5 steps to becoming a successful digital influencer

In the past, the big producers and companies were the ones who kept the media monopoly, aiming their content at the masses.

Now, with access to the Internet, “ordinary” people can produce content and become a great voice within their niche.

Because of that, the term digital influencer has emerged.

Want to understand how you can become one of them? Keep reading.

What is a digital influencer?

A digital influencer is someone capable of influencing people through their content on social networks. They are also known as creators, meaning they are successful content creators who have built a loyal and engaged audience.

And it is certainly possible to make money influencing and impacting people. Brands are investing more and more in influencer marketing and research shows 91% of shoppers trust online evaluations of a product as much as they trust the opinions of friends and family.

5 tips to becoming a successful digital influencer

Becoming an influencer is no easy task. You need to understand a lot about digital marketing, strategy and relationships.

1. Choose your niche

Without a well-defined niche, your target audience can get confused. And with the influencer boom, it’s easier to stand out if you speak to a more specific and niche audience.

So, avoid very generic niches (like lifestyle) and choose specific fields such as gardening, skincare or motorcycles.

2. Create valuable content

Creating quality content is essential if you want to become a digital influencer. Go beyond pretty photos with filters: think about your audience and why they would search for your content, then solve your persona’s problem.

For instance, you may find that, if your content is about gardening, someone might be interested in understanding what types of plants are best for a small apartment. Create that type of content for your audience!

3. Interact and encourage interaction

The digital influencer is nobody without their audience. So, don’t ignore your followers or at least try to reply to a good part of them. People like to follow influencers precisely because they feel they are more accessible than celebrities, and that includes replying to messages.

Also, encourage your followers to interact with you. On Instagram, take advantage of all the interactive features, such as polls, quizzes and question boxes.

4. Have a media kit

At first, in order to make money as an influencer, you may have to be the one going after brands. It’s a good idea to always be prepared with a media kit, which is a package of materials and information about your work as a content producer. Think of it as if it were the equivalent of a commercial presentation: you put data about your audience, your engagement, successful cases with other brands, budget, among other things.

In order to make it profissional, it’s a good idea to look into agencies to build not only your Media Kit but to also give you pointers on your brand identity. Look into the DesignRush Marketplace and publish what you need for your project (the service is free). They have a directory of the best agencies to work with and these agencies are the one that reach out to you with proposals once your project’s idea is posted, which makes your path to becoming an influencer much easier.

5. Collaborate with other influencers

Many digital influencers end up gaining more followers through partnerships and collaborations. Collaborative video by two influencers from similar niches is a great way to be introduced to new followers who have interest in your field.

But be careful with this practice: avoid being that annoying influencer who keeps asking for a partnership without having ever interacted with the other person, okay?