The door is wide open for anyone fulfilling their dream of online fame. The life of an influencer is all about gaining a platform to share your views and experiences, while also earning money.
So, influencing for a living is not only a way to enjoy a life in the spotlight, but also to replace your regular job with it. In this article, we provide you with a complete checklist for starting your social media influencer career. Furthermore, we include some additional suggestions to enhance your experience, avoid controversies, and maintain your mental health.
Steps to launch your influencer career
Before dedicating time and effort to becoming an influencer, consider the less glamorous reality of this career. Posting regularly and keeping your content entertaining takes hard work. Then, even with a curated approach, algorithms might still not work in your favour. Therefore, staying motivated is crucial, even if your views, followers, and likes remain stagnant.
Additionally, you’ll likely notice negative comments and people who try to bring you down. Finally, influencing is less financially stable; for a while, you might make no money at all. Thus, some of these steps also include recommendations for ensuring that you feel financially comfortable.
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Decide on the niche and targeted platform
First of all, influencers should have a story to tell. For example, new book authors use social media as a platform to popularize their work. Their content focuses on writing, reading, and sharing goofy videos of their everyday experiences and struggles. So, your influencer type or niche depends on your hobbies, sense of humour, and general things you enjoy (or don’t). Let’s provide a few examples of social media influencers and their niches:
- A TikTok influencer is posting humorous skits about their experiences working in retail.
- A marketing specialist using YouTube to post informational content on the best strategies and conversion-boosting industry secrets.
- A movie-lover posts longer reviews on YouTube and shares brief snippets on TikTok.
- An influencer posting deep-dive videos into various trends, history, and celebrity lives.
As you might suspect, your niche and content type also influence your choice of social media platform. Short videos with little to no editing tend to excel on TikTok, while tutorials or long-form content are more suitable for YouTube. LinkedIn is also a great assistant in establishing yourself as a professional.
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Invest in necessary equipment
Social media influencers must have the necessary equipment, including a quality microphone, video camera, and a properly set-up room. The latter is likely the most important for influencers engaging in live sessions, such as gaming or filming long-form educational videos.
Of course, influencers can create an online presence via blogs or personal websites. That means investing in hosting services and picking the proper CMS (Content Management System).
In all cases, you’ll likely need to create some branded material. If you’re not well-versed in such creations, look for freelancers on Upwork or Fiverr to order such materials.
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Quitting or staying in your job
An influencer career can become your primary income source, but at first, you’ll likely focus on it as a side hustle. So, you’ll create content in your free time, but it could delay your progress. Here are some main things to consider before quitting (or not) your job:
- Your job contract may limit the content you can post. For example, some companies might include clauses that prevent you from sharing opinions on various subjects or being controversial.
- However, if you decide to pursue your influencer career full-time, you should save money before quitting your job.
- Besides using your savings, you can engage in money-making activities to offset the loss. That can include freelancing or picking up temporary jobs.
- Furthermore, you can explore various microjobs live online, letting you earn without much effort until your influencer career takes off. Platforms like JumpTask provide a variety of jobs or tasks that you complete in return for a monetary award. Many of the assignments can also involve social media, such as exploring and engaging with different social media creators.
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Identify your audience
Before you start creating your content, consider your intended audience. That typically relates to your niche, such as marketing specialists posting content related to this job, which will attract other learners or specialists in the same field.
After beginning your career, you will have the opportunity to utilize analytic tools to track your visitors and followers. Based on this, explore new approaches to shape content that will be the most relatable to your followers. However, don’t lose yourself in attempting to please your audience. While it could lead to more views and engagement, it could also take out the joy of becoming an influencer.
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Shape your online personality
No, we don’t mean creating a fake persona to share online. Yet, you will need to decide on the tone for your content. That could mean focusing on content that is both funny and entertaining. The key here is to be authentic and use your personal ideas and voice to build something unique.
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Regularly post quality content
Every influencer should create a detailed plan for the content they want to make. That includes deciding on the topics, preparing the footage, and managing a calendar with intended release dates. Such an approach ensures that you can keep posting regularly.
A bonus tip is to create content for future releases. That provides a backup in case you are unable to prepare content due to illness, an emergency, or another unexpected event.
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Optimize content and posts
Besides regular posting and content that fits your niche and relates to the intended audience, you should properly optimize it. It includes utilizing the best SEO (Search Engine Optimization) practices, such as crafting concise yet accurate content descriptions and selecting suitable hashtags.
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Respond to viewers and engage with followers
Once you start seeing people engage with you via comments, be responsive. Start conversations with your followers and block those who attempt to stir up trouble. In addition to being friendly to your fans, consider their input for your content.
For example, they recommend getting a new microphone if the words are difficult to follow. Furthermore, each video you post could lead to related material, such as a story time or additional explanation.
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Monetize your channel/account
Social media platforms have different thresholds for monetizing your content. For example, TikTok needs you to have 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the last month to qualify for the platform’s monetization.
Even with such a base following, you can become more attractive for affiliate partnerships or sponsored posts. Of course, you should be open about your partnerships to foster trust and respect.
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Grow and improve your style
Your content and editing style should continually improve. Of course, such efforts might be less critical on TikTok, but on Instagram, the aesthetics are everything. So, try to improve your skills in video or image editing software, which also helps prevent your content from becoming stale and tedious. Another tip is to follow popular trends and incorporate them into your content for effective outreach.
Bonus: manage stress and avoid risks
Besides the rewarding experience of engaging with like-minded people and building a community, social media can bring more stress and tension. It can relate to the high competition, the unpredictable nature of the algorithms, and even an ill-thought-out tweet from years ago being used against you.
The downside of going viral
For example, people who have gone viral with a single video struggle to meet the expectations of new followers who have joined specifically for this content. Additionally, it puts pressure on you to engage with more people, respond to comments, and share other people's stories (and how they relate to you).
Initial lack of engagement and self-worth
Furthermore, the early months of your journey will likely present numerous doubts about your self-worth. For instance, the content you spend hours creating and editing receives very few views and likes. It could take a toll on your confidence and create a constant need to check analytics. In this case, stay motivated by reminding yourself that no one became famous or popular overnight.
Know your past (digital footprint)
Lastly, be aware of the content (tweets or social media posts) linked to your identity that you created before launching your social media career. That could involve some controversial statements that may come back to haunt you.
Being aware of your digital footprint is crucial to maintaining your reputation and avoiding unnecessary stress. If needed, consider using data removal services that delete your details from data broker sites and people-finder platforms. Additionally, you can contact various websites to request the removal of your accounts.
If you’re looking for a reliable option, check out comparisons of known providers like Incogni vs Deleteme. This way, you can weigh the pros and cons of a provider before subscribing to it.
Conclusion
Influencing for a living is a courageous decision. While some people choose it as a side hustle, it can be lucrative and enough to support your necessities (and more). For your transition into the public eye, start by finding your voice, niche, and audience, and ensure you have the necessary equipment to deliver content that pleases them.
Furthermore, don’t forget about a precise posting schedule, monetization, and engagement with your followers. Of course, consider the less pleasant aspects of being an influencer and prepare your digital presence for this role.