How to Become a Social Media Influencer

How to Become a Social Media Influencer

Looking for ways to be seen and earn money doing something you love seems like the craze these days. If you are one of those looking here are some tips on how to become a social media influencer. Break into a new gig and join the influencer lifestyle.

What is a Social Media Influencer

Do you remember commercials on TV? Ones for cereal, or vehicles, or toys? The sought after actors for those commercials were people of a certain klout. Once that were from a popular TV show, or movie. People buy products when someone they trust is promoting them.

A social media influencer is someone who builds up klout (a following). Influencers share about products they use and like on their social channels using hashtags so others can find them and follow. Influencers build a reputation for their knowledge on specific things and engage with their audiences.

Being authentic and showing what you are sharing about it something you truly have passion for, makes a great influencer.

Types of influencers range from famous people like movie stars, musicians and athletes, to people like you and I. Anyone can be an influencer if you are passionate about something and want to share about it. Amanda LaCount isn’t a celebrity, but she’s a great example of a social media influencer.

People often wonder if a social media influencer makes money. Yes, many times they are either paid in money or sent products. Payment often varies depending on the influencers following and engagement with their following.

How to Become a Social Media Influencer

Pick a Niche

What is it that you want to share? Do you have a passion, or a love of something you feel the world would benefit from you sharing about. Is food your thing, or travel, or fashion, or couponing? Maybe you just love being silly and want to share about your daily life and all you do. Really there is no right or wrong niche and the best influencers are ones who just enjoy what they are sharing about.

Fitness was my first passion and I started blogging about that a few years before there was Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or TikTok. My passion took me great places and I was only sharing on my blog and Twitter.

Finding a niche might not happen overnight, and that’s ok. Many start with one and transition over time into something else.

Choose a Social Media Platform

There are many different social media platforms available for one to use these days. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, blogging, Snapchat, etc. Choose what ones you like best, are most comfortable with and fit with your niche. A person doesn’t have to be on all of them so don’t spread yourself to thin.

Build your profile on one platform that you feel will be the one you will use most. Take Budget Travel Babes for instance – I use my blog to create content and then share it to my social media platforms. Maybe you are into fashion or beauty and would get more interaction using Instagram. It greatly depends on you, you niche and how much time you want to devote to growing an audience.

Instagram is great for fashion/beauty, food and travel, while a game influencer might be best on Youtube or TikTok. Food influencers also do great on Pinterest and Facebook. Again, it depends on your niche.

Build Your Audience

Saying it is easy, doing it not always so easy. Once you decide on your niche, your platform or platforms and set up your accounts, it’s finding your audience that takes time. Learning what and how to share, and what hashtags to use to gain momentum takes time.

Hashtags work great to attract people. Tagging brands is also a great way to get momentum going. Let’s say you are sharing about a new pair of shoes you bought and love. Tagging the brand and using hashtags gets others to see your post. Brands love to be tagged and many times a brand will reach out if they see you are of value to them.

Sharing consistently and engaging with your followers as well as finding similar influencers and following them. Being an influencer isn’t a game of hide and seek. You want to build relationships and work with each other to grow as an influencer.

Promote Yourself

Depending on how fast you want to grow you might want to think about ways to promote yourself. Running paid ads with Instagram and Facebook will get your social profile seen by people looking for what you are offering.

Sharing other influencers content and asking if they will share yours is a great way as well.

Many influencers also use services to grow their following or engagement. You can learn how to buy TikTok likes and other engagement on posts. 

Working with Brands

Making sure that brands know that you are available is key. Put info in your bio or profile that you are PRFriendly. Visiting brands you love, dropping a message on a social account of theirs. Tagging them when you share content and say things like, reach out for a collaboration.

When working with a brand, make them happy. Starting out is all about pleasing brands so you make a great name for yourself. Never underestimate your worth, but also don’t shoot off your own foot. I’ve seen people be very stubborn when it comes to thinking they are worth more and then they miss out.

Making Money

There is plenty of money to be made in social media influencing, but when you are new it takes time. Figuring out what type of work you can offer and what you feel you need for compensation now, will change as you grow.

Back in the day when I started out, I would spend 2 hours writing a blog post for a box of granola bars. Well, life has changed! While that was fine for me back then, I grew, my social platforms grew, and I found who and what I was and what my worth was.

Everyone has their “what they will work for” value. Figure yours out, but be flexible. Always negotiate, and value the fact that companies are wanting or willing to work with you. Once you work with a few companies, other companies see that and your value goes up.

Final Thoughts

Over the years with my many blogs and social accounts I have been blessed to work with great companies and people. Being a virtual assistant has also opened doors to meeting people that have helped me meet other important people. It’s also given me the chance to learn as I earn.

It’s never to late to hop on the social media influencer train. Big or small, there is plenty of room for all!