Yeah, that's right being an influencer is an actual job, could it be yours?
About 3 years ago when I finished High School, I started to get into hiking and skiing almost every single day. With the use of social media, I started to share my adventures. When I moved out to Banff, Canada I started a hiking blog called intoallthingsfun.com and invested in a camera to start capturing premium looking photos. In under 2 years, I gained about 5000 followers by being featured on various large social media accounts and started working with companies to help them capture the content of their products. In the past year, I had to switch gears a bit because I am finishing my undergraduate degree and I have started working in the field of digital marketing with a main focus in social media. Over those 2 years, I have learned a lot about social media influencers and have come up with a few tips for anyone trying to turn their passions into a profession.
1. Stay Consistent
To build a following you have to remain consistent with what you are posting. If you change the “theme” of your account you will see a rapid decline in your followers. For example, when I returned back to school I was unable to continuously show me hiking and being outdoors in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I lost quite a few of my followers because they came to my page for hiking #inspo and all they were getting were throwbacks and me counting down the days till my next adventure. However, my following has started to grow again as people are following me to see a full-time student who is still able to adventure every weekend and get up before class to catch the sunrise.
So just remember that if you wish to grow your following you need to know they want to see what they are expecting!
2. Show love, to get love
Sometimes the best way for a company to support you on your social media platform is to show them love first! When I first got my Spivo Stick I was never asked to constantly tag and capture my moments with the product. But after some time of showing my brand love, they started to show me love back! I started seeing my content being shared amongst their social platforms, website and even used on their packaging! This really helped me see my following grow.
3. Reach out to companies
Most companies have ambassador programs but sometimes it’s hard for them to find the accounts they should be supporting. It never hurts to reach out! How you message them is what really matters. Remember: Most companies will probably get a dozen of these messages a day so try and stand out. Try and start off with why you love their brand and finish off with who you are. Refrain from mentioning how much reach you will get them. They will know that by just looking at your profile.
Hint: Spivo has an ambassador program ;)
4. Be engaging
Viewers want something they can relate to. Make sure you are explaining your experiences! This can mean explaining in depth the trip you went on or where you went hiking over the weekend. In your IG stories, you can get even more personal by creating polls to keep your followers engaged or seek their opinions.
5. Be real
There are so many accounts that “Do it for the gram”. It’s sometimes hard for users to relate to such an unrealistic life. People want to see the behind the scenes and what really went down.
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