The Ultimate Guide
How to
become an
influencer
Social stuff @vampbrands
Good stuff www.vamp.me
CONTENTS
TABLE
OF
We have put together this
ultimate guide on how to
become an influencer to help
you on your journey to social
media success.
DEFINITIONS
WHY?
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
7 WAYS TO WIN
BRAND COLLABS
CONCLUSION
3
8
9
17
23
© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
DEFINITIONS
3© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
WHAT IS AN INFLUENCER?
The best definition of an influencer is someone who has gained an engaged social
media following by creating aspirational lifestyle based content. Influencers are also
commonly referred to as content creators, bloggers, vloggers and key opinion
leaders (KOLs).
WHAT IS AN INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER?
An Instagram influencer is someone who uses this photo sharing social media
platform to build a personal brand and grow their following. Instagram is the
favourite platform for the majority of influencers and brands. It is not, however,
the only social media platform that influencers can be successful on. See our
Platforms page for examples across Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest and YouTube.
DEFINITIONS
If you want to monetise your social media profiles as an influencer you
need to know what influencer marketing is. Influencer marketing is what
brands and companies do when they partner with influencers to raise
awareness of a product launch, build brand recognition and credibility
with social media users. Generally it involves influencers creating content
about a product, posting about it on their social feed/s and
recommending it in an authentic tone of voice to their followers.
There are many different ways to do influencer marketing and we outline
the key Do’s and Don’ts of influencer marketing here. If you are an
influencer partnering with a brand you should be aware of what the
brands’ marketing objectives are with their influencer marketing
campaigns.
WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING?
4© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
DEFINITIONS
5© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
Influencers are often defined in terminology by their reach. It's good to
become familiar with the terms marketers use when working with
influencers.
Micro, power-middle, macro and celebrity influencers are some of the
terms marketers use when working with influencers.
A micro or power middle influencer is commonly referenced when
people are describing influencers with a smaller following on social
media. Macro and celebrity influencers have a larger following.
There is no hard and fast definition of what follower numbers constitute
a micro, macro and celebrity influencer.
WHAT KINDS OF INFLUENCERS ARE THERE?
A GUIDE TO FOLLOWERS
Micro/power middle influencers: Between 3k - 100k followers
Macro influencers: between 100k and 1 million followers
Celebrity influencers: have over 1 million followers
The rule of thumb so far where reach has been prioritised has been that a
higher following equals a higher payment for influencer-brand
collaborations. The dynamic is changing now as brands are seeing more
value in partnering with multiple influencers with a smaller, more
engaged following. Great news for anyone just starting out!
DEFINITIONS
6© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
The higher the following the lower the engagement rate - that's the
general rule. Influencers with a smaller following have a closer
relationship with their followers than those with a larger following.
FOLLOWERS VS. ENGAGEMENT RATE
0-5K 8.0%
5-25K 4.0%
25K-
100K
2.4%
100K-250K 1.8%
1.8%
1.6%
1.6%
250K-1M
1M-7M
7M+
FOLLOWERS ENGAGEMENT
WHY BECOME AN
INFLUENCER?If you are asking yourself the question of how you can
become an influencer, you are taking the first step in
what can be an incredibly empowering, fulfilling,
creative journey. It's an exciting industry to join with
brands increasing their budgets year on year and social
platforms introducing more and more features to help
influencers and content creators. You’ve no doubt seen
other influencers on social media channels like Instagram
collaborating with brands, eating delicious food and
travelling the world - to name a few of the
opportunities.
Living the digital nomad lifestyle might appeal to you for
various reasons. Namely, building a personal brand and
freelancing your creative skills enables you to be your
own boss. Maybe even quit that 9 - 5. There are many
different motivations to wanting to become an
influencer. Knowing your key objectives is essential
when figuring out your personal brand and
photography style.
It might surprise you that not everybody who makes it in
this industry originally intended to become a social
media influencer, however. For many social media stars
the transition from Instagrammer to influencer is
completely organic. These unintentional influencers set
out at first with a hobby and the dramatic audience
growth took them by surprise.
Check out this page if you want to find out more about
how to become a Vamp influencer.© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
8
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS
9© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
1)
Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to cheat the system. If
you buy followers or use bots you might think you are taking
the easy road. Taking a fake it until you make it approach
might seem like a short cut but it’s not smart. Definitely not
the key to success. Brands are now using technology to
identify influencers with fake followers. Influencer marketing
platforms like Vamp pre-vet influencers to ensure their
followers are genuine.
