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The Ultimate Guide

How to

become an

influencer

Social stuff @vampbrands

Good stuff www.vamp.me

CONTENTS

TABLE

OF

We have put together this

ultimate guide on how to

become an influencer to help

you on your journey to social

media success.

DEFINITIONS

WHY?

5 STEPS TO INFLUENCE

7 WAYS TO WIN

BRAND COLLABS

CONCLUSION

3

8

9

17

23

© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved

DEFINITIONS

3© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved

WHAT IS AN INFLUENCER?

The best definition of an influencer is someone who has gained an engaged social

media following by creating aspirational lifestyle based content. Influencers are also

commonly referred to as content creators, bloggers, vloggers and key opinion

leaders (KOLs).

WHAT IS AN INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER?

An Instagram influencer is someone who uses this photo sharing social media

platform to build a personal brand and grow their following. Instagram is the

favourite platform for the majority of influencers and brands. It is not, however,

the only social media platform that influencers can be successful on. See our

Platforms page for examples across Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest and YouTube.

http://www.vamp.me/platforms/

https://www.instagram.com/vampbrands/

DEFINITIONS

If you want to monetise your social media profiles as an influencer you

need to know what influencer marketing is. Influencer marketing is what

brands and companies do when they partner with influencers to raise

awareness of a product launch, build brand recognition and credibility

with social media users. Generally it involves influencers creating content

about a product, posting about it on their social feed/s and

recommending it in an authentic tone of voice to their followers.

There are many different ways to do influencer marketing and we outline

the key Do’s and Don’ts of influencer marketing here. If you are an

influencer partnering with a brand you should be aware of what the

brands’ marketing objectives are with their influencer marketing

campaigns.

WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING?


http://www.vamp.me/blog/infographic-influencer-marketing-dos-donts/

DEFINITIONS


Influencers are often defined in terminology by their reach. It's good to

become familiar with the terms marketers use when working with

influencers.

Micro, power-middle, macro and celebrity influencers are some of the

terms marketers use when working with influencers.

A micro or power middle influencer is commonly referenced when

people are describing influencers with a smaller following on social

media. Macro and celebrity influencers have a larger following.

There is no hard and fast definition of what follower numbers constitute

a micro, macro and celebrity influencer.

WHAT KINDS OF INFLUENCERS ARE THERE?

A GUIDE TO FOLLOWERS

Micro/power middle influencers: Between 3k - 100k followers

Macro influencers: between 100k and 1 million followers

Celebrity influencers: have over 1 million followers

The rule of thumb so far where reach has been prioritised has been that a

higher following equals a higher payment for influencer-brand

collaborations. The dynamic is changing now as brands are seeing more

value in partnering with multiple influencers with a smaller, more

engaged following. Great news for anyone just starting out!

DEFINITIONS


The higher the following the lower the engagement rate - that's the

general rule. Influencers with a smaller following have a closer

relationship with their followers than those with a larger following.

FOLLOWERS VS. ENGAGEMENT RATE

0-5K 8.0%

5-25K 4.0%

25K-

100K

2.4%

100K-250K 1.8%

1.8%

1.6%

1.6%

250K-1M

1M-7M

7M+

FOLLOWERS ENGAGEMENT

WHY BECOME AN

INFLUENCER?If you are asking yourself the question of how you can

become an influencer, you are taking the first step in

what can be an incredibly empowering, fulfilling,

creative journey. It's an exciting industry to join with

brands increasing their budgets year on year and social

platforms introducing more and more features to help

influencers and content creators. You’ve no doubt seen

other influencers on social media channels like Instagram

collaborating with brands, eating delicious food and

travelling the world - to name a few of the

opportunities.

Living the digital nomad lifestyle might appeal to you for

various reasons. Namely, building a personal brand and

freelancing your creative skills enables you to be your

own boss. Maybe even quit that 9 - 5. There are many

different motivations to wanting to become an

influencer. Knowing your key objectives is essential

when figuring out your personal brand and

photography style.

It might surprise you that not everybody who makes it in

this industry originally intended to become a social

media influencer, however. For many social media stars

the transition from Instagrammer to influencer is

completely organic. These unintentional influencers set

out at first with a hobby and the dramatic audience

growth took them by surprise.

