The life of a social media influencer is a hot topic of discussion. Social media influencers get a bit of stick. They live the life of what would seem to be luxury. They have access to lucrative brand deals, sponsorships, the chance to monetise their Instagram page, and many more avenues to explore. The reason influencers are so successful is because businesses now rely on them so heavily. 89% of marketers say that the ROI from influencer marketing is better than other marketing channels.
Why? Because there are 3.96 billion people actively using social media. There is a market of people spending hours a day scrolling through social media, waiting for something to catch their eye. It’s more than easy to delve into the world of social media influencing. There is still a big gap in the market that anyone can fill. Here’s what you need to do if you want to become a social media influencer.
What You’ll Need To Invest
The great thing about social media influencing is that there doesn’t need to be a big initial investment to find success. Social media is a free platform. There isn’t one social media platform that requires a fee to join. The process of setting up a social media account to become an influencer is easy. The only thing that will require investment is the equipment you need.
For example, if you intend on setting up a Youtube account, you’ll need a camera, tripods, lighting, and a few other bits and bobs to get yourself going. A camera and camera equipment is perhaps the only initial investment you will need. The cost of a good camera is still pretty expensive, especially with the added cost of the equipment to go with it. A personal loan is the best option.
It’s better to invest in great quality equipment from the beginning to propel your social media accounts towards success. If you’re worried you can’t secure a loan, bad credit personal loans accept people with poor credit. Once you have the equipment needed, the next step is to find your niche.
Find Your Niche
There are 3.2M – 37.8M influencers in the world. They’re not all influencing in the same niche. There are tons of social media influencing niches to explore. Here are some of the most well-known:
- Fitness
- Fashion
- Beauty
- Travel
- Gaming
Arguably, fitness influencing is one of the biggest niches for social media influencing. Influencers can enjoy contracts with big fitness brands such as GymShark, which brings perks such as free supplements and clothing. Even though there are many influencers, there is still a chance to find your niche and make an impact.
The great thing about social media marketing is the appeal of an account, whether there are millions of others doing the same thing as well, will always appeal to social media users because they fall in love with your personality. Some may say that your niche is you, and you’re simply promoting products for a specific industry.
Building a Following
There is no such thing as social media influencer success without a loyal following. A loyal following is quite literally the reason why social media influencers are so successful. Every click, every watch, every purchase made by followers contributes to a social media influencers chance of living the dream.
The dream being the ability to work from anywhere in the world, being paid to trial and promote products, and having enough disposable income to spend most of the time travelling the world, finding the most scenic location to snap a pic for the gram. How do you build a loyal following? Here are some easy ways:
- Be consistent with the persona you build
- Utilise hashtags for maximum exposure
- Share ‘Instagram Worthy’ content (aka make people jealous)
- Constantly promote your social media accounts
- Hold competitions and giveaways
- Connect with other popular influencers
Don’t Forget Youtube!
Not every social media influencer takes to Youtube, but it is a channel of income that isn’t to be missed. Youtube isn’t something everyone feels comfortable doing because of the recording aspect. But if you feel like you’re comfortable in front of the camera, it’s a great avenue to explore. Granted, it does take a while to be able to monetise a Youtube channel There are two main ways of making money on Youtube, and that’s through advertisements and views.
A famous fitness influencer, MattDoesFitness, did a Youtube video to show his fans how much he made because 5 million people watched one of his videos. It was $10,000. That should put the potential of Youtube into perspective for you.
The great thing about Youtube is it’s easy to have a one-hit-wonder video that propels your video towards success. There are trends such as food challenges and what I eat in a day videos that prove immensely popular.
Fancy delving into the world of social media influencing? All you need is a social media platform, the biggest for influencing being Instagram, and an idea of the niche you’d like to be in. Oh, and a love of snapping great content!
