It’s hard to go a day without reading an article about influencer marketing or influencers on social media blogs as well as on mainstream media. Over the years, they have become the worthy representatives of brands on social networks and blogs. Social media has given birth in recent years, many influencers with communities with several thousand followers. Brands, companies and many advertisers use it for their communication campaigns.
The reason? Instagram is a powerful platform that brings tremendous value to brands. Today, it has over 800 million monthly active users. This implies that everyone that brands are trying to target are available on Instagram. And these people are actually making purchases based on recommendations from influencers. Central influence found that consumers ranked Instagram influencers as the sixth most effective at influencing their purchases.
The growing popularity of Instagram influencers may have prompted you to become one. If you’ve been thinking about this without knowing how to become an influencer, read on.
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Why would you want to become an influencer?
For many people, being an influencer is the dream job! Some travel all over the world, others earn a lot of money… but the most popular is “working while having fun.” Becoming an influencer doesn’t always have the same goals. In B2B for example, influencers are looking more to gain notoriety / e-reputation to consolidate their role and their expertise.
Conversely, many are considered (wrongly) as influencers in relation to the number of subscribers who adhere to their social account. For bloggers, the number of readers who read their blog. However, influence is not a factor linked to quantity! Clearly, being an influencer is not a question related to the size of the community. Generating engagement is a much more important factor, as is the work of a community manager. Among (real) influencers however, it now seems that the influence gained via the internet and social networks can be divided into 2 categories: Macro-influencers and micro-influencers.
And in the midst of it all, many “dream” of becoming an influencer, or at least of making an income from their passion. So we are going to clarify some things to help you see more clearly.
What is an Influencer?
An Influencer is apublic figure known on social networks: Instagram, Youtube, Tik tok, Snapchat, Twitter or Facebook. He has visibility and an audience on his account. Influencers give credibility to brands that want to collaborate with them.
The influencer must set up a marketing strategy to promote products or services of different brands via posts, stories or videos (depending on the platforms used). It must set up influencing actions that will allow it to have partnerships or paid collaborations with brands.
There are several types of Influencers: macros and microphones. These influential people have between 1k subscribers and more. The larger the community, the more the message gets. This is why the remuneration is often equivalent to the number of followers. Influencers are sometimes bloggers as well. Brands use these new means of distribution for collaboration and product placement for example. The influencer role is to disseminate a relevant message through its editorial line which must be in line with the values of the brand. Product placements therefore become sponsored posts on the feed or account.
How to become an Influencer?
In order to become an Influencer you need to meet a few criteria. Indeed, your content should make brands want to collaborate with you. You will therefore need to measure the influence of your posts and publications. If this does not bring anything to the brands, then you will have to review your editorial line. You must offer a return on investment to brands: you are paid and you offer visibility and notoriety to brands. So you become good at communicating on social networks.
Choose a niche that you are passionate about to be an influencer
To become an Instagram influencer, the first thing to do is find a niche that suits your personality (niche = targeted area of interest). It must be something that you are passionate about. Something that you have a lot of knowledge and interest in. Just because someone is successful in something doesn’t mean you have to.
For example, suppose you have found that internet users who post sports information have more followers. Should you also start doing the same, even if you have no interest or expertise in the matter? Definitely not. Remember that on social media you can’t get away with faking it.
Automate your Instagram account
To accelerate the development of your Instagram community and become an Instagram influencer faster, one strategy is to perform mass actions. Perform follow, likes and other actions to gain visibility with new people who would not have discovered your profile without it.
However, this method requires some management time for satisfactory results. To avoid spending hours there, the best solution to implement is to automate your Instagram account.
Create a remarkable bio, example of a fashion influencer
Once you have chosen your niche, you need to start polishing your Instagram account. The very first thing you need to focus on is creating an bio that immediately catches people’s attention. She should speak about your story in a way that engages people. Instagram training can be very useful for that and for many other things besides, discover the best Instagram training.
Remember, this is one of the first things a brand or potential followers see on your account. So if you want to become an Instagram influencer, write it down. Influential blogger and travel expert Helene Sula posted an engaging bio on Instagram. In the “name” field, she has included “travel blogger”, so that her profile will appear for such searches. And in her biography, she tells how she moved to Germany to explore Europe, leaving everything behind. Except her puppies and her husband.
Become an influencer by sharing your story
If you think you can become an Instagram influencer just by sharing photos, you are clearly wrong. The captions that accompany these photos are as important as the photos themselves. Use them to tell your stories and connect with your followers on an emotional level. Give them a reason to trust you, to follow you, and to engage with you.
However, in your quest to engage them, remember to be genuine. Because it will be easily seen otherwise. Instead, share your personal stories in a way that your audience finds both interesting and authentic.
Check out this example of an inspirational story from a travel blogger. She tells how she continues to travel with a health problem. You can see that the post has a pretty high engagement rate, which means it was well received by its viewers. And brands place a lot more importance on engagement rate than number of followers when collaborating with influencers.
Make your Instafeed attractive
This is one of the prerequisites if you are trying to become an Instagram influencer. Not only should each of your photos be visually appealing, but it should also adhere to an overall theme. This means that all of your photos in the feed should look good.
Many Instagram influencers follow a particular style of editing their photos so that the color or composition is consistent . You can use tools like VSCO or Lightroom to edit your photos or just the built-in filters in Instagram. But make sure your photos are taken in high resolution and with a lot of light to make them really beautiful.
Post content consistently to attract brands
Posting content consistently is another essential prerequisite for becoming an Instagram influencer. Most influencers on Instagram post daily. However, some post multiple times a day or even multiple times a week.