Check out this page if you want to find out more about

how to become a Vamp influencer.© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved

8

http://www.vamp.me/get-the-app/


GUIDE TO BECOMING AN INFLUENCER IN 5 STEPS


1)

Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to cheat the system. If

you buy followers or use bots you might think you are taking

the easy road. Taking a fake it until you make it approach

might seem like a short cut but it’s not smart. Definitely not

the key to success. Brands are now using technology to

identify influencers with fake followers. Influencer marketing

platforms like Vamp pre-vet influencers to ensure their

followers are genuine.

To start winning collaboration opportunities with brands you’ll need to

cultivate an audience. Your social channels should demonstrate

something you are passionate about with creative, engaging and

unique content. With a lot of time, hard work and persistence, followers

should come naturally. There are no shortcuts but there are a few things

you can do to speed up your follower growth.

Develop a loyal and engaged following by actively engaging with your

existing audience and contributing to the larger Instagram community.

This means replying with genuine comments and pro-actively engaging

with the wider Instagram community with meaningful comments. Be

consistent with your posting times, the kind of content you post and

your tone of voice. Give your followers the chance to get to know you

with behind the scenes (BTS) content in your Instagram stories.

Some influencers were fast-tracked to fame because they became a

suggested user on Instagram. This means Instagram follows you and for

two weeks you become a recommended account to follow for new

Instagram users.

GROW YOUR FOLLOWERS




2)Your engagement rate can be calculated by this simple equation:

(The number of likes and comments / No. of followers) x100

So if you had 500 likes, 50 comments and 5000 followers this is how

your engagement rate is calculated:

(550 / 5000) x100 = 11% engagement rate

The Instagram benchmark for engagement rate is 3%. This is a good

minimum to aim for on a consistent basis.

One way of indicating that someone has fake followers is if their

engagement rate is low.

If you are accepted into the Vamp platform via the app your

average engagement rate is displayed for you to see.

BUILD FOLLOWER ENGAGEMENT

You can increase your follower engagement by

building a community. Ask your followers questions

in your caption copy, use Instagram stories to engage

your followers on a one-on-one basis, send DMs to

new and old followers. You can track your

engagement analytics if you have an Instagram

business account. Analyse what content your

followers are engaging with most and use this

knowledge to plan your content calendar.




3)To be a successful influencer you need to develop your own

personal brand. Your personal brand is everything and will help you

to stand out from the crowd.

Most of the time people like to know what they can expect from

you and a strong personal brand will make you more likely to

maintain follower loyalty.

Here are two examples of influencers with a powerful personal

brand.

DEVELOP A PERSONAL BRAND




3)Find a niche and stick with it. Rather than trying to be fashion,

art, foodie and travel all in one neat package, create a consistent

message. The same goes for photography styles. If you want to

be the flatlay expert and this is what people follow you for, stick

to this at least 80% of the time. There are some really successful

accounts that keep to one consistent element and experiment

with different variables in their imagery to see how their audience

responds.

Ensure your Instagram highlights feature the kind of content you

post and the stories people can expect to see. Utilise the bio to

best display your tone of voice and content.

The top nine posts on your feed displaying on your profile should

always show the best content. Don’t be afraid to delete or archive

posts if it messes up the clean aesthetic of your feed (as long as a

brand hasn’t paid for that piece of content to sit on your feed of

course).

Have a consistent aesthetic in your feed and across all social

channels.

Feature products relevant to your Instagram narrative that you

genuinely like.

What’s your influencer tone of voice? How do you communicate

in an engaging way with your followers?

How often do you post? Successful accounts post regularly

without spamming their audience. How regularly you should post

on Instagram depends entirely on your audience but once or

twice a day at peak posting time is usually the sweet spot.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:




4)To be an authentic influencer you have to be genuine, build trust and

respect your followers as well as the brands you work with. Be candid in

your posts and encourage your followers to respond by asking

questions in your posts.

There are many versions of our authentic selves that we share with the

world. Our work self might, for example, be different to the version of

ourselves we share with our friends, or our grandparents. Each is true in

a different way to you and how you interact with the world. Equally

your social media profiles should be authentic to you.

The way you talk about a product shouldn’t come across as a hard sell

either. This is not what influencer marketing is all about. Lifestyle based

product placement will always out-perform product endorsement.

BE AUTHENTIC

PRODUCT PLACEMENT PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT

I love Toby’s estate coffee, make sure

you head out and get some today!

@tobysestate #tobyswinterwarmer

Brrrrrrr it’s cold in Melbourne today,

headed off to work and grabbed my

favourite coffee to keep me warm!

