As a consumer, what would you trust more: a tv advertisement or the recommendation of a trusted friend? As people continue to grow resistant to traditional advertising and spend more and more time online, a new career path has emerged, becoming an influencer. Companies have found that it is more effective to focus on individuals who have influence over potential buyers instead of marketing to their target market as a whole. An influencer is someone you follow, trust, and aspire to be like.

Many of our peers have expressed interest in wanting to become an influencer (this post’s for you!). Whether you are trying to launch a blog, become a Youtuber, start your own podcast or anything in between, you must understand that to be an Influencer, you must create a brand for yourself. So without further ado, here are 5 tips for branding yourself and becoming an effective influencer:

1. Consistency Is Key
Being consistent encompasses several realms of your brand, ranging from your identity to the frequency in which you put out content. To build a strong brand for yourself you need to define your brand assets (color scheme, fonts, logo, tagline, etc.) and consistently use them. Dedicate time to brainstorming and finalizing your brand assets on paper so that it can be easily referred to when needed. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen influencers post a certain look on their Instagram and then when we go to their website it’s like we’re meeting a brand new person. Nothing ruins your brand recognition more than inconsistency.

In addition to having a consistent look, you should also have consistency to the amount of content you post. Let’s say you post three times a week for a month, you’re building great momentum, your followers are hooked, and then you go M.I.A. That entire momentum you built dies and you need to start back at square one. People are creatures of habit and if they get in the habit of reading your blog and then no new content comes out, they’ll simply move on to the next.

2. Pick A Voice & Stick To It
Your voice is an important aspect when trying to become an influencer. Your audience most likely does not personally know you, so the way you present yourself is how they are going to know who you are. Your voice is everything from your style of writing, to the style of photos you take and post, to the tone of your captions. Are you going for the clean black and white sleek vibe that uses a few words or the quirky fun colorful vibe that has a lot to say? These are important questions to ask yourself because it will dictate the content and style that you are putting out there and essentially be your brand. Your website, social media, your collaborations, everything should all tie into your voice and it should be consistent (see #1). If you are stuck and can’t think of one consistent voice, try thinking of who you want your audience to be. By starting there and working backward you can make sure your style and voice are capturing your desired audience.

3. Create A (real!) Aspirational Self-Image
We have preached this on the blog before, but here it goes again: the brands we choose make a lifestyle statement about the type of people we are. Therefore, as an influencer, to build a following, you must create a brand image for yourself that people can relate to or aspire to be like. For example, we aspire to be #GirlBosses so we follow brands like Jenna Kutcher and support female empowering businesses. However, it’s not enough to just say that something is your brand, you need to show it and persuade your audience. You can do this either through credibility (you have a background in the topic) or your appeal (which goes beyond your outer appearance, it’s also your aura and relatability). Whatever the image is you are trying to create, remember to pick something that already exists within you. When you find your fire, creating content and finding authentic supporters will be easy.

4. Utilize Every Platform
Many Influencers have a social media platform of choice and stick to just that. We think that’s an epic mistake as you are missing out on tons of eyeballs that could come from other platforms. If you are already putting the time into creating content to post to your website or Youtube account, you might as well spend a little more time and announce that post everywhere possible. Here’s the strategy: Publish your content, then post an aesthetically pleasing, yet relevant picture to Instagram telling people to check it out (include link!), share this same picture on Tumblr, make an infographic (if possible) and post it to Pinterest, post the direct link to your Facebook and Twitter, announce it on your newsletter, the list goes on. By building a presence on every platform, you widen your audience and make your brand discoverable to someone, who for example, might not have heard of you because they don’t believe in Instagram, but do have a Tumblr.

5. Be Patient & Grow Your Followers Naturally
In a world of instant gratification, it is hard to sit around and wait for your online presence to grow. This may take a while and it is much harder than buying your followers because you actually have to create content that people want to see. But I promise it will be worth it. If you build your audience naturally you know that the people following you genuinely want to hear what you have to say. You will be able to influence their lives whether that’s with cooking, lifestyle, or making various purchases.

This is also important if you want to monetize your online presence. For example, we have clients that get messages all the time for free products or services in exchange for a post on their blog or Instagram. Most of the time these collaborations are beneficial for both parties, but sometimes we get someone who has only a few posts and over 20k followers and they are only getting a few likes on each photo with no comments or engagement – something does not add up. You can quickly tell that this person most likely paid for their followers. As a business, this is a huge red flag and we always advise against collaborating with an influencer who we feel has paid for their following and is not a genuine influencer. If we feel we are not receiving value as a business we won’t give away products or services.

Becoming an influencer may seem overwhelming, but if you take the time, have the passion, and focus, you too can make an impact on people’s lives (and make money while doing it!). Reach out to us when you start, we would love to support! And if you need help getting started with your personal brand or want to discuss this article further contact us here, we’d love to chat!