Nowadays you can make money by documenting your day-to-day life through attractive photography and connect with your ideal audience.
This great opportunity provided by Instagram is called influencer marketing. However, it doesn’t mean that becoming a successful Instagram influencer is an easy task. You need to apply the right tools and have a well-developed strategy in order to become famous on Instagram.
As popularity of being an Instagram influencer is constantly growing, don’t you think of becoming one of them? If it is something that you have been thinking about, but you are not sure how to do it, then keep reading further.
I am going to share 9 tips on how to become an Instagram influencer and start making money from it.
Let’s get started!
1. Choose your niche
In order to become an Instagram influencer, the first task that you need to do is to figure out which niche matches with your personality. Therefore, you should choose an area you are passionate about. In other words, something where you have a keen interest and understanding.
For instance, you have probably noticed that there is a considerable amount of Instagram users who uploads content about beauty products and have tons of followers. However, as it is popular and provides you with profitable results, does it mean that you should do the same, even if you don’t have passion or expertise in it? The answer is obviously not.
Keep in mind that it is better not make it, if you think to fake it. Because your audience will quickly notice whether you like what you are doing or not.
So, organize your Instagram content in a way which will show that you are genuinely interested in selected niche. What is more, your niche can be a combination of several things, if they fit each other. For example, it can be travel & food or fashion & lifestyle niche, etc.
2. Stay authentic
There is a simple rule to follow: the more unique and real you are, the more powerful your effort is in growing your audience and building the brand partnerships.
If you decide to cooperate only with brands that align with your personality’s values, in this way, your followers will trust you and, consequently, you will increase your reliability. Brands will want to work with you because your Instagram audience is interested in your shared content and believe in you.
The concept of being an Instagram influencer is that you can make an impact on people, so don’t focus only on the numbers, better create a followers’ base who are loyal and trust your opinion.
3. Be consistent
Another crucial factor to become a successful Instagram influencer is to upload your posts consistently, in other words, at least once per day. However, some of users post their content several times per day.
According to social media studies, users who upload their posts on Instagram more frequently, receive higher engagement level and increase their followers’ number faster. Moreover, it is recommended to follow the rule of posting between 1 to 3 times a day every day on Instagram and you will see the great results.
In order to stay regular, schedule you Instagram content. It will help your followers to know what and when to expect from you. In this case, it is more likely that your Instagram audience will be waiting for your new posts, visit your profile to see other content and engage with it.
4. Create attractive Instagram bio
Your Instagram bio is the first thing which other users notice when they visit your profile.
In this case, your task is to create an engaging bio which can instantly grab audience’s attention. To make your bio look compelling and informative, you need to clearly and briefly tell about yourself. Actually, it is better to write your story using separate exact phrases.
What it more, it is advised to insert emojis in order to evoke audience’s smile and, consequently, encourage them to press the “Follow” button.
5. Create catchy content
Actually, a great content is the key of becoming a successful Instagram influencer.
As Instagram is an image sharing platform, so the photos you upload on your feed should catch audience’s attention and induce them to like your post or leave a comment on it. And it doesn’t matter if it is a scenery, selfie, product’s picture or some other type of content. Every of your uploaded posts needs to be perfectly composed, well edited in order to create a cohesive Instagram feed aesthetic.
Therefore, you can use the editors, such as VSCO or Lightroom to apply a specific style to your images. In this way, you will provide your Instagram feed with a magnificent visual appeal.
6. Power your posts with hashtags
Don’t ignore the power of hashtags because they can make your Instagram content searchable to other users.
It is considered that it is not so difficult to go way overboard with hashtags, so be careful. Although Instagram lets you use up to 30 hashtags per post, however, a majority of social media experts recommend not to use so many. A huge number of hashtags under your Instagram post cheapen the feed’s overall look and may look like spam. Practice shows that the best amount of hashtags is from 3 to 5.
Now it is clear how many hashtags you should use, but what type of hashtags it is better to choose?
Keep in mind that using popular hashtags which have high search volumes isn’t the best choice. Why? Just because they create a strong competition which reduces the chances of your Instagram posts being found using these hashtags. Instead, it is advised to select hashtags that are the most relevant to your content (specific) and vary in search volumes from 10 000 to 1 million.
Overall, hashtags will not only help you to reach people who are searching for exactly what you are uploading, but also boost your content’s engagement level.
7. Grow your audience and keep users engaged
Remember that an Instagram influencer’s success not only depends on a unique and cohesive feed aesthetic and the right hashtags. There are two other crucial factors that you need to take into consideration while trying to become an Instagram influencer. It is building your followers’ base and keeping them engaged.
First of all, you need to ensure that your post’s captions are attractive and informative, includes call-to-action and encourages users to interact with it.
What is more, remember that your fans idolize you and listen to your opinion, so while responding to users’ comments on your Instagram posts try to be supporting and honest. Also, always answer to direct messages. In this way, you will show that you care about them, want to build strong relationship and that alone will induce them to click the “Follow” button.
Don’t miss: How to Get More Instagram Followers: 7 Simple Tips
8. Share Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are considered as a great way to increase an amount of followers, gain visibility and encourage audience to interact with your content.
Don’t ignore an opportunity of including Instagram Stories into your strategy because even users who aren’t your followers can find you by viewing Instagram Stories, get interested in your Instagram profile and, consequently, start engaging and become your followers.
Moreover, you can insert hashtags or location stickers into your Stories, in this way, you will increase the chances of being found by bigger audience. Also, you may tag other users on your Stories.
All in all, by using Instagram Stories you can be easily noticed by potential Instagram audience and build your followers’ base that will assist you in becoming an influencer.
9. Contact with brands
Once you see that you have a perfectly organized Instagram profile, big amount of loyal followers, then it is time to find the companies or brands that align with your values and are interested to work with you.
The easiest way to do it is to use direct messages. It is advised to start your message with a short phrase “Quick question” because it will most likely evoke brand’s curiosity and encourage them to open and read your message.
Remember, try to make your message as short and informative as possible. Briefly explain why you are interested in this brand and provide the value they are looking for while collaborating with you.