Studies have found that increasing the frequency of your content can increase engagement rates. However, when deciding on your posting schedule, be sure to choose wisely. Because you have to stick with it. Setting an unrealistic goal that you can’t stick to won’t help you in any way. Instagram is also an platform on which you can promote your business online.
If you are having difficulty meeting a schedule, you can schedule your publications with tools such as InstaBOSS. This platform allows you to create your content in advance and set the publication dates and times. So you don’t need to do it yourself, but your content is automatically posted.
Choose the right hashtags
Hashtags are important because they allow other Instagram users to find your content. Instagram allows you to use a maximum of 30 hashtags on a photo and I recommend that you use all of them. But what kind of hashtags should you choose?
Remember, popular hashtags aren’t necessarily good for your account’s health. Because popular hashtags also involve heavy competition. The chances of your post being discovered using these hashtags are therefore minimal.
Instead, choose hashtags with low search volumesto maximize your chances of appearing in the most important publications. Ideally, use a combination of hashtags with search volume ranging from 10,000 to 1 million. But certainly not more than a million.
How to break through as an Influencer?
To break through as an Influencer: no big mystery. You must interest your audience, create a world of your own. Your users should follow you for who you are and what you share every day. Choose an area that fascinates you: sport, fashion, make-up, travel, cooking… You will thus share a part of your life which gives you pleasure and which allows you to express yourself regularly.
How to get paid as an Influencer?
To be remunerated by a brand you must be in contract with this client. To be able to claim remuneration you must have a certain audience. The easiest way to get started is to be part of an Influencer Agency. The agency will take care of offering you paid or unpaid collaborations and partnerships. She will take care of drawing up quotes and contracts when necessary. This is a easy way to make money online and enjoying what you do.
How to find Influencer partnerships?
To find partnerships as an Influencer, again, it is easier to be part of an Influencer Agency. You just have to trust your agency. It approaches customers and also receives requests for brands. If your profile matches the brand’s expectations, you will be selected. And you will be able to receive a partnership request.
How to start well in the world of Influence?
To get off to a good start in the world of Influence, you have to be well supported. You will need to allow time for your content. First of all, you need to create your audience and have worked and attractive content. Thanks to this work you will gain many subscribers. Once this process is underway and well launched, you can surround yourself with professionals: an Influencer Agency. This agency will be there to find your first partnerships and help you grow in the world of Influence.
The most famous influencers in the world
We have chosen to focus on the accounts of personalities from the web, excluding brands, existing media accounts or the many celebrities from sports or fashion cinema. First remark: women are much more present there than on other networks such as YouTube for example. Nationalities and ethnic origins are also much more diverse with personalities coming from South America or Asia. Finally, independent influencers are often YouTubers or former winers. There are many video comedians among the most popular.
Lele Pons
After starting a meteoric career on Vine, this 22-year-old from Venezuela switched platforms in 2014. After the humorous videos, she launched her jewelry line, co-wrote a book on the ruthless world of high school (Surviving high school), then starred in several music videos and series.
Amanda Cerny
Like Lele Pons, Amanda Cerny became known on social networks thanks to her humorous videos posted on YouTube and Instagram. The success helping, she concluded juicy deals with Paramount Pictures, Tinder and Guess Jeans. In addition to managing her empire, she is regularly invited to catwalks for fashion shows.
Juanpa Zurita
After starting his career on Vine, this young Mexican comedian landed on YouTube where he has more than 9 million subscribers. Creator of comedy sketches and vlogs, he uses Instagram to post more personal photos and videos. He also collaborates with brands like Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana. He is one of the most popular Spanish speaking influencers on the web.
King Bach
After being the most followed personality on Vine in 2015, Andrew Bachelor has become a recurring supporting role in various comedy films. On Instagram, King Bach continues to post hilarious sketches or more personal photos.
Liza Koshy
After a journey on Vine, Lisa Koshy will experience tremendous growth on YouTube, accumulating more than 16 million subscribers. In 2016, the young woman will even interview Barack Obama to encourage registrations on the electoral lists. Evolving in the register of humor, she also participates in big events like the presentation of the Golden Globes Awards of 2017 or the Met Gala of which she made a hilarious cover for Vogue. His Instagram account remains more classic, however, and contains many promotional posts for his clothing brand.
Bhad Bhabie
The clip instantly went viral, and this teenage girl’s YouTube channel was going to reach a million fans very quickly. The young girl will launch into rap in 2017 and make a very lucrative deal with the cosmetics brand Copycat Beauty. She accumulates a large number of followers on Instagram, but it is especially on Snapchat that Danielle Bregoli deploys her activities, in particular with the production of a reality TV show of 12 episodes.
Chiara Ferragni
Passionate about fashion, Chiara Ferragni began her career in 2009 with her blog The blonde salad, whose codes were already those that made Instagram so successful. Between 2012 and 2013, she became the most influential fashion blogger on the web according to Fashionista.com. In 2017, her site achieved a turnover of 10 million euros.
Hannah Stocking
Former collaborator of Lele Pons, Hannah Stocking also started her career on Vine. She’s directed numerous humorous videos and will cover the Grammy Awards for E! News. Thanks to her scientific education, in 2018 she signed a series of educational videos for Instagram’s video platform, IGTV.
yuyacst
Mariand Castrejón Castañeda, better known by the nickname Yuya, is a beauty YouTuber who started her career in 2009 at the age of 14. This young Mexican wrote two books in 2015 and 2016 (Les secrets de Yuya and Les confessions de Yuya). It’s a bit like the Enjoy Phoenix of South America.
House of Highlights
Created by Omar Raja, a sports fan, House of Highlights is an Instagram account opened in 2014 and listing basketball clips. Quickly, a community is formed around this independent medium and many Internet users submit their clips, filmed during the matches. It is estimated that more than half of its audience is under the age of 24.