Tips: How to become a successful social media influencer

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How parents feel about “social media influencer” as a career and all you need to know about social media influencers.

“You probably posted something and you’re surprised at the response you got? Probably a lot of likes and shares? Why not make money off it? Probably wondering how on earth is that possible? Well, you’ve come to the right place!”


By Gloria Masia
Remember when parents would shout “get off that phone” or “you’ve been at that phone the whole day”? Well yes, because I too was “an addict” hence I decided to write this blog. 
Social media was considered a time waster, until people realized that you could actually make money.

Parents are trying to steer their children away from pursuing lucrative 21st-century careers because are not well informed about them as well as understanding the opportunities. Three-quarters of parents believe that math and science subjects taught at school are more valuable than creative subjects and careers such as being a social media influencer or blogger. A social media influencer is a social media user who has developed a specific niche and has access to a large audience to persuade them by their reach.

A job is not only a job because it pays bills. It should be also something you love and enjoy doing. Like the famous saying “love what you do and never work a single day in your life."

Gone are those days where we’d be pressured to study to become a doctor, lawyer or teacher because they are considered stable and guaranteed a good salary. It’s about time we educate our parents about making money off social media. How we’re actually making a living off social media. How we use social media to market a brand and how a brand influencer can make over 20grand from just one social media post.

The creative industry is rapidly growing, offering a lot of opportunities despite that, not enough parents are aware of the opportunities available to their children in this industry. It has become so wide of an industry, that even a 16-year-old can become an influencer. Brands approach anyone with these requirements:

·       -Have a lot of followers
As tricky as it sounds, that’s the only start of being an influencer. People need to know you to follow you. Put your story out there and market yourself. Let people know what you’re all about and engage with them. Have a number of people you have an impact on. Numbers make sales.

·       -Do not buy followers
There is no easy road to success if there was then everyone would be there. This is a mistake than a lot of people fall for not realizing that it is actually ruining your reputation. “Do not buy followers” it will blow in your face. How will you make money off Instagram if you’re busy paying people? Paid followers do not engage a lot. Imagine being caught by brands, that you’re paying followers…that can ruin your  I know it takes a lot to get to the top and success does not happen overnight, but keep pushing and soon enough you will start seeing positive results. It ruins your reputation and makes you seem not credible.

·       -Know your target audience
Before putting your content out there ask yourself these questions, who are you putting it for? What are you hoping to achieve? How do you want the audience to respond or react?
You must understand social media platforms and know where your target is. For example, if you are your niche is fashion and make-up, post pictures on Instagram because that’s where millennial are and for a make-up niche, post your content on YouTube in a form of tutorials. Understand where your content would best be suitable. Understand your audience and know the receivers of your information.

·       -Find a niche that suits your personality
Find a job you love and never work a day in your life. Find a niche that you’re passionate about, that way you will never run out of content. If you select a niche that you have knowledge and interest in, your posts will be informative for your audience. Represent yourself in a niche that you’re informed about. You can write or post about any of your interest, there are no limitations. Fashion. Beauty. Fitness. Health. Cars. Motivation.

·       -Represent yourself properly
It can take 5 months to have 100k followers and take 5 seconds to all of them. Be humble and try to help as many people as you can. Interact with your followers and keep them posted about what you are doing and what you will be doing in future; by doing so you are marketing yourself and sometimes you will get to know what the public want and how they react towards what you are doing.

·       -Stay relevant
Take advantage of trends. Make the use of hashtags because that way your content can be easily found. Stay on top of what everyone is talking about on social media. You can make use of hashtags that have a high search volume. If you’re a fashion blogger, keep track of what people are wearing and use than to an advantage.

·      - Interact with your audience
As much as you need their support, make them become the journey of your career. Hear them out and give them fresh content. Allow your followers to keep track of what you are doing. If the audience asks you questions, answer them. Like Bonang Matheba said, “Give the people what they want.”

·       -Read industry books
That way you will know what it takes to become a successful influencer and find motivations to stay on track. You will know the basics of your industry. Gain knowledge. You will be amazed at how reading books can make you know yourself better.

·       -Make your presence everywhere
Make an appearance when you should. Go to malls and tell your audience about it and what you did or tried out. Make them fall in love with what you do. Go to awards or functions and tell them your experience and probably what you we’re wearing. Engage with them in your activities and travels. Let people know you and what your story is.

·       -Attend meetings and seminars
Get to meet people in your industry and make connection. Hear what they have to say and you will be amazed at how you can teach or even learn a lot of things by just having a simple conversation with them. Make them know and remember you. Build relationships with them, who knows, maybe someday they might contact you to become a speaker at an event. Meet people in your industry, it’s more like knowing your competition.
·       -Do interviews
Interviews are a good way of marketing. That way people will get to know you and your story. You will also be featured in good websites that will make you known and get brands to realize you and probably want to work with you.

·       -Ready? Cheese!
Make sure that you post good looking pictures. An influencer is not only about what they write, but pictures as well. Make your followers fall in love with you and your beauty. Hire a professional photographer to take you good quality pictures, with proper lighting and at a good angle. The goal of good framing is to draw the attention of the viewer on the main subject of the image. Good quality pictures perform well, considering that when you upload your pictures online, the quality is decreased.

·       -Develop a 30-day marketing campaign every month
That was you’ll know what to post and other ways you can engage and interact with your followers. It doesn’t always have to content, play a little with your followers, post motivations or even ask them a question. This a reminder for showing your online presence more frequently. This is the perfect way to reach your audience and promote the brand.

Final thoughts…
As much as you want to be a successful social media influence , don’t buy followers because should it be found, it will ruin your reputation and relationship you’ve built with the brands. Your audience will also view you as a person without ethics. Keep putting your content out there and eventually you will see progress. The same way you want to market big brands, that’s how you should also market yourself and be recognized by the brands, audience and people in the industry as you. Stay fresh and authentic.


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