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How to Become an Instagram Influencer?

Last updated: June 11 2020

Written and researched by experts at Avada Learn more about our methodology

In the age of social media booming and dominating nowadays, an influencer is no longer a strange concept!

An influencer is known as a person with a large number of followers, using many different social networking platforms to spread information to people, or they are people who know about a specific field and ability to convince a particular audience. The more famous influencer becomes, the more attention the brand can attract in the process of finding a representative and promoting the product.

One of the prominent social networks that people choose to build images today is Instagram. With the benefits from the work that brands bring, the Instagram influencer is the job that many young people target, especially in this year!

However, is becoming an influencer as simple as you think? Becoming an Instagram influencer is not that easy. But do not be discouraged.

In today’s article, I will give you ultimate guidance about How to become an Instagram influencer.

What makes someone an Instagram influencer?

Instagram influencer
Instagram influencer

According to recent statistics, more than 80% of Instagram accounts follow other businesses or brands, and more than 200 million Instagram users access other business profiles every day. Additionally, nearly one-third of Americans make more than $75,000 a year by using Instagram. Therefore, it can be said that becoming an Instagram Influencer is a precious job with a large market to grow.

Instagram Influencer is the term used to refer to users who own a large and engaged number of followers on the Instagram platform. There are many ways to make your Instagram page have enormous followers and thus become an influencer. But the main way is that people document stories about their daily lives with artistic photos and deep captions that inspire many people or sometimes make others jealous of their lives. These influencers, then, are often contacted by brands for advertisements, promotions, and paid partnerships. Influencers will be paid based on their Instagram posts.

How to become an Instagram influencer?

If you are an entertainer and known by the public or if you already have influence in society before, becoming an Instagram influencer will be very simple. However, if you are a normal person with the desire to become famous and have some small influence, then becoming an influencer on Instagram is not as easy as you think. Who doesn’t want to be rich, famous, and even influential? But not everyone can do it.

Do not worry. We are here to help. Here I will share specific instructions on how to become an Instagram influencer. Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Choose a niche

The very first step in learning how to become an Instagram influencer is choosing a suitable niche. You can not just put everything on your Instagram page because it will be very messy, and the users will not grasp what you want to convey. So it is best to choose something that you are very good at and know and dig deep into it.

Are you good at photography? Do you enjoy traveling and taking photos of other majestic nature? You can completely turn your personal Instagram page into a place to share about your trips and wonders of the world that not many people have come to. That would be a great highlight for your Instagram page.

Once you have chosen a niche, you will have to stick to it. So choose something that reflects your real interest and not a niche you know nothing about.

Step 2: Get an Instagram business account

The next step in learning how to become an Instagram influencer involves having to analyze and evaluate your Instagram account seriously. Currently, there are many useful tools for you to analyze Instagram ratios and metrics, like Instagram Insights.

These data give you detailed information about your followers, identify followers’ fluctuations, top positions, audience uptime, profile views, and the number of clicks based on a specific time period. You can view the Insights data for your overall account, as well as for specific posts.

If you want to be an Instagram influencer, this is very important. From the given figures, you can give yourself a specific strategy about the content of the post, the time of posting to attract the most viewers.

However, you will never be able to do that with a personal account. While you can statistically count likes and shares for each post, this will cost you much time, and it won’t work in the long term. Therefore I recommend using a business account. Although you will have to pay for advertising, the amount of money you earn when attracting many people thanks to using the Instagram business account is much greater.

Learn more: How To Get Verified on Instagram?

Step 3: Write an interesting and special Instagram bio

Instagram bio
Instagram bio

An impressive bio has a great influence on the attractiveness of your Instagram account. A bio section on Instagram consists of 150 characters. Bio is like a brief review about yourself as well as what you’re aiming for. A concise bio will make users feel impressive and interested in what you post more.

So, how do you write an impressive bio for Instagram? I have a tip for you. Find answer for this question: What would I say if I introduced myself at an event with thousands or even millions of people? Asking this question will help you determine the details you should include in your bio profile.

