Influencers are those people on social media who have built a substantial following and repute for their expertise and knowledge on certain subjects. They constantly keep their social media activity and have a large footfall on their accounts. They make their presence known to massive brands and corporations.
Influencer marketing is one of the trendiest and hottest professions in our generation and the next. While several digital influencers have made it big by latching on to the right trends and the correct times, it takes skills and strategy to grow one’s account and be designated as an influencer.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is essentially a type of collaboration between a business or brand with a person with a large follower count. According to a statistic, nearly 2/3rds of Americans use some form of influencer marketing.
Types of influencers: Influencers can be segregated into multiple categories:
* Nano Influencer — 1000–5000 followers.
* Micro-Influencer — 5000–20,000 followers.
* Mid-Tier Influencer — 20,000–100,000 followers.
* Macro Influencer — 100,000–1,000,000 followers.
* Mega Influencer — 1,000,000 +
Surprisingly even though follower counts might be less, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the value of the influencer gets reduced, mainly because nano influencers have a different appeal to marketers and advertisers. Brands specifically like nano influencers have a smaller and a closer-knit set of followers, so advertising through nano influencers means that the audience thinks that any marketing or promotion feels like a friend’s recommendation. Nano influencers are also the ideal choice of promoters as they have close engagement with their audiences.
An influencer is a person who has the power of influencing the decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience. It is especially important to note that digital influencers are not marketing tools, rather they are assets with whom brands can associate or collaborate with to achieve their marketing objectives.
Influencers are those people on social media who have built a substantial following and repute for their expertise and knowledge on certain subjects. They constantly keep their social media activity and have a large footfall on their accounts and make their presence known to massive brands and corporations. They often talk about topics that interest them the most and hence eventually become opinion leaders in their niches. Brands often like collaborating with social media influencers as they can shape the opinions of a large mass of people and create trends and bandwagons that may cause various other people to jump on.
Ways of becoming a social media influencer: Here’s a list of ways to get you started on your way to becoming a social media influencer:
1. Find your niche: Something that you especially like talking about that will not bore you in the long run. Something that keeps you refreshed and excited and you can provide your followers with interesting opinions and insights on.
2. Choose your channels: Any influencer must choose their channel and type of content they would like to post, i.e. Twitter for short-form content or Instagram for visual content, or YouTube if you like video-based content more.
3. Create a content strategy: Think and introspect about why would people like to follow you, What kind of content will you post, will you have a schedule, will you have a specific type of content, etc. What is your USP? Etc.
4. Plan: Plan your schedule for the next two-three months and then stick to it and do it. Stary publishing, gain some traction and then it becomes a habit.
5. Keep at it: Your content needs to attract people towards it and make sure you are consistent. Every post should have a clear message towards it, every post should work towards a common goal, however, you must keep innovating with your work.
6. Contact Brands and Get In Touch: Network with fellow creators and brands, in the long run. It helps with creating positive relations with the community and the brands which can help one get better offers.
7. Build Your Community: Engage with your followers, attract them towards your thoughts and ideas, make yourself approachable to them, and become someone who they look up to when it comes to opinions and choices.
* Promote Yourself: For example, as a food blogger, you can approach restaurants and tell them to sponsor a video in exchange for publicity. Or as a travel blogger one can approach hotels or tour managers and so on.
Another very important aspect of being a social media influencer is Influencer Relationship Manager or IRM. This refers to the interactions between a brand and the influencers it collaborates with. The process heavily draws from customer relationship management where brands realize that influencers aren’t typical employers and Influencer Relationship Management is all about creating strategic relationships with influencers. This allows the brand to maintain an authoritative position over the marketing This happens by collaborating with influencers who have a large influence over the brand’s target market. The influence that is capable of swaying purchase decisions.
Qualities of an Influencer:
Regardless of all the formalities or whatnot, it is of the utmost importance that an influencer embodies these qualities below:
* Likability: It may seem obvious, but a great influencer needs to be all around likeable. An influencer who takes the time to build a positive reputation for themselves in front of clients and customers alike is someone who is going to take the time to do the same for your brand. It may seem silly that someone wouldn’t take the time to be liked by their followers, but there are influencers out there who alienate segments of their audience. You don’t want that person.
* Passion: A good influencer is a passionate influencer, someone who truly cares about their vertical. Passion equates to a hunger to learn more. They want to know everything that’s happened, happening and will happen. They stay up to date with the latest trends and know when trends are going to fizzle out. A passionate influencer can talk endlessly about their areas of interest, and they do so with absolute confidence.
* Engagement: A good influencer actively engages with their audience. That doesn’t necessarily translate to a larger audience base, though that has its benefits. If your influencer keeps an active and consistent publishing schedule and takes the time to comment, share, and like on social media to keep the conversation going, they’re a keeper. If you want people talking about your brand, you need someone who is going to talk to the people.
* Authenticity: Not much can turn followers off like inauthenticity. True lovers of the vertical are going to be able to spot a fake from a mile away, and that’s not something you want to be associated with. When your influencer is authentic, they build trust with their followers. The followers genuinely listen to what they have to say. If they say your brand is something they should check out, it’s something the followers are going to check out.
* Mind for Marketing: When an influencer doesn’t constantly barrage their followers with sponsored posts, their audience relates to them better and more. It increases their likability and authenticity while showing their followers that the influencer genuinely cares about your brand and finds it beneficial. A good influencer knows this is a win-win and will take the time to market your content the right way.
* Authority: As with the other qualities in this list, authority is an important piece of the puzzle. If someone has passion but doesn’t have authority, no one is going to listen to them. Someone who is an authority has the knowledge and the expertise to convey accurate information in a way that people believe. People go to this influencer to find the facts. They trust what they read. Their authority is your authority.
Following these steps and this guide will surely ensure that you set on a path to becoming a true social media influencer. However, you must have your USP, something that is liked by the masses and something that they cannot get from anywhere else. This and consistency is the key to making it big on social media.
Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.