How to Become an Influencer

I recently realized that one of the most debated questions about influencers is how to become one. Sure, there are some people who are merely curious, but in this day in age, it seems more and more people are wondering for themselves. I've briefly touched on this in a previous post, when I explained that there are a lot of bloggers-turned-influencers out there, but what about entering the industry with no prior experience in the field? For those trying to create their own influencer brand or even just wanting to dabble in the newfound industry, here's where to start:

• Start From a Clean Slate: First impressions are everything, so before you start branding yourself as an influencer, make sure that any pre-existing content on your channels coincides with the brand that you are trying to create. Some people go as far as creating new profiles, but keep in mind that your original followers can be helpful in gaining traction and exposure.
• Narrow Your Focus: Although you may have many interests, a key element to branding yourself, especially as an influencer, is to hone in on your most important and relevant passion. Similar to blogging, you should be focusing on one thing, usually something specific enough to be personal but broad enough to always generate new content. For example, if your niche is food, then narrow that down further to cooking or restaurant reviews.
• Differentiate Yourself: Taking the previous tip one step further, try to be aware of pre-existing influencers with similar interests and differentiate yourself. 
• Create Cohesive Content: Given that you are working on a predominantly visual channel, such as Instagram, your content needs to be especially cohesive. Not only should your posts be relevant to your other posts in terms of subject, but they should also be visually appealing next to one another. Pick your color palette and stick with that by using similar backgrounds and edits for your photos. The goal is for someone to visit your profile page and immediately be able to identify your style.
• Plan Ahead: Build up enough content for at least a month's worth of posting. This will help you with cohesive content and also with staying consistent. By using apps like Planoly, you can see what content works well together, which can also help you plan the order in which to post.
• Be a Good User: The best way to keep others engaged is by being an active user yourself. Engage in others' posts, but also be sure to respond to those who are engaging in your content. This will help you boost exposure and recognize your most popular content (so that you can produce more). On top of everything else, it can help you beat the new Instagram algorithm too! (You know, the one that now takes posts out of chronological order and spits them out in what seems to be, but actually isn't, a random order.)

While there may not be a cookie cutter way for all of us to become successful influencers, these tips  cover the basics on how to properly dabble in this new, quickly-growing industry.