How To Become An Influencer

Social media play an essential role in today’s society and even though influencers are closely related to the internet, they have been existing for thousands of years. However, nowadays being an influencer has become the dream of many people, who apart from influencing others, dream of collaborating with big brands and making their life a constant trip. In this post, we are going to dig deeper into what an influencer is and we will give some tips on how to become an influencer.

What does being an influencer really mean?

The concept of an influencer appeared along with the first social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. With the appearance of these channels, ordinary people started gaining more and more followers, becoming a reference in a specific sector. For this authority that the audience gives them, influencers have the power to influence [as the word points out] people and modify their behavior, whether it is to change their mind about a specific topic, buy a product or even visit a place. 

As mentioned before, influencers are nothing new. Throughout the ages, we had opinion leaders that were followed by the mass, such as Socrates, Martin Luther King, etc. So we could say that influencers are digital opinion leaders who also are content creators.

Tips to Become an influencer

Before getting into the steps, let’s define what an influencer is not:

1. Being an influencer is not just about the number of followers, but your real capacity of influencing your followers’ behavior. There are people who buy followers to make brands believe that they are real influencers, but brands don’t only look at the number of followers, but for good insights and high engagement rates.
2. If you dream about being an influencer just to get free stuff, then we recommend you to think about it. Even though there is still debate, influencers are professional content creators for brands, so in the end, they don’t get free stuff, products are often part of the payment.
3. Being an influencer is not an easy job. Influencers often create the content themselves, which means that they’re acting as creative directors, photographers, stylists, makeup & hair artists, editors, and copywriters.

So now that you know what an influencer is not, you are probably wondering how to become one. There isn’t an exact formula to be an influencer and to grow your followers, but there are some things you can start doing.

1. Find your niche. There are many influencers out there doing the same things. If you want to stand out from them, find what makes you unique and define your niche. If you are specialized in a topic, it will help you gain credibility with your audience.
2. Choose the platform that fits you best. Do you feel comfortable talking to the camera? Or do you prefer photos? Don’t push yourself to do things you’re not comfortable with because especially for video, you need to sound natural and confident. Depending on this, you can choose among different platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube…
3. Be consistent. It is not common to become an influencer overnight. You have to post constantly and even though you sometimes feel frustrated, visualize your goal and keep working.
4. Your goal shouldn’t just be to become an influencer.  For example, if you are a plus-size curvy girl, your goal can be giving visibility to curvy bodies and inspiring others. This will help you be motivated and when you achieve these type of goals,  it’s way more satisfying.