A few years ago, being an influencer was a very foreign concept. These days it’s not only a very recognizable occupation, but a lucrative one as well. There are many people who say many different things about what it means to be “social media famous” and whether or not this is a beneficial trend. Either way, being an influencer can come with perks and meaning – as long as you know why you’re doing it. We love photographing creators and helping them with content,  so we figured we would give you a few tips on what you need to know about being an influencer. 

There is A Brand For Every Influencer 

Every influencer has a brand, whether they (or you) know it or not. Your brand is a combination of who you are, what you do, and what you believe in. Once you combine all those things, you typically have a ready made audience that you can identify. As many influencers as there are, there are twice as many brands that need to connect with their audiences.

Being aware of your own brand is crucial in selecting or being selected by companies who you can identify with and whose mission you believe in. You don’t have to follow the trends or go with the biggest companies. You just need to find what brands and companies speak to what you want to do and the message you want to send to the world. 

With that being said, brands are looking for you! Within the last few years, the world of influencer marketing has changed vastly. Influencers are a hot commodity and brands need them to spread their message through social media channels. If you are trying to find brands to connect with, you need to consider a few things: 

Content Is King 

Is your content professional? Are your images clear and aesthetically pleasing? Do you tell stories in your captions? These are all things to consider when looking for brand partnerships. Brands want to know that you can represent them well by having beautiful, clean, content that matches with the quality of their own images and marketing. You also need to have some consistency and engagement, which takes work! Determine a posting schedule, sketch out a strategy for your content, and get to posting. You can use tools like Planoly to get this done (or you can hire us). 

Be Authentic to Yourself 

If being an influencer is something you’d really like to do, you HAVE to make sure you’re being authentic to yourself! Whether you’re a weird, quirky, movie lover or a person who likes to incorporate raps in your content, there is a brand that will LOVE that (unless you’re just not that great at it). You can be yourself and attract the brands that feel the most authentic to who you are instead of chasing down brands that may not work with what you want to do. 

Think of what kind of products make the most sense with what you naturally do. Are you a mom who wants to connect with companies that target families? Are you a DIY person who wants to redo your home and get sponsorships from home improvement companies? Are you a photographer who works primarily with entrepreneurs? You could match with companies that target small businesses. Either way, stick to your brand and it will pay off in the long run.

Know your worth 

This is a big one. You have to know what your time and energy are worth when it comes to any work you do. Companies will pay you to promote their brands but you have to be aware of the value of said promotion. 

There are a few ways to do this. 1. You could ask around to other creators you trust and see what they’re charging for the standard deliverables. 2. You can determine what you want to make and stick to that – giving yourself a minimum so you can negotiate with a little wiggle room. 3. You can work with a few brands and see what they’re offering. Then you can decide if you need to work on increasing followers and reach so that you can increase your value. 

As always, if you need help with your content strategy, images, or social media posts, we are always here to help you with that! Just click here and we can get started.