How big is your influence?
Social Media Influencers are a growing breed who are making more money than anyone could ever have predicted.
What is a Social Media Influencer?
A social media influencer is someone with a significant audience of online followers and usually of high profile or credible within a specific industry whether it’s Beauty, Video Gaming, or Fitness.
To put the astronomical potential of Social Media Influencers into perspective- Felix Kjellberg, AKA PewDiePie, a 27-year-old YouTube star who started by filming himself playing video games as a teenager with no intention of making money now has over 60 million subscribers and a reported net worth of $25m!
For brands, influencer marketing is seriously exciting! According to Tap Influence research, 40% of people have purchased an item after seeing it used by an Influencer on Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube. But, influencer marketing can be much more than word of mouth for brands, the world’s top 10 beauty influencers have a combined social media reach of 135 billion people! So, if you can get a well-established Influencer to feature your product in a social post or video, chances are, you’ll see a remarkable increase in ROI.
Can Influencers be trusted?
With great influence, comes great responsibility. A Social Media Influencer has the reputation of a brand in their (sometimes unregulated) hands.
You can’t escape stories of influencer marketing going wrong.
Whether it’s a celebrity not removing the posting instructions to an Instagram post, or the much more offensive blunders from YouTube history including Logan Paul, and his now infamous New Year’s Day 2018 screw-up of uploading a vlog with graphic images of a suicide victim to his 16m YouTube subscribers. PewDiePie making racist jokes in his videos that are watched by millions of children or Elle Darby finding herself in hot water after assuming a hotel would let her stay for free.
Social media scandals like these have resulted in some of the world’s biggest brands cutting ties with Influencers because of controversies, including Disney. With increasing buzz (and money) in the influencer marketing industry, and it ultimately being run by young people with brand new technology, the marketing laws and regulations will have to be reviewed, and continually developed to keep up.
How to become a social media influencer
With 75% of under 17’s stating their dream job is to be a YouTuber/Vlogger, it’s no wonder influencer marketing has become a serious aspect of the marketing job industry.
Building your social media skills can also help with your next job application, here’s how 3 digital marketers found success by turning their CV’s into TikTok videos! Also, don’t forget it’s all about how you present those skills in your traditional CV too. If you’re not convinced your CV is hitting the mark, book an expert CV consultation. Anything that helps you land your dream job would be worth it.
If you want to make a living from Social Media influencing, you need to put in the hours! This is no ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Gaining authority in your niche can be challenging as social media is such a competitive market, but nothing is impossible…
6 things you need to do to become an influencer:
- Build a community around your niche and stay on brand
- Stand for something
- Create goals
- Network with other influencers
- Understand the difference between each social network and how they can work for you
- Be constantly learning and willing to use new platforms
Influencer jobs already out there
Brand Ambassador (BA) programs are really popular for businesses. Usually, BA roles aren’t full-time jobs, they’re opportunities for existing customers to share support / positive reviews of their favourite products and get rewarded. This could be as simple as being sent a T-shirt from a brand and posting an Instagram photo supporting them!
Usually, BA’s will be paid by being able to keep products sent to them, offered access to online products and more, dependent on the brand they are working for.
You can also start small by sharing your creative / photography work on-site like Candidly & TRIBE. If a brand likes your images, they will pay you to be able to use them on their social media, usually around £10 per image. Remember to list these as examples of your work, or side project, on your CV too.
You can still be part of this skyrocketing industry sector without posting vlogs every day on YouTube or having a much-coveted mass following. Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increase in jobs like the ones below which are perfect for someone that wants to be involved in the management of bloggers/vloggers/influencers:
- PR and Outreach Manager
- Community Manager
- Influencer Marketing Manager
- Influencer Relations Assistant
- Influencer Community Coordinator
In these roles, part of your remit will be identifying, managing and working directly with Influencers and coordinating what they release about your employer’s or client’s products. You’ll be extremely well organised, wrapped up in social media and digital PR and able to negotiate, nurture relationships.
For example, we hired a Digital Marketing Manager for a gin bar in London, who will take ownership of the brand’s social media accounts. She’ll plan events and work with local micro-influencers to spread the word.
Top Tip from our recruiters – Having a strong personal social media presence can do wonders for any job search!
How to measure the success of an influencer?
The success of an Influencer working with your brand depends on the overall goals which are established at the beginning of the partnership.
There are tools out there that identity, assess and report on influencer reach which brands can use to find new and monitor their existing influencer partnerships and build relationships.
Some examples of tools used to measure social media influence are:
Final thoughts…
If you’re aspiring to be an Influencer to make money, you might be looking at the wrong career. It might seem like an easy thing to do but it takes real dedication. Consider looking at all social media marketing jobs as there’s a wide variety ranging from hands-on Community Managers to Strategic Directors and Social Media Management.
Saying that, it can be done.
If you can successfully find a niche, create a community on your chosen social platform and dedicate enough time to producing quality content, you could be the next Zoella! Or find a career working with those Influencers who have already made it, looking at jobs like those we mentioned above.
Get Your CV Looking It’s Best
With over 25 years in recruitment, we offer a paid-for career coaching, CV writing and interview preparation service. It supports your job search, steering you in the best direction with a CV you can be proud of. Use the button below to share your current CV with us. Once you’ve messaged us and we’ve got your current CV, we’ll book a video call with you to help understand your background, experience and ambitions so we can craft your professionally written CV.
Looking for more job seeking tips? We’ve got you covered:
💡 Success Story – Insuring You Find Your Dream Social Media Job
💡 Questions You Should Be Asking The Interviewer Of A Social Media Job
💡 How To Find A New Job on TikTok
If you’re already working with Influencers or looking for social media marketing jobs to take your own experience to another level, we might have the job for you!
Check out our latest digital marketing job opportunities and get in touch with a copy of your CV today.