To start winning collaboration opportunities with brands you’ll need to
cultivate an audience. Your social channels should demonstrate
something you are passionate about with creative, engaging and
unique content. With a lot of time, hard work and persistence, followers
should come naturally. There are no shortcuts but there are a few things
you can do to speed up your follower growth.
Develop a loyal and engaged following by actively engaging with your
existing audience and contributing to the larger Instagram community.
This means replying with genuine comments and pro-actively engaging
with the wider Instagram community with meaningful comments. Be
consistent with your posting times, the kind of content you post and
your tone of voice. Give your followers the chance to get to know you
with behind the scenes (BTS) content in your Instagram stories.
Some influencers were fast-tracked to fame because they became a
suggested user on Instagram. This means Instagram follows you and for
two weeks you become a recommended account to follow for new
Instagram users.
GROW YOUR FOLLOWERS
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS
10© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
2)Your engagement rate can be calculated by this simple equation:
(The number of likes and comments / No. of followers) x100
So if you had 500 likes, 50 comments and 5000 followers this is how
your engagement rate is calculated:
(550 / 5000) x100 = 11% engagement rate
The Instagram benchmark for engagement rate is 3%. This is a good
minimum to aim for on a consistent basis.
One way of indicating that someone has fake followers is if their
engagement rate is low.
If you are accepted into the Vamp platform via the app your
average engagement rate is displayed for you to see.
BUILD FOLLOWER ENGAGEMENT
You can increase your follower engagement by
building a community. Ask your followers questions
in your caption copy, use Instagram stories to engage
your followers on a one-on-one basis, send DMs to
new and old followers. You can track your
engagement analytics if you have an Instagram
business account. Analyse what content your
followers are engaging with most and use this
knowledge to plan your content calendar.
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS
11© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
3)To be a successful influencer you need to develop your own
personal brand. Your personal brand is everything and will help you
to stand out from the crowd.
Most of the time people like to know what they can expect from
you and a strong personal brand will make you more likely to
maintain follower loyalty.
Here are two examples of influencers with a powerful personal
brand.
DEVELOP A PERSONAL BRAND
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS
12© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
3)Find a niche and stick with it. Rather than trying to be fashion,
art, foodie and travel all in one neat package, create a consistent
message. The same goes for photography styles. If you want to
be the flatlay expert and this is what people follow you for, stick
to this at least 80% of the time. There are some really successful
accounts that keep to one consistent element and experiment
with different variables in their imagery to see how their audience
responds.
Ensure your Instagram highlights feature the kind of content you
post and the stories people can expect to see. Utilise the bio to
best display your tone of voice and content.
The top nine posts on your feed displaying on your profile should
always show the best content. Don’t be afraid to delete or archive
posts if it messes up the clean aesthetic of your feed (as long as a
brand hasn’t paid for that piece of content to sit on your feed of
course).
Have a consistent aesthetic in your feed and across all social
channels.
Feature products relevant to your Instagram narrative that you
genuinely like.
What’s your influencer tone of voice? How do you communicate
in an engaging way with your followers?
How often do you post? Successful accounts post regularly
without spamming their audience. How regularly you should post
on Instagram depends entirely on your audience but once or
twice a day at peak posting time is usually the sweet spot.
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS
13© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
4)To be an authentic influencer you have to be genuine, build trust and
respect your followers as well as the brands you work with. Be candid in
your posts and encourage your followers to respond by asking
questions in your posts.
There are many versions of our authentic selves that we share with the
world. Our work self might, for example, be different to the version of
ourselves we share with our friends, or our grandparents. Each is true in
a different way to you and how you interact with the world. Equally
your social media profiles should be authentic to you.
The way you talk about a product shouldn’t come across as a hard sell
either. This is not what influencer marketing is all about. Lifestyle based
product placement will always out-perform product endorsement.
BE AUTHENTIC
PRODUCT PLACEMENT PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT
I love Toby’s estate coffee, make sure
you head out and get some today!
@tobysestate #tobyswinterwarmer
Brrrrrrr it’s cold in Melbourne today,
headed off to work and grabbed my
favourite coffee to keep me warm!
@tobysestate #tobyswinterwarmer
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS
14© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
4)People like influencers because they are seen as more trustworthy
than brands trying to sell them stuff or big name celebrities. So it’s
simple. Only recommend products to your followers if you
genuinely like that product or brand. It can be tempting to say yes
to every opportunity that comes your way initially in order to get
started. A more sustainable, authentic approach in the long term is
to say no more than you say yes to opportunities.
