How To Make a Living as an Influencer

Social media influencers have it made. They get paid to do what they love for a living—they just do it in front of millions of people. Indeed, people have become paid influencers for doing everything from styling hair to pranking their best friends, family members, and unsuspecting strangers.

It might seem like all it takes is a stroke of luck to go viral and become an influencer, but being a content creator is serious work—i.e., it’s a real job. We want to witness your rise to social media stardom, so we’re giving you some tips to help you get there. Continue reading to learn how to make a living as an influencer.

Identify your target audience.

The first step to becoming an impactful content creator is finding your target audience. It does you no good to create great content if your content doesn’t land on its mark. It’s a good idea to do market research to identify your target audience and which micro influencer platform gives you the best chance to reach them.

Find your niche.

After you’ve identified your target audience, it’s time to pick your niche in social media. Don’t overthink it—do what you know and add your own sense of personality and flair to make your content compelling.

Let’s say you’re a CFO and want to use social media to connect with small business owners. You could create content teaching business owners what accounting supplies they’ll need to get their operations up and running, including custom file folders, binders, and envelopes, how to prepare an invoice, and how to budget for the cost of the supplies a business needs.

Post new content regularly.

Bill Gates spoke prophetically over 25 years ago when he wrote an article titled “Content Is King.” Web surfers and search engines will love you if you know how to create engaging and informative content. The key is to be consistent, which will improve your credibility with Google’s algorithm and build anticipation in your social media followers.

Connect with and learn from other influencers.

No matter what you do in life, there’s always a learning process, and becoming a social media influencer is no different. The best way to learn the ropes is to follow other influencers. It’s also a good idea to comment on their content to let them know you’re an active follower—doing this could help you connect with influencers who already have a sizable following.

Treat your personal brand as a small business.

Do you know how before an infomercial, there’s a disclaimer where they tell you the views of the people in the infomercial don’t reflect those of the broadcasting company? Influencers don’t have that luxury, so always be honest about your business. Every post matters.

It takes a lot of work to gain a large-enough following to monetize your social media profiles and content, but these tips will help direct your efforts to increase your chances of success. The first step is identifying your target audience and finding what type of content they like. It’s also imperative that you find and exploit your niche to establish your brand. Be consistent—post fresh, engaging content regularly to establish yourself with followers and search engine algorithms. Most importantly, treat your personal brand as a business—Jay-Z said it best: “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man!”

The path to becoming a social media influencer isn’t easy, but great content, a carefully planned strategy, and a persistent and confident attitude will take you a long way. All of the biggest influencers today were once where you are now, so don’t let your humble beginnings cause you to doubt your vision, even if things don’t happen as quickly as you’d like. After all, one of the best things about social networks is they give people the opportunity to be who they want. So, why not be a star?