How to Become an Online Influencer

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Aside from the obvious validation of gaining public attention, the opportunities to monetize internet fame can be quite a lucrative endeavor.

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Imagine getting paid just to post your opinion on Instagram? Well, if you’re someone who loves the spotlight, being an online influencer or Instagram story maker seems like a pretty good deal. However, breaking into this line of work requires more than simply being an active participant on the major social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. With everyone already on these various websites and apps screaming for attention, you must also be pro-active in getting involved with the emerging platforms as well, including video forums such as the Say app for iOS. However, knowing which “sandbox to play in” is only part of a recipe that contains several other important ingredients. With that in mind, here are the key ones to focus on in order to help accelerate the building of your online brand.

Table of Contents

• Understanding Your Audience
• Creating Content
• Actively Promote Yourself
• Collaborate with Other Influencers
• Final Thoughts

Understanding Your Audience

Before you can influence an audience you must first determine who that is, so it goes without saying that defining your target market is critical. In fact, this is the absolute first thing that someone looking to break into a career as an online influencer must decide. Only once you have defined your target audience can you then begin setting your sights on penetrating it. Additionally, if you are successful in making a name for yourself within an online community your ability to have any kind of staying power within it will rely heavily on your credibility. For that reason alone make sure to have a solid knowledge base in the subject matter you plan to be opining over; otherwise, you run the risk of being labeled a phony!

Creating Content

Once you’ve defined your target audience the next step is engaging it with compelling content. This can include blogging, hosting your own podcast, sharing your photography on Instagram, creating viral videos on YouTube, and more. Creating and sharing content is your calling card when it comes to marketing your brand, so you’re better off focusing on quality over quantity when it comes to producing it. You’ll also want to make sure your graphics, logos, or any other visual design elements have a professional look and feel to them in the interests of putting your best foot forward. Thankfully there are plenty of resources on the web such as Canva and Tailor Brands that make it easy to create great-looking designs, even if you’re someone with zero background in that department.

Actively Promote Yourself

Singing your own praises is not typically advisable behavior, however, for anyone seeking to become an online influencer this couldn’t be further from the truth. When it comes to building a name, racking up followers, and cultivating social proof for yourself as an online influencer the responsibility of promoting your brand falls squarely on your shoulders. As a result, you must be extremely active on all of the social media channels where your audience is hanging out. Furthermore, it isn’t enough to simply be a disseminator of thoughts, ideas, and opinions either. The best online influencers don’t simply talk to their followers, they talk with them. This means interacting not only through your own posts but also by starting conversations in the comments of other people’s posts as well.

Collaborate with Other Influencers

Another way to help get the word out about yourself is to collaborate with other influencers. This particular tactic can be especially effective, as it provides you with the opportunity to get in front of an already existing audience that shares a common interest. Some aspiring influencers may make the mistake of thinking that by sharing the spotlight with another person they are watering down their exposure, however, this is not the correct way to look at it. By choosing to partner with another influencer you are in essence obtaining for yourself free advertising by appearing on their respective platform. Additionally, featuring other influencers on your content platforms is a great way to demonstrate even more social proof to the public by showing off not only your associations to other notable names, but your access to them.

Final Thoughts

Being a successful online influencer definitely takes a lot of hard work to achieve. However, thankfully there are certain tips and tricks that can help get you to reach your goal faster. If you are strategic in defining your target audience, diligent in creating quality content, and willing to work with other influencers you will have no trouble attracting the right people. When those three things are combined with a willingness to put in the effort on the various social networks, content sharing platforms, and video chat forums, there is no reason you can’t get it done.