Becoming an influencer these days does not have to mean hundreds of thousands of followers, and a picture perfect aesthetic.
The rise of micro-influencers means that there is a place for influencers from all walks of life, from creators boasting large follower counts and an attractive profile, to industry specific experts who hold weight and have influence in niche markets.
The role of an influencer is, unsurprisingly, to influence.
And the great thing about becoming an influencer on the modern social scale is that you can achieve this in a couple of different ways.
In this article, we’re sharing advice on how to become an Instagram influencer with weight as well as influence – alongside the different types of content that you can share as an influencer and how it can make you money.
How Do Influencers Make Money?
Instagram influencers make money in different ways, depending on the kind of influencer they are.
Making Money Through Brand Partnerships
Brand partnerships form the foundation of income for Instagram influencers.
Brands will sometimes send you products for free, in return for an honest review and testimonial on your profile. Those just starting out will tend to fall into this category, posting content in exchange for free products and trials.
Those with a more prominent profile may find that a brand is happy to pay them for content which shows them using and interacting with a brand product or service. Celebrity influencers and big names on Instagram can make thousands of pounds per sponsored post.
Making Money as an Affiliate
As an affiliate, any product which is sold as a result of content that you post, earns you money.
Working like standard commission, an Instagram user that makes a purchase by clicking on your sponsored link, or by using a code that you share, will earn you a percentage of the sale value.
SIDE NOTE
If you’re making money as a result of sponsored content or an affiliate link, then it’s important to be transparent with your followers. Let them know that you are working with the brand – both to keep your followers on side, and to meet the terms of Instagram’s brand content guidelines.
Make Money on Your Own Website
If you have your own blog or website as an Instagram influencer, then you might find that selling advertising space on your own site is a good way to make some money.
For example, if you manage a foodie Instagram account and also have your own blog, food retailers may want to advertise on your site or be referenced as a good place to buy ingredients.
How To Start an Instagram Career
In order to start your journey to becoming an Instagram influencer, you need to discover your niche.
What is it about your profile that attracts a certain demographic or group of users? Which users fall into that demographic, and what kinds of businesses and brands value that demographic?
For example, if you are buying and renovating a first property, then your content is likely to appeal to users who love interior transformations and who are facing their own renovation projects. DIY brands and interior businesses are likely to value your direct connection with their target audience.
Once you’ve worked out your niche and which audience you connect with, you need to overhaul your profile so that everything highlights and points towards that niche. Pick the right profile picture, change your username, and adjust your bio. You might even need to change your Instagram handle – though be aware that this may isolate those who already follow you and who will not recognise the new handle.
From there, it’s all about being authentic with both your content and your partnerships.
What Kind of Influencer Are You?
Once you know what your niche is and the audience that you want to continue appealing to, building your presence as an Instagram influencer is all about developing your reputation as an authority figure in that space.
As mentioned earlier in the blog, you don’t have to have thousands of followers to achieve this.
Industry-specific influencers can have a huge impact even while reaching out to a smaller group of users. Why? Because the competition for user attention is smaller.
Beauty and fashion influencers need to have thousands upon thousands of followers to make a dent in the market. Meanwhile, influencers who bridge the space between great social content and a specialist skill have a smaller pool of competitors and thus possess more weight in a smaller market.
How to Post as an Influencer
If you are at the start of your journey to becoming an Instagram influencer, here are some tips for posting.
- Post regularly and consistently
- Use Instagram Analytics to work out who your followers are, what kind of content they engage with, and when they are most active on Instagram
- Breathe life into your Instagram bio, and make it really clear what your influencer brand is all about
- Combine beautiful images and eye-catching Reels, with compelling captions
- Inject your personality into every post
- Create an aesthetic and stick to it. Your profile grid should be a work of art in itself
- Create a tone of voice that you’re happy with, and only partner with brands that mimic your tone of voice. You don’t want your sponsored and branded posts to feel and read as if someone else has written them!
Finally, if being an Instagram influencer is your goal for the coming year, or you feel like you have a specific viewpoint to add to a market or industry that doesn’t already exist, then don’t give up.
There are countless profiles out there that claim to be managed by aspiring influencers – but most of them will fail due to a lack of structure, strategy, and perseverance.
To succeed, you need to start at the bottom and work your way up. Build a reputation in your sector or industry by posting consistent and valuable content from within that industry, before starting to reach out to brands and businesses. They will want to see that you are already pulling weight in the market before working with you, so take time to build a foundation of trust and a good reputation, then go from there.
And don’t forget to look out, keep ahead of, and even create your own trends. There’s nothing more valuable than a Reel that goes viral – you only have to look at Tik Tok influencers to see that!
Good luck!
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