Besides, you should also localize keywords. List relevant keywords you use to describe yourself and your brand. Once you know the keywords that are relevant to your brand, you will be able to describe who you are and what you do. Your followers will feel confident that they follow the right profile.

One tip for you is that you should attach a link in your profile, especially if you have a separate website. Bio is the only place where you can put a link that followers can click on. So never forget it!

Read more: 100+ Best Instagram Bio Ideas To Make Your Profile Shine Bright

Step 4: Focusing on aesthetics

All the top influencers today have in common that they own Instagram pages with great aesthetics. After all, Instagram is still a social network for posting photos. So that impressive photos are always the general purpose of Instagram users. Influencers in the beauty and fashion industry love to post OOTD, makeup. Food industry influencers like posting photos of their foods. Artists post their art images. All those photos are very carefully selected and extremely high artistic.

Instagram aesthetics
Instagram aesthetics

Now, how does your Instagram page have such a great aesthetic? You don’t need to be a professional photographer to have a great photo. Choosing the right type of camera also makes your photos more professional. Then determine the look of your images. What is the core color of your photos? You should choose a specific filter so your posts will look consistent.

Also, you should also choose an aesthetic that suits your preferences and personality. Do you like something feminine and elegant? Perhaps you can use pastel or white tones. Do you want your profile to be somewhat mysterious? Perhaps you should post black and white photos to create the mystery.

Step 5: Write captions for each photo on point

Remember, users not only see the photos that you post, but they are also interested in what you annotate for that photo. So don’t underestimate the strength of these caption lines.

Not only do you create posts with beautiful photos, but you should also add a bit of your personality to make your brand closer and more interesting. They can be quotes or jokes or simple words to share about what you care about.

To write interesting captions that can reflect the personality of your brand, firstly, you should choose the most accurate adjectives that describe your brand. Based on these adjectives, you can think of a great amount of good content without worrying about distracting the values that you want to convey.

Step 6: Choose the right hashtag

If you want to increase followers, hashtags are an integral part of it. Posts with received hashtags have an engagement rate 12.6% higher than posts without hashtags. That’s because hashtags make your posts searchable

For example, if you post fashion articles, the hashtag #OOTD may cause your profile to be searched by users for clothing combinations. Without the hashtag, they can’t find your post no matter how they do it.

An ideal post usually has between 5 and 30 hashtags. If the hashtag number exceeds 30, then Instagram will not let you comment in that post. So you should not attach too many hashtags in your posts.

Step 7: Regularly post new content

Regularly post new content
Regularly post new content

Finding your optimal posting frequency is another important factor in becoming an Instagram influencer. Figures show that top brands and influencers usually post an average of 1.5 times per day. This is because they want to engage and interact with their followers regularly. If you post only one or two posts a week, your followers may forget you.

So how often should you post to Instagram? There is a lot of research about the frequency of posting on Instagram. There is no set number for your posts, but it is best to post at least one post a day. However, it is essential that you maintain your posting frequency. If your weekly engagement drops, then your posts will be ranked lower on Instagram’s algorithm. That means it will show up on less user feeds.

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Step 8: Interact with followers

Instagram is clearly a social networking platform. So it always values the interaction between users. Frequent interactions will help you increase your engagement rate and attract more followers. ou can check out the Instagram feed of potential followers and get to know them by commenting on their posts and what you love. Leaving a comment can help you start a new conversation and relationships. This is also a way for you to get more followers.

But do not forget to interact with the followers that you have. If they comment below your post and ask you questions, make sure you respond. Followers always appreciate the influencers take the time to talk and interact with them. They are the people who make your post have more engagement and can introduce you to more people. So the least you should do is talk and thanks for their enthusiastic support.

Read more: How To Get More Engagement On Instagram

Step 9: Get in touch with brands

One of the ways to become an Instagram influencer is to work with your favorite brand. If you already own thousands of followers on Instagram, you can start reaching out to brands. You can participate in their marketing campaigns or use their hashtags in your posts. This will make brands pay more attention to you.

You can also reach them by sending messages via the Direct Message feature or emailing them and letting them know their benefits in cooperating with you. You may not receive a response sooner or may not even respond, but be patient and polite. The results will come one day.

