As an emerging influencer with an engaged following, you’re ready to take your social media presence to the next level — the level where you get paid.
This can be dicey territory for many influencers who are new to sponsorships and brand collaborations. You’re accustomed to creating meaningful content that connects with your audience and solves their problems. Now, you’re hoping to maintain that same high standard of authenticity while also promoting products for pay. It’s a tightrope walk, for sure, but you can find a comfortable balance without falling flat.
Ready to Go from Hobbyist to Professional Influencer
You already know how to be an influencer. But maybe you’re still at a stage in the game where your life on social media is still more of a side hustle than a career. You want to know what it takes to be the kind of influencer that gets hired by brands to do what you’re already doing. You may have dreams of quitting your day job and replacing your income with influencer endorsements.
First, you need to understand what a professional influencer does. Pro influencers mold and shape the purchasing decisions of consumers. Consumers trust an influencer’s opinion more than a brand’s messaging, and they are likely to buy products based on influencers’ recommendations. If you see this starting to happen organically among your followers, then that’s a major sign that you’re ready for paid partnerships.
What else might give you the green light to go pro with your social media life? You need to have been active for a connected length of time, with around six months of regular activity under your belt.
What about your stats? Follower count (reach) and engagement rate are the two primary stats that companies are going to look at when sorting through the huge pool of influencers out there. Thankfully, you don’t have to have tens of thousands of followers to jump into the world of sponsorship. Once you’ve hit around 1,000 followers, you can start thinking about nano-influencer or micro-influencer campaigns.
It’s important to note, though, that the tiers are fluid, and many brands that pay cash for influencer marketing do consider a micro-influencer to be someone who has 10k to 50k followers, with the middle tier starting around 50k followers. You may be tempted to try and amass as many followers as possible, but that shouldn’t be your sole concern. Engagement rate also plays a huge role.
In general, you want an above average engagement rate. Hootsuite says that 2.1 percent is the average on Instagram, but brands will expect a micro-influencer to have a much higher percentage.
Building and Maintaining a Robust Influencer Brand
If you feel that the time is right for you to begin making money as an influencer, then it’s also time to take a look at your personal brand and consider ways that you can take it up a notch to distinguish yourself from the other influencers in your vertical. Here are a few tips:
- Hone your niche, and focus on a logical social media platform that suits your content and your audience. (For the vast majority of paid influencers, this platform is Instagram.) Make sure you have a business account where you can track your stats.
- Spruce up your bio so that it’s clear and compelling. It should make people want to know more about you.
- Post regularly and engage with your audience if you find that you’ve been slacking. Provide value to your audience by giving them information they can readily use — think restaurant recommendations, tutorials, or live Q&As.
- Use relevant hashtags — and lots of them — especially on Instagram.
- Post content that you’re proud of and is true to your brand, and make sure to provide great captions for photos that tell a story. Your feed or channel comes across as a unified whole.
- Connect with other like-minded influencers by tagging them, commenting on their content, re-tweeting, or guest posting.
Tips for Getting Your First Influencer Gig
Before sending out queries and pitching your favorite companies, try creating a free profile with us and we’ll help you connect with top tier brands, you can even bid on opportunities within the platform.
What Does an Influencer Charge?
Influencers value authenticity above all else, so it may seem strange to put a price on your services. But it’s important to think about fair compensation before you start negotiations.
It’s perfectly acceptable to enter the fray by accepting free products or services as payment for small collaborations, especially with tiny companies that don’t have the budget to pay influencers. This is a chance to get your foot in the door and build your portfolio, hone your advertising skills, and gain some ROI metrics that you can leverage for bigger and better deals later.