Don’t allow your Instagram feed to be filled up completely with
brand promotions. Make time to create organic content in between.
That way your followers shouldn’t mind if you are getting paid to
promote a brand because they trust that you genuinely like it too.
Authenticity builds trust and that is one of your most valuable
commodities as an influencer.
BE AUTHENTIC
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS
15© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
5)
High quality content - invest in a good camera and learn how to use
it by doing a course, reading blogs and watching YouTube tutorials.
There are so many free resources online, including the Vamp blog.
Here’s an extract from our guide to buying a new camera.
WIN WORK WITH BRANDS
Brands will want to work with you if you tick the boxes of what they
expect in their influencer partnerships. This can vary from brand to
brand, depending on their objectives. The key points that most
brands are looking for are:
"Before choosing a camera, it’s best to know how
you’re planning to use it. Will you be shooting
landscapes? Street style selfies? Food flatlays? If you
know you like to shoot a certain way, get a camera
that makes what you do easier to do. If you’re
shooting selfies, a good phone camera is probably all
you need. If you shoot landscapes where you want
full control over your settings, then a DSLR makes
sense. Fast shutter speeds are essential if you plan to
shoot action or sports, and cameras that handle low
lighting situations well would come in handy when
shooting events. Know how you plan to use your
camera so you can prioritise the features you need the
most."
Read the rest of the guest article by Vamp influencer
and content creator @whatshepictures >
5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE
GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS
16© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
5)
Followers - build a genuine following of like-minded people who will
love your content. Get a business account and be prepared to share
your business analytics if brands want to see them. If your posts are
performing well it helps them to justify spending more money on work
with you so a win-win for both parties. Brands often request to only
work with influencers with a business account; read this article on why
you should make the switch to an Instagram business account.
Engagement - brands want to see your followers engaging with your
content. Ask questions in your captions and ensure you respond to
every single comment. Thank people when they follow you and try to
get to know them a bit better so you can know what content they will
like best. Post at the times of day your profile will get the most amount
of traffic. Delete accounts that look like bots as they follow you to
maintain a high engagement.
Similar aesthetic - brands with a similar aesthetic to yours will be more
likely to choose to work with you because this will help send the
message they want to your followers and their potential customers.
Professionalism - This is the cherry on top. Brands want to know that
you will follow their brief, respond in a prompt and professional
manner to e-mails and conduct yourself well when posting about their
content. Here's how to build a great reputation as an influencer and
get repeat work.
WIN WORK WITH BRANDS
7 WAYS TO WIN BRAND COLLABS
GUIDE TO WINNING REPEAT WORK WITH BRANDS
17© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
1)
Your profile photo is often the brand’s first impression of you. Among
the growing competition, a profile picture can make or break your
application for a campaign. Ensure that your profile picture reflects
your aesthetic. This helps brands to instinctively know whether you will
align with their brand.
A candid self-portrait usually works best. Choose an image which has
the edits/filters you naturally use. For example, don’t use a black and
white photo if you usually feature colourful tones in your feed. Avoid
logos, graphics or cartoon images as these most likely do not
accurately reflect the aesthetic you carefully craft in your feed.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT
7 WAYS TO WIN BRAND COLLABS
GUIDE TO WINNING REPEAT WORK WITH BRANDS
18© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
2)
Your Instagram bio should reflect your personality as well as the key
themes of your account. Followers and brands will connect with you
on a more personal level if you include your name in your bio.
Avoid clichéd phrases (e.g. I love life!) and come up with something
uniquely meaningful to you. Remember to put in your Instagram bio
the best way for brands to get in contact to avoid missing out on
opportunities. Using Instagram Stories highlights is now also a great
way to feature behind the scenes personality on your profile. Avoid
long links. If part of a brief requires you to include a link in your bio, you
can shorten it with sites like bitly. Include relevant hashtags in your bio
to help the relevant people find you.
ME, MYSELF AND I
7 WAYS TO WIN BRAND COLLABS
GUIDE TO WINNING REPEAT WORK WITH BRANDS
19© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
3)
Learn your way around your email. If you’re not using the Vamp App
for brand briefs this could be the only point of contact with your client.
It’s a powerful and yet simple way to market yourself to brands you
work with.
