SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS FROM A WANNA BE INFLUENCER
As I think about social media, I get overwhelmed with the thought of “how am I going to build my brand”. I have started probably 15 different accounts over the past few years trying to figure out what works best for me, it is a lot of trial and error. As someone who is trying to figure out the ways of micro-influencing, here are a few of the things I've learned along the way.
When we talk about social media platforms, which ones come to mind first? TikTok, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest are the ones we often think of. When you are building your social media presence in 2023, it is hard to grasp whether numbers really matter in the grand scheme of things. Today we are going to talk about the importance of numbers in social media, ranging from followers, likes, and overall engagement.
FOLLOWER/LIKE COUNT
How important is follower count? If we look at the logistics, I'd like to say it means nothing. In reality you need a small base of followers to start being noticed by brands. This doesn't mean you need to watch a TikTok on how to gain 10 thousand followers overnight, but it does mean you need a base number of followers to begin with.
In my opinion a micro influencer can start with a small following, even as small as 500 followers. However, at Influencer Matchmaker, they define micro influencers as “social media users who fall inside the 3,000-100,000 followers/subscriber bracket.” Originally, influencers weren't being noticed until they had reached well over 50,000 followers. In my personal experience, having a small number of followers doesn’t necessarily mean that you have less to offer, it could be a good opportunity to reach out to small businesses to start creating working relationships.
If we get into the nitty gritty of specific networks, I would say find your niche and figure out which platform to start out with. If your goal is to be a fashion influencer, I would start with photo and video based platforms (Instagram and TikTok). You don't need to make a website and have 6 different platforms, it could get overwhelming and it's honestly unnecessary. Focus on building your brand and finding your niche.
CONTENT
Let's talk about making content, one of my favourite subjects. When making content, you don't need any fancy equipment, just a phone will work. I personally switch between my digital camera (thrifted for $20) and my iPhone to get all the content I need. Depending on which platforms you’re intending on using will switch up the type of content you’re going to be making.
TIKTOK
When making content for TikTok you're going to want to find out what songs and trends are popular. TikTok is an extremely fast moving platform, trend wise, and trends switch weekly so it's important to find out what's going to work for you. I follow all fashion related influencers so I can scroll through my following page and find all the information I need there. From there I recommend making short form content (15 seconds - 1 minute) to start with. Realistically, the follower base you’ll start out with might not be interested in who you are as a person (yet) and will be more interested in trends. After you participate in trends for a while, start making different content that will appeal to the follower base you’ve gained.
Instagram is fairly similar to TikTok, other than the fact you can post more photo content than TikTok. I find I switch between reels and photos to create a wide variety of content for my follower base. A useful tool on Instagram is the engagement button, featured on business accounts, which you can use even if you’re a personal account. This button will show you when your followers are more active and the best times to post, it is an essential part of the algorithm. There is also an option to schedule your posts, so if you are a person who enjoys creating all of your content for the week in one day, you can create the posts to post later, saving you time and energy in the long run. Again, find your niche and stick to it. Instagram profile grids are a key part to gaining followers and engagement on your profile. I find an aesthetic feed (whichever aesthetic you choose) is the most effective way for people to find your profile.
One last tip is to have a content calendar. For someone like me, who can often lose track of time, a content calendar helps keep me in check when it comes to posting on time. You can find a simple content calendar app on any android and apple stores.
Overall, find your niche and stay consistent. Don’t feel pressured to have a perfectly curated feed and stay authentic to yourself, and you’ll be set to have success on social media.
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