Now a days everyone wants to be relevant in the social media sphere, whether with their close follower base or trying to appeal to the masses. With this being said, a vast majority want to be known as a social "Influencer"and ultimately get a sponsorship(s), which is probably why this article caught your eye.
Good news, you came to the right place! Many people now a days can certainly be titled an influencer, but not many people can be successful at it.
If you are reading this chances are you will establish the rank of a "micro-influencer", which is a great accomplishment due to the vital roll these influencers play in the social industry. Below will be some key points into learning just how to get sponsored by brands and become an influencer.
What is a Micro-Influencer
The majority of social influencer marketing today occurs in social media primarily on Instagram, predominantly with micro influencers, and blogging. Micro influencers are often the most informed in their niches. They have a engaged community of followers who rely on and trust the content they bring out. They are believable and credible, because they are usually everyday people sharing their passion, their personal recommendations, their everyday life and their likes and dislikes. This is why Micro influencers are very important because they can relate to the every day person which is why brands use them to promote their products.
Image Is Vital
Influencers become popular because people associate for their honest opinion and the specific niche they relate on. The idea is that an influential Instagram account focuses on a niche, and does a really good job of portraying different aspects of the niche and their expertise.
As far as what an influencer is specifically known for, it may be the kinds of photos they post, the style of photos in their feed. Such as a traveling page which only associates with nature, photography, vacation, etc. Depending on what you want to specialize in, you can venture off or branch off into similar niches which will in turn get you a better chance of landing a sponsorship. For example the travel influencer can start doing motivational quotes and start reviewing books, this will attract authors, magazines, or apps related to this. No matter what you want to be make sure you have a hash tag list ready.
Influencer Trust Factor
Influencers gain trust from their audiences because these followers see them as ‘experts’ in that field. As a result, brands like working with social influencers, because they make it easier for the brands to reach a specific audience.
If you want to get serious and start getting sponsored on Instagram, start by thoroughly defining your personal brand. This can be a gradual process and can take some trial and errors, so test things out and see what works best for you. Some people know exactly what they want, if that is the case make sure to stick with it and perfect your art. That said, don’t be afraid to experiment as well with different types of content, like different types of images, videos, Instagram gallery posts, and stories.
Make it a Habit to Post Regularly
In order to be an expert and crowned as an social influencer you need to understand that there has to be some level of consistency in your posting to gain trust with your followers. Besides building trust, this activity is necessary for favorable placement with Instagram’s infamous algorithm which is still hard to decipher. Having someone that can help you with your posts can be helpful.
To achieve consistency, post at least once a day or every other day, or several times, separated by a few hours to get the best engagement and likes. There’s really no magic number for a set number of posts to aim for every day. Watch your engagement numbers and see the best time to post, everyone has different numbers.
Tag Brands
Another tactic you can use when you are posting is to tag brands. When you feature content with products from a brand you like, tag their Instagram page so that when they like your post, it will be discoverable to their followers. Besides that, it catches their attention. If they like your posts enough, they will re-post your content on their page, which also gives you exposure to their followers.
It’s important to note that when you do this, you are aware of the quality of the images you’re tagging brands in. These images, and your feed as a whole act as a portfolio of the future work you will produce for them. Put out the best content and surely the right brand will come to you.
Stories Will Make You Famous
Instagram Stories and IGTV are receiving the biggest hype right now on Instagram. More and more users are joining this bandwagon. In fact, more than 200 million Instagram users are using them every day. This makes them an outstanding tool to grow more followers and gain better visibility. Even utilizing IGTV, which works a bit like YouTube, will be a huge factor in your audience engaging with you. It helps establish a relationship because you can interact with them via those channels.
Even people who aren’t your followers, can discover you from Stories or IGTV. By adding hashtags or location to Stories, you can be discovered by more people. A important tip for experienced influencers is that if you have 10,000+ followers, you can include an link using a “swipe up” option on Stories. After you reached this level you know you have a huge advantage over many social influencers out there.
You can even tag others on your Stories and give a shout out to other accounts. This is not only a great way of building relationships with fellow influencers, it can increase your follower count without spending a penny.
Knowing this information and putting these tips into practice will kick start or grow your account. The road to being a influencer is one that requires patience, persistence and dedication in order to sit with the best. Do not be one of those people that buys all their followers and has little to no engagement, this will show and brands will be aware of this. Work hard and your goals will be met, we assure you that.
Overwhelmed? Do not be discouraged if you are, if you want to start on the right track we have a professional team that can make you the influencer you want to be!