4 Steps to Become a Social Media Influencer [Step-by-Step]

Marko Sipila — December 19, 2019 Follow @https://twitter.com/intricateseo

What is an Influencer?

Influencer marketing has shot up to unimaginable heights over recent years. This is mainly through social media that now boasts billions of active users. According to a research report by Global Digital Statshot, close to half of the global population is actively using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, and Instagram.

These platforms have, therefore, become effective tools for reaching out to people with ideas, products, and services. It’s estimated that a whopping 74% of people rely on social media to make their purchase decisions.

To be clear, these statistics aren’t about celebrity endorsements, which are appalling. In a 2018 study, for example, it was found that only a meager 4% trusted celebrity endorsements. This means that most social media users are seeking the thoughts of their peers who’ve established themselves on social media as opinion leaders.

Over time, these individuals have morphed into social media influencers. These, surprisingly, are ordinary people who’ve earned a substantial loyal following because of the valuable information they share with their followers.

Most social media users, therefore, rely on them for reviews on products and services. Owing to the efficacy of influencer marketing, it has gained colossal ground in the digital world. Consequently, the demand for social media influencers has skyrocketed, and that’s why many people now aspire to be influencers.

If you’re one such person and you’re not sure about your next steps, the following tips will come in handy.

1. Identify Your Niche

Since the influencer market is already crowded, the first thing you should do as an upcoming influencer is to find your niche. You need to create a space for yourself and build an audience for your brand. As you decide on which area to focus on, ensure you keep your readers in mind. Like you should know their needs, challenges, and goals so that whatever you come up with is in their line of interest. Again, to build a strong foundation for your social media brand, be sure to find a niche that isn’t too crowded.

2. Build an Unshakable Brand

Once you’ve chosen your niche, it’s time now to build your brand. At this point, you need to go far and wide to do in-depth research of the industry you’ll be influencing. For instance, you’ll need to know who your competitors are, the brands working with influencers in this industry, and see whether there are gaps to be filled. If you identify some gaps, assess whether they could work to your advantage and build your niche around here. Additionally, layout your content strategy and your tone of voice, then let your brand be centered on this.

3. Choose a Social Media Channel

You’re not going to build your brand on any social media platform – you need a platform that hosts your target audience. As such, you need to understand each social media channel before laying out your strategies. For instance, it would be important to know the kind of brands hosted in each particular platform so that the content you bring on board is relevant. Once you’ve identified the platforms you’ll work with, it’s time to build consistent branding across all of them so that you create a stable experience for your followers.

4. Publish Your Content

Once you’ve chosen a niche, built your brand, and chosen a social media platform, it’s now time to start publishing your content. Work on building your content and making regular posts on your chosen platform. Try and find out the types of content that would work best on each platform and base your posts around this. To make your posts attractive, try and keep them short and have different sized images together with the content.

Final Thoughts: If you’re aspiring to become an influencer, the tips above should get you started. It should, however, be clear to you that the journey isn’t easy – it requires determination and persistence.

This article was originally from Intricate Digital Blog Publication: You can find it here.

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