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Influencing a Full-Time Career
Influencer marketing is a newfound career and has grown rapidly in the past few years. But the question is, how to become an influencer? Find your one particular niche that you are truly passionate about and are an expert at. Express your content with your niche on various social media platforms. Not necessary that one needs to curate content only on one niche. They can go for multiple niches as well.
It has allowed plenty of people all across the globe to create content of their choice and make a living out of it. Especially in the pandemic, when so many people lost their jobs. This has given a rise to new influencers in the industry.
But, what is influencing? Is it a real job? Is it just posting cute pictures on social media? How to become an influencer on social media and make your mark in the influencer industry?
First, Let’s decode what influencing means from an influencer’s perspective.
It’s 2021 and the influencer industry is a billion-dollar industry. Influencing might look all fun and frolic, but it is also a real job.
How to become an influencer on social media?
Initially, success doesn’t happen overnight. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It takes years of hard work to reach a certain milestone and follower count.
Let’s take a look at Masoom Minawala Mehta who is a fashion blogger and an entrepreneur. She started blogging in 2010 as Miss Style Fiesta and now 10 years later, she’s a fashion icon, attending Paris Fashion Week and The Cannes Festival. But, it took her more than a decade to reach where she is today. It’s not always rainbows and unicorns and influencers go through failures too. I am sure it’s not as boring and underpaid as a 9 to 5 job, but Influencing has its pros and cons as well. Many people are quitting their jobs as they want a better lifestyle, no boss, and flexibility to work at their own pace.
As an influencer, they always have a fear of losing relevance. No relevance means no job. They have to put in constant effort and be persistent with their work. But being your own boss gives you a new sense of freedom. Also, you don’t need a fancy education to be a full-time influencer. All you need is a smartphone, an internet connection, and a passion to create content.
Moreover, being an influencer, one needs to have thicker skin because there is a possibility of being trolled as people will try to bring you down.
As an influencer, you are not just blogging about your life or content but being a community manager plus boosting your knowledge about the content you create. One also gets to work with awesome brands and curate content for them.
How to become an influencer for a brand?
An influencer needs to put in extra work and stay relevant and creative if he/she wants to stand out. Work along with different features on social media and curate authentic content. Brands lookout for influencers who have a strong relationship with their audience and also a good follower count. You need to deliver high-quality content and build a loyal audience so that brands come knocking at your door.
Once you reach a stage where you have a good follower count, you can also be famous. Being an influencer can also give a great work-life balance.
As an influencer, one should not forget their value in the market and not undersell themselves. With so much competition, it is important to know how much to charge for brand collaborations. If you are new in this field, do some research on how much to charge depending on your following and type of work. It is also worth reaching out to other influencers with a similar reach and niche and asks them how much they get paid. It’s okay to walk away from collaborations, which don’t value you and are underpaid.
Keep up with the latest trends on social media, to boost your social media presence and also collaborate with other influencers to increase your social media following.