How to be an influencer on the internet: A step-by-step guide
Have you ever searched “how to be an influencer” on Google after seeing your favorite one? That’s no surprise since online influencers are a popular part of the internet nowadays. They’re regular folks like you, and our tips can help you become like them!
We’ll go through the steps of starting your online influencer career below. This will cover the basics such as finding your niche and choosing your social media platforms. The results will depend on your performance as an influencer.
You may know so many people who are now social media influencers. After all, you just need a great message and the right ways of expressing it to everyone. More importantly, you’ll need to have a plan by using our tips below.
The steps to becoming an online influencer
- Find your interests.
- Select the social media platforms you’ll use.
- Find and engage with your target audience.
- Create and provide free content that’s worth it.
- Create your content strategy.
- Track how you’re doing.
- Use the best equipment.
- Have a website or blog.
- Learn how to be a better social media influencer every day.
#1. Find your unique voice.
When you influence people, you encourage them to do something. As an online influencer, your voice will spread that message across the world.
For example, social media influencers will shine a light on their specific craft. Some of the personalities in the Philippines highlight their interests, from digital art to fashion.
You’re probably learning how to be an influencer because you admire their online clout. However, you should go beyond that and ask, “What can I offer the world?”
Start with things you like. Set aside the trends first. Then, see how you can provide it uniquely. For example, Psych2Go promotes mental health awareness with cutesy YoutTube videos.
Once you find your niche, see how you’ll share it. Of course, you’ll use the internet as a social media influencer. But what social media channels will you use?
This will depend on the types of content you’ll create. Though most social media platforms can handle them all. For example, you can post your songs, videos, and photos on Facebook.
You may want to enter more niche platforms, though. For example, streamers might want to stick with Twitch as their main social media channel.
#3. Find and engage with your audience.
Next on how to be an influencer: keeping your audience engaged. Unlike regular celebrities, online influencers have the advantage of connecting deeper with their community.
This means responding to comments. Of course, you can’t answer them all! But at least read and answer a few. Express gratitude for the good comments and address the bad ones.
What’s more, you could host a Q&A once in a while. You may do it via live stream or a Discord server. The latter takes a lot of time though! Only pick the methods you can handle.
#4. Create and provide free content that’s worth it.
You won’t be doing much “influencing” if nobody knows your channel! That’s why you should spread free valuable content. This lets you attract potential audience members.
It should contain info that people will find useful. Eventually, they’ll remember you as a great source of high-quality content. This will help inform everyone about your influencer status!
It’s even better if you post content on other websites. It should look similar to the ones on that site, though. This is called sponsored content. Contact websites to see if they’ll allow you.
#5. Create your content strategy.
Are you keeping up? If you don’t follow a structure, you’ll get confused putting all your ideas together. This is where a content strategy comes in handy.
You may try dividing your plan into the three parts of a sales funnel: Awareness, Interest, and Decision. This involves asking yourself certain questions, such as:
- What social media profiles do you need?
- How many followers do you expect in your social media posts?
- How many posts can you publish from your social media platform?
Believe it or not, other influencers similarly plan their content. You may adjust our tips to fit your strategy or use entirely different ones. Use the ones that work for you!
#6. Track how you’re doing.
You can’t let your content do all the work. You have to see if yours is truly helping your influencer status or not. Check your views, likes, dislikes, and other metrics.
You must look into it deeper, though. Use free tools such as Google Analytics. This will show you how many visitors your web pages get and how many leave quickly.
Other influencers use paid services such as SEMRush. This provides even more details about their content. If you’re still starting, the free tools are often enough.
#7. Use the best equipment.
You’ve probably seen your fave influencer use high-end equipment. You may have noticed their high-def cameras, top-tier mics, and sometimes top-of-the-line lighting tools.
This is a crucial step in learning how to be an influencer. Your equipment will determine how your audience will see and hear your content. A 144p video with poor audio will turn them off!
That’s why you should invest in good streaming tools. For example, get a top-quality Snowball mic so your voice sounds loud and clear in streams.
#8. Have a website or blog.
Aside from your main content, you may want to have blog posts too. You may want to build a website just for that, too. This helps your online influencer career in various ways.
If you noticed, the biggest influencers have websites. They know that they should promote personal brands in the best way they can. You may customize your site in ways you can’t on social media profiles.
As we said, sponsored content also helps. How will you find time to make them too? That’s where LeadAdvisors can help. Click here to see how this digital marketing agency can help.
#9. Learn how to be a better social media influencer every day.
Learning how to be an influencer is a lifelong process. The internet changes every day. The trends don’t stay the same. You have to always find ways to stay on top of the game.
Contrary to popular belief, you shouldn’t just look to the big names for inspiration. Micro-influencers can provide valuable insights, too.
They are content creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers. They often cover highly specific topics. What’s more, their unique voice lets them establish personal connections with their few audiences.
Other tips for social media influencers
You should go beyond just knowing how to be an influencer. Remember that you will make your mark on the internet. What will yours be as an online influencer?
Some people build internet clout in the worst ways. Recently, some were willing to take part in the online “devious licks” challenge. These students got attention, but now they’re kicked out of school.
Alternatively, your voice can inspire personal lives. Take Mr. Beast Burger as an example. It provided work for small restos that closed during the lockdowns. And he got a lot of views too!
You must be authentic. Make sure to separate your personal life from your influencer career, though. Don’t share your contact details and address freely.
As we said, choose methods you can handle. A Discord server can help you connect with followers. However, this could easily take a lot of your time.
Final thoughts
If your online influencer career grows well, you’ll eventually attract brands. Then, you could make deals to promote their products and services, a great way to make money online!
A lot of details go into each type of content though. Let’s take a blog post as an example. You should write in a way that satisfies search engine optimization or SEO.
LeadAdvisors can help with your sponsored posts. The company has helped many businesses spread their brand voice. It could truly skyrocket your online influencer career too!
Learn more about how to be an influencer
How do I get started as an influencer?
Start by looking at your interests and skills. You may find something unique that you can share with the world. Then, decide the kind of content that you will use. From there, you can see what social media channels you’ll need and the other parts of your content strategy.
Is it hard to be an influencer?
Your favorite online streamer may look laid back, but they’re working hard behind the scenes. It takes a lot of time and effort to create high-quality content every time. That’s why learning how to be an influencer is so important. This will make sure you get the best results in the shortest amount of time.
Can you earn from influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing strategies often involve affiliate marketing. It’s when a company asks regular people to promote their brand for compensation. Being an influencer helps in earning a lot as an affiliate. On the company’s side, it helps them promote their brand to people that their other marketing methods have missed.