Step 10: Become an Instagram marketing expert

Becoming an Instagram Influencer also means that you must become an Instagram marketing expert. You have to understand how the interaction rate, likes, and comments on posts affect the products you post. Moreover, you need to take advantage of your Instagram page’s existing strengths to attract advertising requests and make the products you advertise to become attractive and prominent. It is not an easy job, and you must spend a lot of time and effort to research and come up with effective strategies.

Extra tips to become famous on Instagram

Extra tips to become famous on Instagram
Extra tips to become famous on Instagram

1. Focus on your uniqueness

There are millions of people active on Instagram daily. So what makes you different from the rest. Find that out and focus on exploiting it. This is what makes you special and influences you. You have the ability to makeup within 5 minutes, or you can choose an outfit that suits all body shapes. Do not hesitate to show it to everyone so that they can see your talent.

2. Confident to show yourself

Instagram Influencer is a profession that makes you popular and popular. So if you want to become an influencer, you need to get used to expressing yourself in front of many people. So right now, you have to eliminate your worries and be ready to face everything. Today’s Instagram influencers are very open to sharing the ups and downs in their lives for everyone. By doing so, they created a space that made all followers feel comfortable and close to connect.

Being an influencer means you will have an impact on your audience. So if you treat them as friends and share trivial things, the hidden things in your life will make them feel sympathetic and appeased. This creates a strong bond between you and your followers.

3. Record it, do not create

The days when flashy, well-arranged, and carefully edited photos were popular on Instagram are far gone. Now people tend to prefer more genuine and simple things. What I am trying to say is that you should not deceive your audience with a set plan. What the audience wants to see is how you wake up in the morning, and how sleepy you are, how you struggle with your kitchen. Record the real thing like that, don’t try to create a model that you are not.

However, that does not mean that you do not need to care about the pictures you post. You should still add in your photos a little bit of editing, so that will make your photos more attractive. And if your life is inherently flashy like Hollywood movies, congratulations, you don’t have to try to do anything. The problem is that it’s still you, but in the better version, not trying to be a stranger.

4. Make yourself available for sponsorships and collaborations

Make sure that the bio section of your profile is full of contact information such as email, phone number, link to your personal site if available, etc. From those who wish to cooperate or sponsor, you will be able to contact the right address. Before cooperating, brands often consider factors such as follower growth rate, engagement rate, and monthly traffic. Therefore, you should have a media kit that includes all information about your Instagram page to present to brands easily.

5. Diversify Your Platforms

No other influencer currently only works on one platform. It is not only risky but also limits the development of your brand. By increasing the number of followers on other platforms, you are also increasing your revenue when you combine with brands. For example, if a brand contacts you and offers to collaborate by posting your new product on your Instagram, you can suggest you could add a blog post and advertise it. your email list.

So what other platforms should you use? It all depends on your strengths and preferences. Which other platforms should you be on? It all depends on your interests and strengths and which platform is best suited to your niche. If you want to use a platform closely linked to Instagram, then use Facebook. If you’re good at recording videos, try Youtube, and there are many other platforms to choose from.

6. Invite engagement with calls to action

If you’re looking to increase your engagement, sometimes all you have to do is add a little CTA. You want your post to get more likes? You want to ask your followers to click like if they find your content meaningful. Want followers to click on the link in your profile? Try to put a Call to action. We need real action. So make sure that all love really leads somewhere by using a strong Call-to-action on Instagram.

7. Do not overdo with sponsored content

Even if you have found suitable partners, you need to limit the amount of sponsored content. Too much-sponsored content challenges your audience’s patience, but it can also undermine your influence with brands. When influencer publishes sponsored posts over and over again, it can give brands the impression that you are easy to collaborate with and won’t invest heavily in your site’s main content. Followers will also find it very boring to read such posts all the time.

Remember to promote only the products you actually experience and trust that your followers will benefit from it. By setting the standards for the products you work with and the number of posts, you not only build an authentic image in the eyes of followers but also become very valuable for brands.

