Basics As Social Media Influencer

Three years ago, I shared on this blog on how to successfully work with brands as a blogger and how I started earning from doing what I considered a hobby.

The steps in getting started are pretty simple: create audience first and then focus on content that is worth sharing. With this, you can established your online presence and can eventually get brand collaboration and sponsored post opportunities and get paid.

Fast forward to date, I am still receiving paid opportunities but now has a new way of spreading information thru my personal social media accounts. Surprisingly, some brands doesn’t require much of a blog post or detailed product review but a facebook and Instagram (or tiktok!) post for organic reached can suffice.

This new way is called influencer marketing. This is a form of marketing which focuses on key individuals to their target markets. It is a marketing strategy to spread information thru branded content which actually sounds more of personal recommendation to family and friends.

So, along with the usual celebrity appearance on a TV commercial and billboard ads, the spread of information was also taken over by a familiar face and trusted person on your friend list or accounts that you follow! This is a brilliant, and fast-paced way to influence the ‘buying-decision’ compared to traditional media outlets.

It is completely a new way of connecting directly to consumers through influencer partnership to help promote products and services on a more relatable approach. Also, tagging brands in a post becomes an easy way to go directly to the source of the product.

Admittedly, I do not have large following on my personal accounts but I genuinely share my excitement, feedbacks and product recommendation which I personally tried and tested. This led me to become a part of brand ambassador of skincare products from Korea. And later on being tapped for various brand collaboration in exchange of a worth’s supply of, or cash token for a post. The payment amount depends on brand’s budget, and I honestly doesn’t expect much as I’m here only to enjoy partnership from well-known brands to connect on a personal level.

Fair enough, I am part of an information network group and at the same time can monetize my time spent on social media! win-win. Here’s the basics on how to get noticed by brands:

Basics on Social Media Influencer?

• Produce high quality content

Brands look for credibility and good impression of their potential partners to work with. Not only they look for relevance, reach, and engagement rate but also on how good your contents are and how you came up with appealing captions to your target audience.

• Engage your audience

It’s important to build loyal audience and get them engaged in two way conversation. Micro-influencers effectively generates higher engagements and tend to be more powerful because consumers say that they trust recommendations from friends over advertisements.

• Join an Influencer networks

Joining a group of influencers can be a great way to receive numerous offers from brands and marketers. You can easily get connected with brands and can choose what product to promote.

My final thoughts? In today’s advance media and technology, anyone can be an influencer! But remember, a social media influencer is not made “on-the-spot”. Everyone started with small number of followers and it took passion, patience and dedication to build trust and drive authentic engagement. It is NOT only about nice photos and products sponsorship, but rather to be a go-to person for recommendations and honest reviews.

Starting a blog and creating a valuable influence shouldn’t be based on fame and money. It should be based on what you are passionate about and doing what you love to do. Being an influencer is a rewarding job, especially when you found something that can constantly excite and inspire you.