Do you want to become an Instagram brand infuencer and get paid? If YES, here are 17 practical tips on how to be a highly paid Instagram influencer. Picture a scenario where brands fall over you begging you to use their products, and they pay you heavily in cash in exchange for this service. If you can create this picture in your mind, then you are beginning to understand who an instagram influencer is.
While it may be easy enough to take pretty pictures and post them on instagram, it is actually not that easy to gain enough visibility to get yourself known. It would take years of hard work for people to know you and respect your opinion. In fact, you have to be an acceptable authority in the niche that you have chosen for yourself.
Instagram influencers can charge anywhere between $75 and $3,000 per post. Even if you are at the lower end of the spectrum, it is still a lot of money for just one Instagram post. These figures can indeed tempt one to want to try out a career as an instagram influencer. If you are thinking of becoming an Instagram influencer, we are here to give you tips on how to actualize that dream.
20 Practical Tips on How to Become a Highly Paid Instagram Influencer
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It’s All About The Niche
To become an Instagram influencer, the first thing you need to do is find a niche that suits your personality. This is very important. Your niche needs to be something you’re really passionate about. Something in which you have a good deal of knowledge and interest.
Just because someone else is doing something and is successful, doesn’t mean you should too. Note that you have to be posting topics on this niche consistently, so if you are not quite passionate about it, there may be a problem. So, selecting the right niche is very important because you will have to spend a considerable amount of time researching it and posting content on that topic.
This is not something you can fake on social media, somewhere or the other, your true person will take over. So, be very careful about that and don’t follow a niche that is trending. There are loads of topics to choose from like DIY crafts, kitchen hacks, travel, lifestyle, food and so on.
Your niche might even be a combination of different things, as long as they’re not random. For example, your niche can be food, travel, and lifestyle. You should be able to create posts that balance out these topics since they are related.
2. Get Your Bio Up To Par
Once you have decided on your niche, you need to start fixing up your Instagram account. The very first thing you need to focus on is creating a bio that is guaranteed to snap up attention as soon as people lay eyes on it. It should talk about your story in a way that engages people.
Remember, it’s one of the first things that a brand or a potential follower will see on your account. So if you want to know how to become an Instagram influencer, you need to first learn how to create an attention-grabbing Instagram bio. It is not rocket science, with a few research, you can put together a great instagram bio.
3. Invest In A High Quality Camera Or Photographer
Instagram is a world that runs on pictures, and crappy images don’t make an influencer. Brands are looking for the best of the best to accurately represent their products, services and locations. Because of this, they’re not likely to work with someone who struggles to capture quality images so you definitely need to make this a priority.
If you need to take your own photos, invest in a high quality camera and tripod. Hire a local photographer to take a variety of images for you. You can equally reach out to photographers on Instagram and propose to do business with them, sort of like a collaboration.
4. Make A Good First Impression
The first time you are launching your profile, try and make a decent first impression. If you are willing to become an Instagram influencer, you need to know how to capture attention and make people want to see more of you and your profile.
The first two things that captures the eyes of a visitor are a good Instagram bio and a beautiful Instagram feed theme. Ensure that your feed is quite entertaining and alluring and free from anything that spells boring or cliche.
5. Let your feed be an extension of you
If you think you can become an Instagram influencer just by sharing random photos, you clearly have it all wrong. The captions that go along with those photos are as important as the photos themselves. Use them to tell your stories and connect with your followers on an emotional level.
Give them a reason to trust you, follow you, and engage with you. However, in your quest toward engaging them, don’t forget to be genuine. Because that will be easily seen through. Instead, share your personal stories in a way that your audience finds interesting yet authentic.
6. Be Comfortable And Friendly
Nobody can ever succeed in becoming an Instagram influencer by just sharing a couple of photos or videos daily. It is just not about posting to Instagram; it is about the relationship you build with the audience. If you want popularity, and if you are willing to influence your followers, avoid being shy.
Think of your followers as friends, let them see who you exactly are, show both your bright and dark side to them. Share stories with them on Instagram captions and make them interested in keeping track of the posts you make.
7. Join a social media network
You can earn money in a few ways using your posts. You can be a brand ambassador, which is not that easy at all. Or you can join a social media network that you like. In this case, you get to promote their campaigns and get hampers or some extra bucks just to keep things going. This would help your profile rise faster with the brands.
8. Don’t Forget Your Instafeed
This is one of the pre-requisites if you’re trying to become an Instagram influencer. Not only should each of your photos be visually appealing, but it should also adhere to an overall theme. This means that all of your photos in the feed should look good against one another.
Many Instagram influencers follow a particular style of editing their photos so that the color or composition is uniform. You can use tools like VSCO or Lightroom to edit your photos, or you could just use the built-in filters on Instagram. But make sure that your photos are taken in high-resolution and plenty of light to make them look really good.
9. Keep The Posts Coming In
Posting content consistently is another crucial prerequisite to become an Instagram influencer. Most influencers on Instagram post daily. However, some of them post a few times in a day, or even a few times in a week. Studies have revealed that an increase in your content posting frequency can boost engagement rates. However, when you decide what your posting schedule needs to be, make sure that you choose wisely.
It needs to be something you can stick to. Setting an unrealistic goal to which you can’t adhere won’t help you in any way. Consistency on any platform is incredibly important. Whether you’re uploading videos to YouTube or taking daily photos for Instagram, fans need to rely on content at specific intervals.
In reality, there’s no real magic number for how often you should post. Some accounts are exceptionally popular with only one or two per day while others roll out photos on an hourly basis. It all depends on the quality of the content itself. Many believe it’s more ideal to post amazing photos and captions less often than just slapping up any image you can throughout the day.