Everybody has that cringe personal email account that you set up at
high school. Consider upgrading to a more professional moniker. For
example, [email protected] rather than anything with
confusing lettering / numbers and definitely avoid anything gimmicky.
([email protected] anyone?!).
Setting up an e-mail signature creates a professional impression. You
don’t have to be a graphic designer to make your e-mail signature look
sleek and give you a strong reputation – Canva is a great place to
create professional branded assets if you're not a Photoshop pro.
If you are going away or find yourself overwhelmed with personal or
other work commitments, use your out of office to inform brands that
you will reply as soon as you can. They’ll know not to expect an instant
response. Remember the best way to get in contact with Vamp is
through the App chat for any campaigns you are currently working on.
Honesty is always the best policy. Brands can smell a white lie a mile
off. If you are unable to produce quality content in the timeframe given
be honest and reach out to explain. At Vamp, we are pro-influencer
and are happy to work with you to find a manageable timeframe for
you to complete the brief.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
7 WAYS TO WIN BRAND COLLABS
GUIDE TO WINNING REPEAT WORK WITH BRANDS
20© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
4)
When shooting your images it’s important to think like brand. This will
make you more likely to get selected by brands for additional usage
rights. This means more cash and more exposure of your content
across a range of mediums including e-mails, print, social media ads,
etc.
Take care to hero the brand’s logo / product in your images. Refer back
to the brief during your photoshoot to ensure the photos you create
meet the campaign requirements. Always treat your professional
reputation as significantly as a brand would. That way you will find
yourself getting repeat work with your favourite brands.
THINK LIKE A BRAND
5)
Once you’ve accepted a brief from a client do your research
further into the brand. Browsing their social media accounts is a
good place to gauge their aesthetic and content style. Don’t
hesitate to reach out for more details of what the brand are
after. This will give a professional impression and help to build a
stellar reputation. At Vamp we are always happy to answer any
questions you may have about fulfilling a brief. You can get in
touch via the Vamp App chat or via a DM on @vampbrands.
RESEARCH AND ASK QUESTIONS
7 WAYS TO WIN BRAND COLLABS
GUIDE TO WINNING REPEAT WORK WITH BRANDS
21© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
6)
As an influencer you should keep growing and stay on top of the
trends. There are so many great resources online to help you up your
Instagram game. The Vamp blog is dedicated to keeping influencers
up to date with the most relevant articles. We have regular guest
articles from some of our most talented content creators.
Sign yourself up for a photography course or challenge yourself to
attend a videography masterclass to develop your skills. Make sure you
stay on top of the latest Instagram and industry developments too to
ensure you aren’t left behind. Get in touch with other influencers to
share tips, tools and advice.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & NETWORKING
7 WAYS TO WIN BRAND COLLABS
GUIDE TO WINNING REPEAT WORK WITH BRANDS
22© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
7)
One of the most important facets to your reputation is your ability to
be consistent. For any of Vamp’s briefs the brand has chosen you
because they love your content. Be sure to reproduce this quality in
your campaign imagery.
Vamp’s opt-in process means that the power is with you to only say
yes to briefs which you are able to fully commit to. As a member of
Vamp you are part of a powerful voice within the influencer marketing
industry. Ensuring you are dependable ensures you don’t let yourself or
your fellow content creators down.
Being professional and treating your Instagram as its own brand
doesn’t mean taking away the creative fun you can have with it. The
fun will really begin once you secure more opportunities.
BE CONSISTENT
CONCLUSION
To become a successful influencer takes a lot of work but hopefully after
reading this you feel that this is a passion you are inspired to pursue.
Ultimately what you put in will be what you will get back.
After all, if creating content is something you are passionate about, you
will flourish.
Being an influencer involves the ultimate combination of creativity and
strategy; community and individuality.
You might have opportunities to work with some of the world's best
brands who look to you to spread the word and inspire action. And, in
turn, you will continue developing into a very smart marketer.
Influencer marketing will continue to develop and evolve. Keep on top of
industry changes, new Instagram features and collaborate with like-
minded brands and influencers to thrive.
MAKERS GONNA MAKE
© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved
To become an influencer on the Vamp platform simply download our
App to apply.
Specially designed with influencers in mind, the Vamp App helps you to
spend less time on boring admin and more time on what you do best –
creating incredible content and building your community.
BECOME A VAMP INFLUENCER
E-mail: [email protected]
LET'S CHAT
Website: www.vamp.me
On social: @vampbrands
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