There’s a new Hollywood in town, and it’s run by social media influencers!

Social media influencers are a new form of marketing and it’s changing how people advertise their products and services online in a big way.

Not a lot of people are in the know when it comes to being an influencer, or how to go about working with them. That’s why I’m writing this blog to help not just future influencers, but also businesses owners take advantage.

It ruins the stigma you can’t be successful online.

A lot of us grew up around parents that told us we can’t be successful online. It’s “not a real job” and we are better suited to go to college forever to do something we don’t love.

Social media influencers are changing that stigma and proving you can make a successful online career. But the trick is you have to treat it like a business.

The influencer field is always changing and adapting to new platforms, new algorithms, and all the other changes that come with social media. That’s why it’s important to treat it like a business that you monitor and change with.

It demands a lot of time and is a full-time job you can never truly step away from. It’s the double-edged sword of being your own company. You have to keep learning, and you have to keep producing to really get your brand out there.

Know all you can about the staple social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitter. Also, follow other social media influencers and see what they are doing and how they are maneuvering through the waves of social media.

Once you start to build a following, interact with your fans. This is what sets social media celebs and Hollywood celebs apart. People love influencers because they feel closer to them, making them care more. Always engage with your fanbase and create a bond they won’t be able to find elsewhere. This is what will set you apart from the rest.

Businesses are also capitalizing on Influencers

When it comes to influencer marketing, there are few outlets that are better. It even beats out Facebook and Google ads.

This is because of how loyal fans are to social media influencers. Influencers spend a lot of time producing content, but also responding to comments and creating relationships with their fans, which cultivates loyalty and trust.

Loyalty and trust are a huge reason as to why influencer marketing is blowing up. Influencers tend to only sign on to brands they themselves trust, and thus when they do promote a brand, their fans trust this decision and look into the brand and possibly buy from them.

By promoting with an influencer you are guaranteed a return on investment. The real question is, how do you find them?

You can go a more organic route and go to platforms like Instagram or YouTube and find a niche that suits your business and see who the top influencers are in that niche.

Sites like Social Blade rate profiles of users and if you see someone with a C rating or better that’s a good indicator that they have a lot of fans watching their post or videos.

When you find someone you like, check out their profiles to see how many followers they have, and check out their fanbase and look at their organic engagement with those fans.

Organic engagement is everything. You want someone who interacts with their fans and seems to really care about those around them. This creates a deeper bond with their followers meaning the brand deal will resonate better with the crowd.

Reach out to influencers through their preferred method. Whether that be DMs (Direct Messages) or email. And remember they are getting hit up a lot of people, so keep your message short and to the point but also friendly.

After you send your message the rest is luck and miracles. It’s a digital world now, and everyone is trying to get their slice.