The social media influencer industry is booming. The definition of an influencer has changed radically in the past few years, thanks to huge leaps in technology.
Just the fact that people are spending more time on Instagram now than ever before is a sign that there’s profit to be had, and you can definitely try your hand in becoming an influencer yourself. Here are some solid guidelines to get you started.
1. Pick Your Niche
Your social media identity is going to be built around your niche, or the portion of the larger market that you’d like to focus on. Picking your niche is important as you need to focus on being as passionate as possible within it.
People who follow influencers have certain expectations as to what type of content they will be getting, and in order to show people that you know what you’re posting regularly, you need to demonstrate your level of involvement with that niche.
A case in point would be Instagram folks who love makeup. Many of the influencers in this niche just love makeup – and the majority of them didn’t really plan to be influencers in the beginning.
They just produce quality content on a regular basis and they naturally grew into the mold of what a influencer is. See what we mean? You need to get into that mindset that will make your posts stand out because of your level of passion and involvement.
2. Decide on Your Hashtags
Like Twitter and Facebook, hashtags are used extensively in Instagram to organize content and it helps the system surface the latest and most relevant photos for specific hashtags. Hashtags make the content on Instagram searchable and you can go back years easily just by picking the right hashtags.
The best practice when using hashtags is to be very specific and to avoid overdoing it. Adding ten or more hashtags doesn’t help, really, because most of those hashtags won’t help with surfacing with the content. To be on the safe side, practice moderation with just three to five hashtags at most.
3. Create the Best Bio
When people stumble upon your Instagram profile for the first time, they’re going to want to know who you are and what you are all about. Apart from the content that you provide your followers regularly, there’s the bio where you can place links like LinkTre.e and other necessary URLs to your other social media accounts. To create the best bio, remember these guidelines:
– Short doesn’t necessarily cut it all the time. If you have to be wordier than usual to create a lasting impact, do so. If you have a lot to say to your potential followers the first time they arrive on your profile, by all means, use the bio space to communicate your message.
– Always remember to tell a good story. But since the space is limited you have to be able to tell your story without running out of space. Using emojis and precise phrases, and a good flow will get the job done.
You can be wordier with your posts, but Instagram has always been about the images and not really the captions, though the captions do give context and additional information that some posts really need in order to make an impact on your audience.
– In addition to attractive posts, what people really love is truthfulness and genuineness of information, even on Instagram. So don’t worry too much about competing with other influencers who have learned the ropes earlier. Stick to what your passions are, and everything is going to flow naturally from your bio to the regular content that you post.
4. Create and Publish Content Regularly
Consistency is huge with the Instagram crowd. While many Instagram users don’t realize it, people actually have mental schedules of when their favorite Instagram influencers are going to post new content.
If the concept is confusing, just think of Instagram as this weird, futuristic TV where people wait for their favorite programs to be aired. By posting content consistently, people will add your profile to their Instagram routine. They will look forward to what you have to post, and their fingers are poised to interact with your posts.
What if you just want to post new stuff, even if it’s not within your regular posting schedule? You can post personal stuff if you want, but if you want to hone your profile professionally, there has to be a fixed schedule throughout the day when people can expect to see your posts. If someone sponsors you to promote a product or service, you can create a series of scheduled posts that will gradually introduce the sponsored product or service into the Instagram narrative.
You have to remember that your posts will be seen as an ongoing story by your followers. Whether you like it or not, they are going to remember what you have posted in the past, and they are going to expect a certain type of continuity with your posts. That’s why consistency is so important with this kind of work.
5. Don’t Forget Interaction
While it’s true that having a million followers is going to be tough on the interaction part, interaction is still going to be a huge part of the job of being a social media influencer. When people comment on your posts, it’s vital that you interact with the most reasonable and substantial comments.
It’s important here that your followers feel that they are able to establish contact with you and not just an echo wall. The more ‘intimate’ the experience of being able to communicate with an influencer, the more people are going to naturally trumpet and promote your IG account. That’s just how things work: people like repeating what they like on social media.
6. Instagram Stories
Instagram stories are one-off tidbits that serve as highlights for each IG account. Millions of people are using Instagram stories to create even more space for the things that they like to share on their network, so it’s an indispensable part of your journey to becoming an IG influencer.
