How to Become a Social Influencer According to Experts

In this digital age, the influence of social media has reached phenomenal growth. Social media platforms have become more than just avenues for connecting with friends and family; they’ve evolved into powerful tools for marketing and communication. The rise of social influencers is a testament to this transformation, as they hold the key to unlocking the vast potential of online marketing.

Social influencers are individuals who have amassed a significant following on social media platforms and are considered trendsetters and opinion leaders who have considerable influence over their followers’ decisions and choices. There are various types of social influencers, including macro-influencers with massive followings, micro-influencers with smaller but more engaged audiences, and niche influencers who focus on specific interests.

We’ve teamed up with Isabella Fisher, who is our Senior Influencer Executive by day and Social Influencer by night. We wanted to get her perspective on what it takes to become a successful social influencer and her latest recommendations to grow your following further.

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to talk to us, Bella! First off, what do you look out for when you’re onboarding new influencers?

So, when onboarding influencers we look out for different factors depending on what we’re onboarding them for. This can be for general recruitment to build our influencer roster or for specific campaigns and events. Each campaign will have it’s own objective e.g brand awareness or to generate sales, so this alters what type of influencer & content we look for.

If there’s more focus on brand awareness we consider macro-influencers with a larger following and reach, with more pristine content that aligns with the brand, but if the objective is sales lead then there may be less focus on the amount of followers and quality of content and more focus on influencers with a smaller but more engaged following so their content is more likely to convert.

Typically though when onboarding influencers for general recruitment, the top factors we look out for are:

• Minimum following of 5k
• Engagement rate of 3% or more
• How often are they collaborating with other brands?
• Do they align with the brands vision?
• Are they wearing any brands we offer on site?
• Quality of content (imagery should always be high resolution).
• How engaged are their audience? Are they commenting asking for links/discounts?

What ways would you recommend social influencers to optimise their platforms?

Factors which I think help optimise your platform as a social influencer are sharing regular links to the items you wear and adding these to a monthly highlight, adding a highlight for any discount codes you’ve been provided with, making sure your bio outlines what type of content you share and includes keywords that relate to your niche (e.g. “Fashion”, “Outfits”, “Style” so when users search this, your account is more likely to show up), create a link tree of any additional pages you post on and add this to your bio too and finally, set up a business account so brands can find your contact details easily and know you’re open to collaborating.

What affiliate companies do you recommend for social influencers?

The top 4 affiliate programmes I would recommend are LTK, Awin, Stylink & Amazon Influencers.

You also are an influencer in your spare time, what made you want to become a social influencer?

Yes! So, I initially created my page to show my interest in fashion when applying for jobs. I’d studied Primary School Education at Uni so had no background in the fashion industry, so started a blog to show I could spot trending styles and brands. I bagged a job as a Buyer’s Admin Assistant at River Island but continued to post, as I genuinely love styling outfits and enjoy helping friends and family find outfits for different occasions.

What’s your favourite and least favourite thing about being a social influencer?

My favourite thing about being an influencer is the community I’m a part of. My platform is predominantly women supporting women and it’s just so nice to be a part of! It’s a community of encouragement and inspiration and in a world where social media can be damaging, influencers show how the platform can be used in so many beneficial and empowering ways.

My least favourite thing would be the pressure it can put on you to always look your best or share the perfect picture. As much as I love and appreciate an aesthetically pleasing feed, it can cause unnecessary overthinking before posting a simple picture. I just try to remind myself that people don’t spot the minor details you do, if your pumpkin spice latte doesn’t have the perfect pumpkin, add a funny caption to it “little reminder to embrace your wobbly bits,”. People love relatable content!

What are your top tips for making a collab post perform well?

My top tips would be:

1. Notice what type of content is trending and create your content to suit that.
2. Analyse your insights! These are super useful for understanding when your audience are most active on the platform so when your content is most likely to be seen.
3. Use trending sounds with a lower number of views.
4. Include hashtags specific to your post to reach a wider audience that are more likely to follow you.
5. Create save-worthy content (if people are saving your posts, it shows they like what they see, and algorithms are all about pushing popular content to the top of the feed and onto the explore pages)
6. If you’re collaborating with a brand, make sure it is still authentic. Only work with brands you genuinely would wear/use! You don’t want to earn a reputation for being a fake influencer and you’ll grow a loyal following by sharing honest content. This can also open the door for long-term partnerships with brands.
7. Engage with your audience and fellow influencers. Spend 10 minutes before and after posting replying to comments, posting on your story and engaging with other influencers. This will attract attention to your own page and the more you interact with certain accounts, the more your content is likely to show up on their feed.

How do you start to monetise your channel as a social influencer?

As an influencer remember you are spending your own time and energy on creating content for brands to make sales with, so it is only fair you get recognised and credited for this! Factors to think about when deciding how much to charge:

1. Hourly rate – creating and editing content can take a few hours so set a base hourly rate.
2. Commission – Has the brand given you a commissionable link? If not, up your fee as you’ve helped them generate sales which you could have earned commission on.
3. Discount code – ask the brand for a discount code. Your followers will appreciate this and may entice them more to make a purchase and brands want to continue working with influencers that can sell their items.
4. Usage rights – ask what the brand is going to use your content for (organic social, paid social, paid ads, email marketing & website blogs/imagery). These are all channels in which the brand helps to monetise their own name. If you’re creating the content for them, you should be rewarded! If they have no budget, ask them to tag your account so you still get credited for your work.
5. Insights – alter your rates depending on how well your content performs. If your video content gets better engagement up your rates for a reel.
6. Negotiate – ask if the brand has a budget for the collab. They will have worked with so many influencers so if you’re unsure of what to charge, they can offer you a starting fee which you can then negotiate on. (Top tip; a brand will always give you their lowest fee, so never settle for the starting fee).
7. Bundles – create a bundle package at a lower rate for different types of content e.g. 3x sets of stories (9 frames) and 3x reels per month. Brands will try and save money wherever they can, so can be more likely to agree to this.

For more advice on monetising your channel, I’d recommend following Emily Valentine @officialemilyvalentine @influencerbizacademy

Would you recommend becoming a social influencer?

Yes! Influencer Marketing is one of the easiest ways to earn money through doing something you love. It’s also a great way of meeting like-minded people with the same interests and goals as you and opens opportunities to build a career in an industry you’re genuinely passionate about.

 

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