@tobysestate #tobyswinterwarmer




4)People like influencers because they are seen as more trustworthy

than brands trying to sell them stuff or big name celebrities. So it’s

simple. Only recommend products to your followers if you

genuinely like that product or brand. It can be tempting to say yes

to every opportunity that comes your way initially in order to get

started. A more sustainable, authentic approach in the long term is

to say no more than you say yes to opportunities.

Don’t allow your Instagram feed to be filled up completely with

brand promotions. Make time to create organic content in between.

That way your followers shouldn’t mind if you are getting paid to

promote a brand because they trust that you genuinely like it too.

Authenticity builds trust and that is one of your most valuable

commodities as an influencer.

BE AUTHENTIC




5)

High quality content - invest in a good camera and learn how to use

it by doing a course, reading blogs and watching YouTube tutorials.

There are so many free resources online, including the Vamp blog.

Here’s an extract from our guide to buying a new camera.

WIN WORK WITH BRANDS

Brands will want to work with you if you tick the boxes of what they

expect in their influencer partnerships. This can vary from brand to

brand, depending on their objectives. The key points that most

brands are looking for are:

"Before choosing a camera, it’s best to know how

you’re planning to use it. Will you be shooting

landscapes? Street style selfies? Food flatlays? If you

know you like to shoot a certain way, get a camera

that makes what you do easier to do. If you’re

shooting selfies, a good phone camera is probably all

you need. If you shoot landscapes where you want

full control over your settings, then a DSLR makes

sense. Fast shutter speeds are essential if you plan to

shoot action or sports, and cameras that handle low

lighting situations well would come in handy when

shooting events. Know how you plan to use your

camera so you can prioritise the features you need the

most."

Read the rest of the guest article by Vamp influencer

and content creator @whatshepictures >

http://www.vamp.me/blog/

http://www.vamp.me/blog/need-know-buying-new-camera/




5)

Followers - build a genuine following of like-minded people who will

love your content. Get a business account and be prepared to share

your business analytics if brands want to see them. If your posts are

performing well it helps them to justify spending more money on work

with you so a win-win for both parties. Brands often request to only

work with influencers with a business account; read this article on why

you should make the switch to an Instagram business account.

Engagement - brands want to see your followers engaging with your

content. Ask questions in your captions and ensure you respond to

every single comment. Thank people when they follow you and try to

get to know them a bit better so you can know what content they will

like best. Post at the times of day your profile will get the most amount

of traffic. Delete accounts that look like bots as they follow you to

maintain a high engagement.

Similar aesthetic - brands with a similar aesthetic to yours will be more

likely to choose to work with you because this will help send the

message they want to your followers and their potential customers.

Professionalism - This is the cherry on top. Brands want to know that

you will follow their brief, respond in a prompt and professional

manner to e-mails and conduct yourself well when posting about their

content. Here's how to build a great reputation as an influencer and

get repeat work.

WIN WORK WITH BRANDS

http://www.vamp.me/blog/instagram-bots-quality-quantity/

7 WAYS TO WIN BRAND COLLABS

GUIDE TO WINNING REPEAT WORK WITH BRANDS


1)

Your profile photo is often the brand’s first impression of you. Among

the growing competition, a profile picture can make or break your

application for a campaign. Ensure that your profile picture reflects

your aesthetic. This helps brands to instinctively know whether you will

align with their brand.

A candid self-portrait usually works best. Choose an image which has

the edits/filters you naturally use. For example, don’t use a black and

white photo if you usually feature colourful tones in your feed. Avoid

logos, graphics or cartoon images as these most likely do not

accurately reflect the aesthetic you carefully craft in your feed.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT




2)

Your Instagram bio should reflect your personality as well as the key

themes of your account. Followers and brands will connect with you

on a more personal level if you include your name in your bio.

Avoid clichéd phrases (e.g. I love life!) and come up with something

uniquely meaningful to you. Remember to put in your Instagram bio

the best way for brands to get in contact to avoid missing out on

opportunities. Using Instagram Stories highlights is now also a great

way to feature behind the scenes personality on your profile. Avoid

long links. If part of a brief requires you to include a link in your bio, you

can shorten it with sites like bitly. Include relevant hashtags in your bio

to help the relevant people find you.

ME, MYSELF AND I






3)

Learn your way around your email. If you’re not using the Vamp App

for brand briefs this could be the only point of contact with your client.

It’s a powerful and yet simple way to market yourself to brands you

work with.

Everybody has that cringe personal email account that you set up at

high school. Consider upgrading to a more professional moniker. For

example, [email protected] rather than anything with

confusing lettering / numbers and definitely avoid anything gimmicky.

