The dream of having hundreds of thousands of followers and being a working Instagram influencer is still alive and well; this idea is attractive to many, but only attainable by few. It is no easy task, and becoming an influencer has its challenges.
As of February 2022, the number of active Instagram users on a monthly basis has reached 1 billion with daily usage hitting 500 million, so it’s no surprise that there’s no shortage of users having a go at becoming an influencer. Because of this, there are so many options for investors or partners when selecting an influencer for their brand.
It’s also unlikely that being featured on a larger account will pull you thousands of followers as nowadays there’s much more to Instagram success than just being featured. Some important elements include brand image, content, visual coherence, personality, to name a few.
Here, we’ll take a look at what you need to do to become an influencer on Instagram. We’ll also give the best tips on becoming an influencer on Instagram in 2022.
Top 5 Best Tips on How to Become an Instagram Influencer!
Tip #1: Know Your Audience
The first thing you need to do to build up your potential as an influencer is to learn everything there is to know about your audience. Do you more than the basic demographic information, such as other popular brands your followers love, the typical jobs that they have, what struggles they may be facing, and what goals they’re looking to achieve?
You might be wondering, “why would I need to know all that?”
The answer is simple. Knowing this specific information and caring about it will help you to create content that connects with your followers, paving the way for well-performing content with engagement.
It will also lead the way to partnerships that are fruitful in the sense that they are valuable not only to you and your partner, but to your followers as well, since it will allow them access to products or services that are relevant and valuable to them, but perhaps that they didn’t know about previously.
Furthermore, if you’re looking to one day launch your own product or content, you will have a much higher chance of success if you know exactly what your audience’s interests and needs are. So, how can we learn about our audience? There are a few things we can do.
Direct Messages
Of course, you can message your followers directly; perhaps they messaged you for one reason or another, or you can spark up the conversation. This is one way to get to know more about them on a one-to-one basis, but also can be a bit time-consuming.
Comment Convos
When your followers leave comments for you, make sure you respond! Engage with your followers and get to know them. It also shows that you are active and present on your account, which is very beneficial and builds your credibility.
Also, when posting, make sure you leave a “call-to-action” in your caption; you want your followers to engage with your content, so ask them something about themselves that they can respond to in the comments. Then, you can have conversations.
Polls
Asking your followers questions in your IG stories is a fantastic way to see what kind of content your followers want as well as more info about them. The “Polls” feature is a fantastic way to do this! Don’t forget to tweak the content to fit your sector or niche, and keep it on-brand.
You can ask questions like:
- Should I post more of ____?
- Are you based in the U.S.?
- Do you work 9-5?
- Would you like to see more of ____ or _____?
The possibilities are endless, and if you have something you’re dying to know from your followers, ask in polls!
You could also ask your followers to fill out a type of google survey with even more detailed questions, but keep in mind that this is time-consuming. You want to offer something in return, such as a contest entry or a shoutout.
Tip #2: Quality Content and Brand Image
Let’s say that you are a foodie, and you see on your “explore” page a delicious image with an amazing plate. It really caught your attention, so you venture to the profile to see what other goodies await you.
Upon landing on the profile, you see a bunch of random photos with pets, some landscapes, a couple kitchen shots, and family portraits. You conclude that the photo you fell in love with was a one-off, that this page doesn’t normally post this type of content, and you continue on your merry way.
This is all too common– when someone looks at your page, they should know exactly what kind of content they will be receiving from you on a consistent basis. It’s a huge help in growing your follower base if they land on your page and see a consistent image base with a clear and specific topic.
It can be challenging to stay in this limited scope, as people have a variety of different interests, but for your Instagram success it’s vital that you stay as close to your niche as possible.
Let’s say you are going to focus on cooking; you should also have a few other content pillars that can help to give your profile a touch of diversity within your niche. For instance, your main topic is cooking, but your other content pillars are interior design and travel. These can help to supplement your main niche while staying connected to food in some way. Plan your posts weekly, always based around these niche topics.
Tip #3: Consistency
Make sure that you provide your audience with consistent posts so they know more or less what to expect. Also, you don’t want to disappear and then reappear whenever you feel like; your audience should feel you have a constant presence and that you are reachable.
Schedule your posts throughout the week and stick to it. You can use an Instagram post scheduler or do them yourself, but make sure you stick to the schedule and check your metrics for engagements and content success.
In addition to the schedule of posts, you should use IG stories on a daily basis. They are increasingly more important and oftentimes get more views than just scrolling through the feed. It builds your credibility and makes you feel like a real, reachable person when your followers see you daily on your IG feed.
You can make this easier on yourself by batching– take one or two days out of the week to shoot all of the content you want to use, and then plan it out for the week. Make sure before you go into the shoots you decide exactly what kind of shots you want and how you’re going to use them. Bring all the props and clothing that you need.
Tip #4: Networking
Your audience is vital, but your networking should go beyond those who you want to engage with your content. To build successful partnerships, you’ve got to put yourself out there and create connections with brands that could want your representation.
There are a few ways to go about doing so. Let’s take a look
Marketing platforms
There are a variety of IG collaboration platforms that run campaigns, and setting up a profile there can help see if you’re a good match for one of them. Some of these apps include Popular Pays, Fohrs, and Upfluence, among others.
Brand Pitches
You can set up a portfolio including your social handles, audience size/demographic, content examples for brands, as well as a list of the brands you’ve worked with in the past (where applicable).
Research social media PR and strategists and shoot an email introducing yourself and your goals without insisting on a partnership; let them know to keep you in mind for future opportunities. Offer up the possibility for a phone convo or a coffee meeting if you’re in the same area.
Tip #5: Be Ready For Brand Contact
There are a few things you can do to make sure you are on the radar for brands who are looking for partnerships.
First, you should already be posting content that would align with what a brand would look for when evaluating partnership opportunities. Your content should flow seamlessly between your designed content and your partnership content. This fluidity will help brands see value in a possible marketing partnership with you.
Further, make sure that your profile is set up as a business profile. Brands will see that you in fact are using this platform for business purposes, as well as give you access to metrics and analytical tools that are vital for ensuring the success of your content. Your email account should also be visible in your bio section (next to the message button).
The final thing you want to do is make sure you have cross-platform content. You should have not only a strong base on Instagram, but using other platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and email can widen your reach and offer your followers even more diverse and relevant content.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, now you have an idea of what you need to do to become an influencer on Instagram. These five are some of the best tips on becoming an influencer on Instagram in 2022, and now with so many people trying to do the same, make sure you set yourself apart and use strategy and personality to infuse your content with that special touch.
What has been working for you on your quest to become an Influencer on Instagram? Drop your ideas in the comments!