10. Be Unique
You are your instagram feed and your instagram feed is you. So whatever you put up there is indirectly a reflection of who you are. You should be able to offer a unique view through the lens when taking photos. Add your own sense of humor or personality that will separate you from the billions who use Instagram on a monthly basis.
Take what makes you a unique individual and exploit it as best you can. Being an honest version of yourself will easily attract an audience of some kind.
11. Take Note Of Your Hashtags
Hashtags are important because they enable your content to be found by other Instagram users that are not on your follower list. Instagram allows you to use a maximum of 30 hashtags on a photo, and it is recommended that you use them all.
But what kind of hashtags should you choose? Remember that using hashtags with high search volumes isn’t necessarily good for you. Because high search volumes imply high competition, too. So the chances of your post being discovered using those hashtags is bleak.
Instead, choose hashtags that have decent search volumes that maximize your chances of appearing in the top posts. Ideally, use a combination of hashtags varying in search volumes from above 10,000 to one million. But definitely, not more than a million.
12. Get A Business Account
If you’re serious about learning how to become an Instagram influencer, you need to get a business account for your Instagram. There are numerous benefits of switching to a business account. The most important benefit is that with a business account, you get access to Instagram Analytics.
You’ll be able to see not only your follower demographics but also which posts are getting better engagement. You will also be able to see the days and times which give you the best engagement. If you want to become a successful Instagram influencer, it is important to understand your audience and learn what content works best for them.
13. Leverage Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are probably the biggest thing right now on Instagram. More and more users are joining this bandwagon. In fact, more than 200 million Instagram users are using them every day. This makes them a perfect weapon to grow more followers and gain visibility.
Even people who aren’t your followers can discover you from Stories. By adding hashtags or a location to Stories, you can be discovered by more people. And if you have 10,000+ followers, you can include an outbound link using a “swipe up” option on Stories.
You can even tag others on your Stories and give a shoutout to other accounts. This is a great way of building relationships. It’s also a good way to grow your following because those accounts are likely to return the favor too. And this means you get more visibility.
14. Engage With Your Followers…They Like It
Engagement is one of the most important factors to help you become an Instagram influencer. When someone comments on your photos, make sure that you reply to them. Also, return the favor by liking and commenting on their content.
Interacting with followers on Instagram includes things like: commenting back when a follower comments, using polls through Instagram Stories to engage actions, promote giveaways, hold contents or following others and commenting on their photos.
15. Maintain a Photographic Style
Once you decide on a niche for Instagram, try to stick with the overall theme of your material. This includes style of photos, specific filters and actual feel of your account. People will follow you because of the average type of content you’re sharing. It’s much like a blog or subscriber list in YouTube. Many fans look out for a specific layout and visual appeal in Instagram account, so you must try to keep your posts revolving around your theme.
16. Tag Brands And Start Hooking Up
There are actually two stages toward becoming an Instagram influencer. The first, of course, is to grow your followers organically and engage them. The second, and probably more important for some, is to make money as an influencer. So, once you’ve been able to grow your followers above 1,000 and have a decent engagement, you are now ready to start your outreach.
The easiest way to do this is to tag relevant brands on your photos to put yourself on their radar. Sometimes brands even feature such photos on their Instagram account, giving you greater visibility. You can also send direct messages to brands you think would be relevant to your niche. This is especially a good idea if you’ve seen them collaborate with other influencers like you.
Work on a pitch that talks about why you’re reaching out and what you can offer them. I’m not saying it’s easy, but you might be pleasantly surprised at the responses. You can even join platforms like Grin, InsightPool, HYPR, InfluencerBay, TRIBE, and TapInfluence to find and connect with relevant brands. Some of these platforms need you to have a certain number of followers to be able to participate in campaigns.
17. Do Not Buy Followers…Ever
There is nothing as enticing as an instagram account where all the work has been done, and you now have all the followers that you need, in exchange for some cash. But let me sound this warning, paid followers are no good to you if you plan to be an influencer. To make money off your IG account, you must grow your followers the organic way.
Of course it’s not easy and it certainly won’t happen overnight. But hey, there’s no easy road to success. Paid followers can be detrimental to your growth because these followers won’t be engaged enough. So your follower count will increase without any substantial increase in engagement.
18. Integrate Your Website
A great way to reach an audience who may not know of your Instagram account is by integrating it with your website. In fact, you can easily connect Instagram to WordPress and show off your feed in a variety of ways. This gives visitors to your site a chance to follow the feed. For example, you can show off the last 10 photos in the sidebar of your website along with a “Follow” button.
Some developers will go so far as to set up an entire page dedicated to Instagram photos on the website. My point is you can leverage your blog, business site or other pieces of content to help drive additional followers. In any case, it will surely help create awareness of your social profile.
19. Don’t Be Shy
The most successful Instagram influencers today are the ones that let their audience into their personal space. The ones that share all the ups, downs, good’s and bad’s of their lives. By being open, honest and truly yourself, you create a space that makes people comfortable, trusting and happy to connect.
Being an Instagram influencer is all about your relationship with your audience – you have to be able to influence them. So by showing the deepest, darkest sides of you and not being shy about it, you create a safe space for people to connect to you, relate to you, and build impactful relationships with you. This is the only way they can trust your opinions about things.
20. Make Yourself Available For Sponsorships and Collaborations
This is definitely the part you have been working so hard to get to. Make sure you have your email listed in your bio and are prepared to provide social stats to any company that might reach out to you. Things like follower growth, engagement rate, clicks on your link and monthly website traffic are all things brands might be curious about. You can add all the insights you have into a media kit to easily show off how awesome you are.
Only promote things you truly believe in and things you feel your audience would benefit from. By having a standard that you stick to, not only will you be more appealing to brands, you’ll simultaneously build a strong and authentic presence. This is the way to go.