8. Do not let haters get you down

Influencer are also considered as famous people. When the reputation of influencers increases, the number of haters will also increase. These haters will always do everything to lower your reputation and leave some mean and ugly words right on your Instagram page. But don’t let the negative things take you down. Ignore them and focus on the things you need to do. Success will come to you only. Leveraging Instagram API to harness the power of follower acquisition and engagement, get you influencer follower data with Instagram API.

Best examples of Instagram influencers marketing

You can learn from Instagram influencers who have been or are successful to gain their own real experience and build their own brand image. Need typical examples? Here are five great examples of successful Instagram influencers marketing.

1. Candice Kumai

Candice Kumai's Instagram
Candice Kumai's Instagram

Candice Kumai is the author of a health care book Kintsugi Health: The Japanese Art of Nourishing Mind, Body, and Spirit, based on Japan’s heritage and nutritional expertise. In addition, she is a columnist for the magazine Girl Boss and Elle. However, most people know her as an Instagram influencer.

Kumai doesn’t just post on Instagram about plant-based recipes. She posts many contents about businesswomen, about travel and family. So, what is the lesson from her success? Don’t make your Instagram monotonic and boring. You can add some other parts to your brand that make it attractive to the target audience. Show your audience your multi-dimensionless while keeping your images and voice streamlined.

2. Angi Greene

Angi Greene describes herself as MOM of boys, 13 x Cover Model, Athlete, Trainer, Health & Wellness advocate. She is also known as a storyteller on Instagram. In fact, all of her posts, whether they are advertisements or not, include a very long caption telling the relevant stories.

Angi Greene's Instagram
Angi Greene's Instagram

There are some branding lessons you can learn from Angi’s Instagram strategy. The thing is to create your own syntax. Angi has a separate syntax for all her posts on Instagram. It helps her content stand out in feeds and has been expected by followers. She has syntax or emoticon identifiers combined with the true stories she tells in each photo that her followers can always recognize and share with her. As you can see, Angi posts lots of inspirational quotes alongside images from her personal life and things she loves. Make sure you inspire your audience with words and tell them a visual story.

3. REI

REI's Instagram
REI's Instagram

REI is an Instagram influencer with over 2.3 million followers. The content that REI posts is mainly her outdoor activities and her followers are also people who especially love outdoor activities. The lesson here is to focus on the content that your target audience cares about. This content doesn’t directly address your brand, but it should represent the characteristics and personality that your brand focuses on.

In addition, the content of REI’s posts also includes how-to posts to instruct other people to do something. Those will be helpful guidelines for the audience to follow. So the followers will be more interested in your posts.

4. Johnie Gall

Johnie Gall's Instagram
Johnie Gall's Instagram

Johnie Gall is also known as @dirtbagdarling on Instagram. She is a leader in Instagram activities. And she has received many offers from big brands to run their missions, including Patagonia.

Learn from Johnie Gall not to focus too much on teaching. Always mix high-activism serious posts with lighthearted and humorous posts that will make the audience see your other sides. One more thing, be close to Instagram Stories. Johnie uses Stories a lot to interact with followers and increase people’s awareness of social issues.

5. The Riveter

The Riveter's Instagram
The Riveter's Instagram

The Riveter describes them as a female-forward work and community platform for women and advocates. They choose to interact with the audience on Instagram through conversations. The content of these conversations often revolves around women in business and leadership. The Riveter has become a real influencer in this regard. The Riveter is very clear about its mission and they use Instagram as a tool to introduce the event as well as to invite the participation of the whole community.

The Riveter has shown an example of the effect of combining Instagram and events. You can become a conversation leader in your field and connect with many aspects of that. By using Instagram to publicize your events, tagging event participants, asking event participants to post content on their own profile to publicize the events. From there, more people will come to know you thanks to the events and common goals that you and they work towards.

Summary

The above are guidelines for you to become an Instagram influencer in the future. Hopefully, these tips have given you inspiration and insight to launch your strategy to become an influencer on Instagram. Remember that success doesn’t happen overnight, but with your consistency and commitment to your social channels, you’ll soon see the success of your efforts!

Sam
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Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.