A couple weeks ago, we shared part 1 of our Tips and Tricks for Influencers series, which focused on establishing your accounts to set yourself up for success. Today, we are back with part 2. Now that you’re all set up, you’re ready to work on growth. Just as the field of social media influencing is constantly growing and adapting, you will want to be continually evolving as well. There are some basic steps you can take to optimize your performance and keep your channels on track to continually grow.
1. Plan ahead
Content calendars should be your new best friend. A good rule of thumb is to plan your posts out at least 2 weeks ahead of time. Planning your content ahead allows you to see all your upcoming posts together to make sure you like the overall aesthetic. It also leaves you time to gather the content you need to shoot without scrambling to find something to post at the last minute.
2. Be consistent
Consistency is key! This cliche is true for a lot of things, and social media influencing is no exception. You want your posts to be consistent both in terms of timing and content. Choose a posting frequency and stick to it – most influencers post at least 3-4 times per week. You also want the content of your posts to be consistent. Stick to the niche you have chosen, and try to avoid sharing things that stray from this too often. The more consistently you stay on topic, the stronger your brand will be.
3. Build a community
Build personal connections with your followers, and encourage communication amongst them as well. Use comments, direct messages, and stories to talk directly to your followers and build relationships with them beyond just a double tap on your photos. Your followers are real people behind their keyboards, just as you are. These are people who likely have shared interests and similarities to you, people you might be friends with if you met them in real life. Find common ground with individuals and capitalize on it!
4. Keep it relatable
This is huge, especially for a new or relatively small influencer. Your page should not feel distant and unattainable. A keystone of the field of influencing is that people feel they can relate to influencers more than they can to famous actors and singers. Your growth will likely depend on people connecting with you, beyond merely admiring you. Don’t worry about being too perfect – the more real you are, the better.
5. Collaborate
Finally, one of the most challenging but most effective ways to grow your channels is to collaborate with larger, more established influencers. Collaborations are extremely common in influencing, and making connections with other influencers is just as important as making connections with your followers. Engage on other influencers’ pages often and work to establish relationships with them. Anytime someone will partner up with you to make content, especially if their channel is larger than yours, seize the opportunity. You will both benefit from exposure to each other’s audiences, and hopefully have some fun together in the process!
