How to Create Identity

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Social media has become an inseparable part of people’s daily lives worldwide. According to We Are Social’s Digital 2020 Global Overview Report, there are 3.8 billion social media users in January 2020. The recent trends show that more than half of the world’s total population will use social media by midyear. Some of the main reasons people are hooked to social media are the fact that it enables people to easily socialise and exchange information with the rest of the world; connects like-minded people together; and allows tech-savvy brands to engage with their customers.

Social media influencers play a big part in brand engagement as they are considered trendsetters with the ability to encourage their followers to make purchases of products they promote. Influencers have built a reputation for their knowledge and skills on a specific topic, posts regularly about that topic on their social media accounts, and have followers that display great interest in their views. It is common for types of influencers to be categorised by follower numbers, types of content, and the level of influence.

Categorised by follower numbers, there are Mega-Influencers, Macro-Influencers, Micro-Influencers, and Nano-Influencers. Mega-influencers are people with a great number of followers on their social networks. Mega-influencers usually have more than 1 million followers on at least one social platform. These influencers include actors, sportspeople, musicians, and other celebrities – who, of course, offers their service with a price. Macro-influencers, on the other hand, are more accessible as influencer marketers. People with followers in the range between 40,000 and 1 million followers on a social network are within this category. This group tends to comprise of two types of people: celebrities who are still climbing up the staircase of fame or successful online experts with more followers than micro-influencers. Micro-influencers, on the other hand, are ordinary people who have become known for their knowledge about a particular specialist niche. Micro-influencers normally have between 1,000 and 40,000 followers on a single social platform. The newest influencer-type to gain recognition with fewer than 1,000 followers are nano-influencers. Although they only have a small number of followers, they tend to be experts in a highly specialised field with followers that are very keen and willing to listen to their opinions.

In terms of types of content, there are bloggers, Youtubers, podcasters, and influencers with social posts only. One of the earliest influencers, bloggers may create product reviews that can lead their followers to purchase the product being mentioned. To an extent, brands can also buy a sponsored post on the blog. Another favorite type of content is video. Many brands often collaborate with YouTube content creators to promote their products. Besides those already-famous platforms, a relatively recent form of online content that has started gaining popularity is podcasting – a way to share information as digital audio files where people would subscribe, download, share, and listen to them. As for social posts, Instagram has been an exceptionally popular platform for posting images as a form of self-branding.

Based on the level of influence, there are celebrities, Key Opinion Leaders, and people with above average influence on their audience. Celebrities promoting or endorsing products have proven to be an effective way to boost sales. Therefore, it is not surprising that many brands, particularly high-end ones, still use celebrities as their brand’s influencers until now. Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are industry leaders and thought leaders that gain respect due to their qualifications or experience about their topic of expertise; journalists, academics and industry experts. Lastly, there are people with above average influence on their audience who are similar to Key Opinion Leaders, yet usually have gained their reputation more informally through online activities.

Influencers, with their area of expertise and focus, play such an important role in today’s society. They are role models, buzzers, engagers, opinion leaders that offer so much to the community. They are people given the privilege to introduce and post newly launched products, services, and experiences – oftentimes with high incentives, too. It is obvious that a lot of people are keen on being one. If you are among those people, here are some of the things you should pay attention to:

Identity and Authenticity

Gathering an audience is a carefully planned process which requires hard work and dedication. As an influencer, you will have to research and cater to your audiences. So, choose something that you are authentically passionate about. It is important to create a certain personality that is consistent from time to time. Therefore, you must first and foremost decide what kind of image you would like to establish and maintain. Another essential part to establish yourself as an influencer is having some level of expertise in the field.

Understand the Audience

Prior to creating content and posting on social media, you need to understand your target audience. It is important to know which type of audience to be targeted. Start by analysing current follower base to get insights into their demographics and interests. Most social media platforms have a built-in analytics tool that provides such insights about your current audience. With this understanding, it should be easier for you to deliver contents that meet their needs.

Optimise Your Social Media Profiles

Here are some of the things you can do to optimise your profiles:

Switch to a Business Account

Switching to a business account opens up a lot more opportunities to be endorsed by brands and collaborate with other influencers or public figures.

Create an Engaging Bio

It is important to create an engaging story about yourself as well as provide basic information such as your name, location, contact details, and areas of expertise.

Add a Profile and Cover Photo

Select your profile photo carefully and make sure that the quality of your picture is good.

Post Relevant Content and Engage with Your Audience

It is recommended for you to create a content strategy and use a mix of content types; especially ones that your audience will enjoy most. Some influencers prefer to add a bit of content from their daily lives to relate with their audiences better. This actually helps influencers seem more authentic and relatable and form a bond with their audiences. Connect with your followers by replying to comments and answer any questions your followers ask you. Interacting with your followers will strengthen your position as an influencer and create stronger bond with your followers.

Have Regular and Consistent Schedule

After you have decided the types of content to post, plot a posting frequency and schedule. Most social media platforms’ algorithms give preference to accounts that post regularly. On Instagram, for instance, regular posting frequency will give you increased visibility.

Based on a study by Sprout Social, there are certain days and times of the week when you can get maximum engagement on your posts. For most platforms, the highest engagement rates can be seen during the late morning and afternoon hours of midweek. Wednesday is the best day to post for most platforms.

Here are the best times to post on Instagram in 2020, for example:

Source: https://influencermarketinghub.com/how-to-become-an-influencer/

Allow Brands to Know You Are Open for Collaborations

The final stage is to declare yourself as an influencer who is interested in brand collaborations. This can be done by writing in your bio that you are an influencer and are interested in collaborations. Another way to do this is by reaching out to relevant brands and state what you can offer. A less direct way to be noticed is to tag brands and mention them when you talk about their products in your posts.

Building a name for yourself require time and effort. Therefore, immediate results will not happen overnight. However, with consistency and work put by following these tips, you can become an influencer that both contribute positively to the community and start harvesting earnings online.

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