Influencers are everywhere in 2024. No matter what industry you find yourself in or which ad you see on TV, you will always encounter someone promoting something about it or in it. Influencers are huge on social media, especially Instagram.
But what exactly is an influencer? Is an influencer just another person fake promoting a product to make extra money? Is influencing just another trend that will fade away in the future?
Influencers and influencing are none of those things. A real social media influencer is a person who has worked hard to gain knowledge and expertise within an industry or niche. This expert proficiency and skill enable these individuals to influence the purchasing decisions of social media users. Instagram influencers, in particular, usually have a massive following built up over several months or years.
Instagram influencers typically flourish in popular niches like fitness, food, travel, or fashion. More importantly, their followers trust them explicitly because they have proven they are transparent and trustworthy. Part of this trust is built through constant engagement on the Instagram app.
Sometimes, Instagram users confuse influencers with celebrities and content creators. While all three promote different things, only influencers can sway buying decisions. Celebrities have their status and large followings on Instagram. Even so, they only sometimes have credibility and niche expertise. For example, if a movie star promotes a healthy drink, it does not necessarily mean they know the ingredients or even drink it at home.
The same applies to content creators. A content creator focuses on making the most engaging content. This content may even include celebrities talking about or demonstrating a product. However, the content creator can only sometimes influence whether people buy the product.
That said, some content creators and celebrities are influencers as well. But, for the most part, an influencer is a person who is committed to one brand and its products or services. On the contrary, content creators and celebrities may work with several brands and businesses.
Different Types of Influencers
Not all Instagram influencers operate on the same level, literally. They are categorized according to follower count, engagement and reach. For example, nano influencers usually have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers. Brands love nano influencers because they are ideal for promoting products to a specific audience. While they may have the most minor follower count of all the influencer types, they typically have the highest engagement rate at around 8.8 percent. Nano influencers are more cost-effective for businesses with small budgets.
Micro-influencers have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers. This is still a smallish following compared to mega-influencers, but micro-influencers are known for building exceptional trust and credibility with Instagram followers. In fact, more than 82 percent of Instagram content consumers are likely to buy a product after seeing a review by a micro-influencer. Niche brands prefer working with micro-influencers because of their strong connection to their followers.
Then, there are mid-tier influencers. They boast audiences of between 50,000 and 500,000 followers. Mid-tier influencers only find success after a period of time. They spend many years working their way to the top, often starting as nano-influencers. Mid-tier influencers are usually expert content creators and can offer businesses a wide reach on Instagram.
Next up are macro-influencers. With audiences of between 500,000 and 1 million followers, macro-influencers are famous people. Still, as mentioned above, even though an influencer is a celebrity, they can still connect well with audiences, especially if said audience is very large. Brands can expect a massive reach on Instagram, but only sometimes the engagement they are after.
Mega-influencers have more than 1 million followers and are celebrities by default. They bring engagement and visibility to brands who want to invest in influencer marketing. Mega-influencers are also open about asking for top rates for their services. You should note, however, that while mega-influencers have massive audiences and an extensive reach on Instagram, they will still need help to match the engagement rate of nano-influencers. In most cases, they will not even achieve a quarter percent of it.
Thinking of Becoming an Influencer?
If you are thinking of becoming an influencer on Instagram and starting as a nano-influencer on the platform, you must first answer a couple of questions.
The most important question is “why?” Why do you want to become an influencer? Is it for the money or fame, or is there a topic or product you are passionate about? Do you want to tell people all about it so that it can make a difference in their lives? Understanding why you want to be an influencer will help you make the right start on Instagram.
Moreover, you should ask yourself whether you are comfortable showing your face on Instagram. Are you ready to deal with inevitable criticism, trolling and bullying? Influencing is not all sunshine and roses. Being in the public eye can lead to negativity and just plain nastiness. Being an influencer may not be the right choice if you cannot deal with things like this.
Other questions may include: what type of content can and will you create? Who is your target audience? Can you generate enough content to keep your followers coming back for more? Which brands do you want to promote? Do you want to work with more than one business? These important questions need thoughtful answers before you get started as an influencer.
You must decide on a niche once you have answered these questions successfully. Some niches perform better than others on Instagram. These include lifestyle content such as beauty, food, home décor, DIY, travel and fashion. Fitness and wellness are huge on Instagram, as are finance and business. Currently, gaming is experiencing an Instagram boom if that is what you are interested in. You could also decide to create content about pets for pet owners, which is also a popular Instagram niche.
Just remember that choosing something is not good enough because it sounds fun. You will have to find a niche you are really interested in and become an authority. This is the only way to attract your target audience and stand out on Instagram. If you narrow your focus and show your followers that you are committed to your niche, you will stay aware of this gigantic platform.
Instagram Still Dominates the Influencer World
You may wonder why you should choose Instagram and not TikTok or Facebook. Despite the rise of other social media platforms, especially TikTok, Instagram is still a dominant influencer. This is mainly because its core focus, high-quality visuals, fits well with influencer marketing strategies. You will go a long way to find a better platform for promoting products and niches.
Furthermore, Instagram offers a range of features to make promotion easier. These include Reels, Stories and live videos. You can also use shoppable features to attract audiences on this platform. With Instagram’s targeting tools, you can easily reach your specific demographic.
What’s more, there is already an established influencer community on Instagram, and many consumers have already associated influencer marketing with this platform.
Building an Identity as an Instagram Influencer
Before building your identity as an Instagram influencer, you must have all the parts in place. This means creating an Instagram account and writing a catchy bio. Your headline should contain keywords relevant to your niche, and you can also add the word “influencer” to this section. Your actual bio should be short, informative and include a call to action. Your profile picture should be a headshot or a brand logo. Below your bio, you can add Story Highlights with attractively designed covers to showcase your influencer identity.
Decide on a cohesive visual style for your feed. This will make it easier for your followers to recognize your content. Also, find a tone and voice that works for you and fits the niche you are promoting.
Once these pillars are in place, you can post regular content like Reels and Stories. When you get the hang of things, you can even partner with other influencers to grow your audience and expand your reach on Instagram.
Partnering with other influencers will also help you make more money on the platform. As alternative ways of supplementing your influencer income, you can look into cross-promotion, paid services, and affiliate marketing.
If you don’t find success doing this, you should consider finding business sponsors. Show different brands your unique selling point and prove what you can do for their business. If you do not know where to start looking for brands in your niche, you can join an influencer marketplace that connects brands and influencers.
Staying Successful as an Instagram Influencer
Consistency is key if you want to remain successful as an Instagram influencer. It’s not always easy, but keeping engaged with your core audience will help expand your reach. And you do not have to panic if you discover that your engagement is dropping. Instead, partner with well-known platforms like Blastup and Stormlikes to continue boosting your Instagram presence. Both platforms offer instant likes, views, and followers for your Instagram posts. You can even choose automatic or targeted Instagram likes and views.
Moreover, you can buy Instagram followers when starting as an influencer to establish a real audience from the get-go.
With Blastup and Stormlikes by your side, you cannot go wrong when building your career as an Instagram influencer. So, give them a try and experience the magic of an instantly engaged Instagram audience for yourself.
Sources:
- https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-an-influencer/
- https://www.simplilearn.com/types-of-influencers-article
- https://www.coursera.org/articles/how-to-become-an-influencer
- https://kingfluencers.com/how-to-become-an-influencer-in-2024-success-roadmap/
Members of the editorial and news staff of the Las Vegas Review-Journal were not involved in the creation of this content.