Social media influencers can use the attention they garner on social media to influence how people behave, the media they consume, what they buy, etc. Influencers need not be traditional celebrities like musicians and movie stars.
The internet puts the power of social media attention in the hands of the common folk, making it possible for anyone to garner enough influence to be considered an ‘influencer.’ All it takes is time and effort.
The Winners and Losers of Social Media Influence
Many have tried and failed to be the next Kylie Jenner or Tyler Blevins, but most don’t even come close. What sets the most popular social media influencers apart from the rest? Well, a few things.
Pick a Niche
The most successful social media influencers are those who pick one thing. Usually, one thing they’re good at or very knowledgeable about. They choose to focus their entire online brand identity around this specific topic. This topic can be anything, from makeup to clothes, video games, or music.The best influencers are those who stick to this one niche and build a loyal audience around it. Doing so allows them to garner a loyal fanbase, rather than those who would stop watching if an influencer started posting content related to multiple different topics and industries.
Demonstrate Your Skill & Knowledge
It’s not enough to pick a niche. You have to prove that you know what you’re talking about. People online gravitate toward expertise. Demonstrating your knowledge on a specific subject consistently will help establish your credibility online. People will come to your social media channels to listen to your opinion on the latest news and happenings in the industry.
Network with Other Influencers
The most popular social media platforms act as communities where people with specific interests can interact with their favorite influencers. If you follow the last two pieces of advice, you’ll likely build up a dedicated fanbase that observes other people whose content is similar to yours.
For example, you make YouTube videos about a specific video game. Most of your followers likely follow other content creators on YouTube who produce content similar to yours. By collaborating with these other creators, you can mutually benefit from gaining access to each other’s audiences.
Your audience members will enjoy watching content creators they follow working together. Those who may not be familiar with one of you will gain someone new to follow; collaboration online benefits everyone.
Engage with Your Audience
With so much content to take in online and so much more being released daily, content creators fight for audience attention. Most influencers can not afford to take a day off. They have to maintain a consistent presence online daily. In a market where attention is money, you must ensure your audience’s attention is always on you.
A Keen Grasp of Digital Marketing
This one sets the most successful social media influencers apart from the rest. They understand how to curate content online and communicate with their audience and how their audience functions as buyers. They know the most effective ways to market with their audience and gain the most profitability for themselves and their sponsors.
Influencer Marketing
More specifically, the most successful social media influencers don’t just understand digital marketing but a very specific subsect known as ‘influencer marketing. Influencer Marketing is a form of the social media marketing that involves businesses sponsoring influencers. In return, influencers will advertise the company and its products and services to their loyal followers.
The Advantage of Influencer Marketing
Social media connects people in ways no other technology before could. Followers and subscribers on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube are given a constant look into the lives of the influencers they follow. Businesses can communicate directly with their customers in ways they never could using TV and billboards.
Thanks to this more personalized connection, when brands pay influencers to advertise their products, their followers tend to trust influencers they follow more than they would a regular ad. They value their opinion. Often, they don’t even feel like they’re being advertised to.
A Changing Digital Landscape
Online shopping is becoming increasingly commonplace, with more and more people choosing to purchase all kinds of products over social media than in person from brick-and-mortar retailers. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed the global consumer market even further in this direction, crippling retailers and malls everywhere. It’ll be fascinating to see how the market changes as we move forward and the role social media influencers will play in our new normal.
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