So you want to be an influencer. Honestly, who doesn’t? Getting paid to post pictures on social media, getting free products, trips to exotic destinations. Sign me up! Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. If you are genuinely interested in breaking into the influencer field though, here are a few tips to help you get started.
Start in a Specific Niche
If you don’t know exactly where you want to take your social media, or don’t have a passionate interest in one specific area, you may be tempted to try to make it as a general lifestyle influencer. This can work out in certain cases, but usually it does not. The majority of internet celebrities who consider themselves lifestyle influencers now actually started out in a different area. They either had pre-existing fame that they leveraged, or began in a specific niche, and once they had gained enough notoriety, branched out into lifestyle influencing.
To put it bluntly, the market of lifestyle influencers is pretty saturated at this point, so you generally need some sort of fame or distinction to make people interested enough in your life to watch you. Thus, when you are first starting out, try a different avenue to gain that fame. Focus on something specific that you are good at or interested in: trying out new makeup products, cooking recipes for a certain diet, or pulling hilarious pranks on friends and family. You are much more likely to become successful if your content is more tailored and specific to one field.
Build a Base Amongst Family and Friends
It will be challenging to build an internet presence and a fanbase from the ground up. If you’re trying to become an influencer, start by letting your family and friends know. Use their support to grow your channel, share your content, and start getting the word out. Strangers you have never met are less likely to want to be your first follower, first commenter, etc. If they see that you already have a following, even if it is small, and they like your content, they are much more likely to follow you and start engaging. Gathering a small and loyal base for yourself when you get started can help get you off the ground much quicker.
Build Relationships with Brands
Finally, to really become a legitimate influencer, you need to start completing successful brand deals. Working with brands to promote their products and services is one of the hallmarks of being an influencer. Eventually, this could become a huge money-maker for you, and a way you acquire tons of free products.
At the beginning, however, you will need to start small and you will need to be flexible. Do not turn down offers just because the budget is low, or the item is small. Try finding a few small, local companies that you love that could use some free promotion in exchange for their products or services and start there. Working well on these seemingly small deals will lead to a positive reputation for you amongst brands, and can pave the way to bigger and more lucrative deals.
With all that in mind, you should still pick and choose the brand deals that you choose to undertake. Do not be picky about the payment you are receiving, but do be selective in the types of offerings you choose to promote. Be sure they are on brand for your platforms, that you actually enjoy the offerings, and that they are something your followers would be interested in seeing. You do not want to promote something completely out of line with your usual content that could throw your followers off, especially as a less-established influencer. All in all, these 3 tips should help you get off the ground and kickstart your journey as an influencer. It’s a tough field to break into, so do not be discouraged if you are not seeing immediate success. Stick with the tips above, and you should start making some headway into becoming a bona fide influencer.
