A social media influencer is a person with a significant number of followers who get paid to make promotional posts.
There are two categories of social media influencers: celebrity influencers and micro-influencers.
Celebrity influencers include people like Ronaldo, Messi, The Rock, Kylie Jenner, and Kim Kardashian. These celebrities get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to post promotional stuff on social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.
Celebrity influencers are normally used by the very big brands.
Small local brands usually use micro-influencers; people with a significant following in the community that the brands operate in.
Micro-influencers usually get paid between $100 to $500 per post. Some get paid as much as $1K per post.
In the following five steps, I am going to show you how to become a micro social media influencer and make good money while at it.
- Pick a “struggle”
Nobody likes a know-it-all. Not in real life and not on social media. Most social media influencers including the celebrity influencers I have mentioned above, usually only post things related to a specific niche.
For example, most posts on The Rock’s Instagram page are related to fitness and acting. Another example, most posts on Kim Kardashian’s Instagram page are related to beauty and fitness.
You will rarely find the above-mentioned celebrities posting about anything else.
You should also do the same; you should pick a “struggle”/ niche. Don’t become an expert on everything. Pick one thing and stick to mostly posting about it. This will position you as an important voice or an expert on that one thing.
- Create a significant following on social media
This is the most important step. There are several ways to get a good following.
First, you should post good content on your social media handle and follow everyone who engages you plus their followers. A significant chunk of the people you follow will most likely follow you back.
Secondly, you should write tons of guest blog posts on popular blogs. The blogs you write should focus on the niche you have picked and should include your social media handle at the end.
Most of the people who read your guest blogs will naturally follow you if your content is good. If you do not know how to write good blogs, hire someone to do it for you.
Lastly, you can get a significant number of followers by creating, reposting, or captioning viral comments or videos. If you do this regularly people will follow you for more such content.
- Get the money
Once you have a significant enough amount of followers (in some cases even 1000 followers are enough), you should monetize your new found influence.
You can do this in four main ways.
First, by signing up on influencer sites such as InfluencerBay.com, and HYPRbrands.com and looking for brands to promote in exchange for money.
Secondly, by contacting local brands directly and offering to post promotional content for them at a fee. Make sure the brands are related to your niche so as to not alienate your followers.
Thirdly, by signing up for an affiliate marketing account and then choosing products related to your niche to promote to your followers for a commission.
Lastly, by creating and selling your own products and services. Most influencers who create their own products usually choose to create and sell digital products such as eBooks and courses about the stuff they are considered experts in.
As you can see, there are many ways to make money online as a social media influencer.
Become one today, and you never know. You could soon start earning thousands per post.
