A big part of becoming an influencer is how you present yourself to your audience. You need to start thinking about yourself as a brand. To build a brand identity, you need to determine who you are, what your purpose is, and what you stand for. These are all elements that go into building your brand voice and will help you build the foundation of your online presence. 

When you’re building your brand, think about your aesthetic, the reason behind your content, and why people should follow you and listen to what you have to say. Building a recognizable brand will support your credibility amongst your followers and the businesses you want to partner with. 

What are the specific products, services, or industries you want to shape and impact? This is your niche. 

Being an influencer means presenting yourself as an expert in the areas you want to influence. If you start promoting everything, it will be harder to grow. Instead, you need to be an expert in one area. Beauty influencers talk about makeup, haircare and skincare products. They make you believe they know what they’re talking about by educating themselves and understanding their industry. 

You’ll find much more success as an influencer by picking something you’re passionate and knowledgeable about. When you’re building your brand and finding your niche, ask yourself: What is your passion? Where is your knowledge? What will keep you going when it takes time and energy to develop content?

We cannot say this enough. Always review your analytics. When you establish any brand or business, your strategy can be a lot of trial and error in the beginning. Understanding the data and adjusting your content and approach is crucial for growth. 

Look at who is following you, their demographics and psychographics, and how to market to them. Appealing to different groups of people requires knowing what they’re interested in, how they think and what they want to see. Use tools like Instagram and TikTok insights to understand who your audience is, what content does well and where you can improve. This will help you attract more followers and create content that is better tailored to them. 

Becoming an influencer requires being present and consistent. It’s nearly impossible to build a following if you’re not showing up on a regular basis for your audience. And in the influencer space, regularity can mean sharing some form of content every day, sometimes multiple times a day. 

You can create content ahead of time to help maintain a schedule, but a major difference between traditional marketing and influencer marketing is the personal element. As an influencer, it’s important to post stories and other raw, unfiltered content that isn’t directly related to your partner brands. By showing your audience a more personal look into who you are and what you do, you’ll make a more impactful connection with your audience and create authenticity and trust for your brand. 

As an influencer, you need to find ways to stand out in your industry. Planned stories, TikToks, Reels and posts are all important ways of connecting with your audience. But creating unplanned content on-the-fly tells your followers that your brand isn’t 100% curated or sponsored. People want to see the good, the bad and all the behind the scenes into the life of an influencer. They want to feel like they know you, which then allows them to trust you. 

Don’t create content that is only trending or only related to your partner businesses. 

Do incorporate unique, unscripted content.

Some ideas include:

• A day in the life
• Instagram Live sessions
• Ask Me Anything stories
  

When your outlet is social media, it’s crucial to remember the “social” part. The relationship between you and your followers can’t be one-sided. Engage with your audience, comment back to them, talk to them, reply to their comments with a new TikTok. Creating connections with your followers will help set you apart from other brands or influencers. 

Pro tip: the Meta algorithm prefers accounts that engage with other accounts. By connecting with your audience, you can boost your visibility on Instagram and reach new potential followers. 

A significant part of influencer marketing is User Generated Content (UGC). That’s when you partner with brands and create content to help them promote their products or services. But don’t partner with any brand for the sake of making a name for yourself. Find brands that you can relate to and would want to put your name behind. A good influencer will only say yes to brands that align with their values. 

Remember: you’re building an audience and a following that trusts you. If your audience has a bad experience with a product you recommend, that will hurt your credibility. Create meaningful relationships with your partner brands to maintain your own integrity and the trust of your followers. When you’re growing, you can reach out to brands to create UGC for them. The more success you have, the better the brand deals will get. 

It’s important to maintain professionalism with all of your brand partnerships, even the ones you may turn down. If a brand has a bad experience with you, this can hinder your growth and prevent partnerships down the line. 

We Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

In 2023, becoming an influencer won’t happen overnight. It takes time, hard work and dedication. But if you’re ready to get started, we’re here to support you. Reach out to us at hello@thesmallsocial.com to book a discovery session for our Influencer Marketing Program. We are accepting a limited number of clients to help you make the right connections and achieve your goals.