often decide to zero in on certain platforms that work best with the type of content they create. The type of content they create will dictate what platform an influencer gravitates towards.
Influencers who are looking to work with brands will often create business accounts on the social platforms of their choice as best practice as it provides them with enhanced analytics and tools required for brand partnerships.
3. Good First Impression
It is all about first impressions and a good influencer knows that their bio will often be the first thing people see. Influencers strive to clearly and quickly sum up who they are and what they do. A clear photo, an engaging bio and clear contact information are a must.
4. Be Regular and Consistent
A rule of thumb for influencers is to create regular, consistent and quality content. This is important for audience growth and retention, but also to build up their “portfolio’ of content if they are looking to collaborate with brands. Many influencers create the content that they eventually want to be paid for in future collaborations with brands.
5. Know The Audience
Brands should lean in to influencer insights about their followers. Influencers spend a lot of time learning about their audience. They often discover the best time to post and know exactly what their audience will engage with and more importantly, what they keep coming back for.
When working with influencers, it is important for brands and agencies to ask what works best for their audience. Influencers may have an idea or strategy that will help optimize your message or product. While audience metrics and number of followers is important, it isn’t everything. Influencers know that even with a smaller number of followers, they can still have a loyal and engaged audience that will interact with their content.
6. The Art of the Pitch
Influencers who are looking to partner and collaborate know that it is all about how they show off what they can do. A good influencer will have a media kit and a clear rate card to share when reaching out to brands and agencies. If you are doing the outreach to the influencer, it is okay to ask for these things. An influencer looking to have strong collaborations and partnerships will have this information readily available.
Overall, the road to becoming an influencer is complex and there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Knowing the basics of good influencer practice can help you choose great influencers and maximize your experience working with them.
Interested in working with some of our influencers for your campaigns? Reach out to missy.tiller@shepeaks.com for more information.
