There are an estimated 500,000 Instagram influencers that are actively posting on the popular social media platform. What does it mean to be an influencer and how did they get there? Can you get there, too?
Being an Instagram influencer may look easy on the surface. After all, Instagram is an intuitive platform. It’s not difficult to make a post and share it or to use a hashtag.
Yet, trying to amass the number of followers that influencers tend to have isn’t easy at all. In fact, it can become a full-time job to reach that status on social media.
So, how do you do it? Read on as we discuss the process of becoming an Instagram influencer, starting with deciding whether or not you’re really up to it.
Deciding if You’re Cut Out to Be an Instagram Influencer
As we mentioned earlier, Instagram influencing isn’t something you can do on the fly. It requires personal branding, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a creative mind.
Most Instagram influencers spend four to seven hours on social media every single day. They’re not mindlessly scrolling, either. If you want to become an Instagram influencer, you will need to commit to changing your relationship with social media and treating it like a job.
Establishing Your Niche
If you’ve decided that you’re cut out for the influencer life, it’s time to establish your niche. This is one of the biggest components of building your personal brand.
What kind of content do you want to create and for whom? Make sure that you’re picking a niche that you are knowledgeable about, can enjoy working in for years to come, and that isn’t overdone. That’s not to say that you have to find something 100% unique, as this is impossible–instead, make sure that you’re entering into a niche with something new to say about it.
Revamping Your Profile
If you’re going to use your personal account to start branding, you’ll need to give it a bit of a makeover. Start with your Instagram handle, changing it to something you can commit to for the next several years. It can be your name, the name of your business or blog, or a name that relates to your niche.
Make sure that your bio is also eye-catching and informative. Include your (public) name, your location, a bit about your interests, and your credentials. Make sure that your profile picture is clear and professional and fits in well with your aesthetic.
Curating an Aesthetic
Speaking of your aesthetic, it’s time to nail that down. This will probably involve deleting or archiving posts that you’ve already shared that don’t align.
Your aesthetic refers to the look you create online. This includes your personal look (like your wardrobe), your color palette, your graphic design style, and your photography style. Remember that when someone looks at your grid of content, it should look cohesive and easy to understand.
Making Valuable and Engaging Posts
Once you know what your aesthetic is, it’s time to put it into practice. Creating content is one of the most thoughtful and time-consuming parts of being an Instagram influencer. It takes so much time because it needs to not only align with your aesthetic but also add value and generate engagement.
Your content should be timely, meaning that it should pertain to what you’re doing as well as what your followers are interested in at the moment. Your content should provide new tips, facts, or deals for your followers. You want them to like, share, and interact with your content as much as possible.
Finding Followers
Finding followers is the biggest difference between a well-curated and designed personal Instagram account and an influencer’s account. Instagram influencers are making money off of what they do, albeit to varying degrees. If you want to start making money, you’ll need at least 1,000 followers.
There are many ways to learn how to find followers. Use a mixed approach to get the best results. Everything from making use of appropriate hashtags to gaining the attention and friendship of a similar influencer will help you boost that follower count.
Scheduling Your Content
If you want to do this for the long haul, you’ll have to move beyond the method of making content on the fly. Remember, your content needs to look good, add value, and generate engagement. You’re going to want to come up with a constantly growing list of ideas for a wide range of posts, from photos to Reels to Stories.
If you don’t have time to post around the same time every day, consider scheduling your content through Instagram’s features. Ideally, you want to post a permanent post about five times a week while posting on your Instagram Story every day. Your followers want to see consistency and they don’t have long attention spans, so it’s up to you to stay on their radar.
Partnering With Businesses
Once you have at least 1,000 followers, you can start to reach out to businesses about paid partnerships or advertisements on your page. To get the best results, start with local businesses that relate to your niche in a tangible way. (For example, if gaming is part of your niche, reach out to businesses that sell games or gaming merchandise.)
As your initial partnerships grow and become successful, businesses will hopefully start to approach you about paid projects. However, keep in mind that at first, those payments probably won’t cover your bills. Until you’re making steady money, make sure that you have multiple sources of income.
Work Hard to Become an Instagram Influencer
Are you ready to become an Instagram influencer? Our guide offers the tips that you need but the rest will have to come from your hard work and dedication.
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