([email protected] anyone?!).

Setting up an e-mail signature creates a professional impression. You

don’t have to be a graphic designer to make your e-mail signature look

sleek and give you a strong reputation – Canva is a great place to

create professional branded assets if you're not a Photoshop pro.

If you are going away or find yourself overwhelmed with personal or

other work commitments, use your out of office to inform brands that

you will reply as soon as you can. They’ll know not to expect an instant

response. Remember the best way to get in contact with Vamp is

through the App chat for any campaigns you are currently working on.

Honesty is always the best policy. Brands can smell a white lie a mile

off. If you are unable to produce quality content in the timeframe given

be honest and reach out to explain. At Vamp, we are pro-influencer

and are happy to work with you to find a manageable timeframe for

you to complete the brief.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY




4)

When shooting your images it’s important to think like brand. This will

make you more likely to get selected by brands for additional usage

rights. This means more cash and more exposure of your content

across a range of mediums including e-mails, print, social media ads,

etc.

Take care to hero the brand’s logo / product in your images. Refer back

to the brief during your photoshoot to ensure the photos you create

meet the campaign requirements. Always treat your professional

reputation as significantly as a brand would. That way you will find

yourself getting repeat work with your favourite brands.

THINK LIKE A BRAND

5)

Once you’ve accepted a brief from a client do your research

further into the brand. Browsing their social media accounts is a

good place to gauge their aesthetic and content style. Don’t

hesitate to reach out for more details of what the brand are

after. This will give a professional impression and help to build a

stellar reputation. At Vamp we are always happy to answer any

questions you may have about fulfilling a brief. You can get in

touch via the Vamp App chat or via a DM on @vampbrands.

RESEARCH AND ASK QUESTIONS




6)

As an influencer you should keep growing and stay on top of the

trends. There are so many great resources online to help you up your

Instagram game. The Vamp blog is dedicated to keeping influencers

up to date with the most relevant articles. We have regular guest

articles from some of our most talented content creators.

Sign yourself up for a photography course or challenge yourself to

attend a videography masterclass to develop your skills. Make sure you

stay on top of the latest Instagram and industry developments too to

ensure you aren’t left behind. Get in touch with other influencers to

share tips, tools and advice.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & NETWORKING




7)

One of the most important facets to your reputation is your ability to

be consistent. For any of Vamp’s briefs the brand has chosen you

because they love your content. Be sure to reproduce this quality in

your campaign imagery.

Vamp’s opt-in process means that the power is with you to only say

yes to briefs which you are able to fully commit to. As a member of

Vamp you are part of a powerful voice within the influencer marketing

industry. Ensuring you are dependable ensures you don’t let yourself or

your fellow content creators down.

Being professional and treating your Instagram as its own brand

doesn’t mean taking away the creative fun you can have with it. The

fun will really begin once you secure more opportunities.

BE CONSISTENT

CONCLUSION

To become a successful influencer takes a lot of work but hopefully after

reading this you feel that this is a passion you are inspired to pursue.

Ultimately what you put in will be what you will get back.

After all, if creating content is something you are passionate about, you

will flourish.

Being an influencer involves the ultimate combination of creativity and

strategy; community and individuality.

You might have opportunities to work with some of the world's best

brands who look to you to spread the word and inspire action. And, in

turn, you will continue developing into a very smart marketer.

Influencer marketing will continue to develop and evolve. Keep on top of

industry changes, new Instagram features and collaborate with like-

minded brands and influencers to thrive.

MAKERS GONNA MAKE

© Visual Amplifiers 2018, All rights reserved

To become an influencer on the Vamp platform simply download our

App to apply.

Specially designed with influencers in mind, the Vamp App helps you to

spend less time on boring admin and more time on what you do best –

creating incredible content and building your community.

BECOME A VAMP INFLUENCER

E-mail: [email protected]

LET'S CHAT

Website: www.vamp.me

On social: @vampbrands

AUSTRALIA NEW YORK LONDON DUBAI SINGAPORE HONG KONG

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$ÃéóÚÃó Ã¼ ó ½ó ¬½¥·ß ½ Ð - Vamp · 7 t 7 t n t 1 ó = c óª è óÍßÚóÚÃ¦ Úª ÐóÚª¬Ôó ß·Ú¬¼ Ú ó¦ß¬ óÃ½óªÃéóÚÃó Ã¼ ó ½ó¬½¥·ß