How to be a successful Instagram influencer in 2022?

Gone are the days when celebrities used to rule the hearts of people with their branded content and supersized, larger-than-life films. With the onset of the social media fever, influencers have become the new age Gen-Z inspiration for millions of people around the globe. When you go through your Instagram, you’re likely to see a post by an influencer in just a few scrolls.

In recent times, a lot of different brands have also hopped on the bandwagon of influencer marketing. 93% of marketers have leveraged influencer marketing in their campaigns, and it’s now considered a key advertising strategy. This has given a further push to the creativity and vision of influencers, many of whom have started creating content full-time.

While there are a lot of people out there “influencing” in style, the competition has grown manifold. It has become hard to stand out of the crowd and even harder to catch the attention of the audience who has thousands of other creators to follow if they don’t like the content of a particular influencer.

So how do you stand out on a platform where content creation is so democratised that anyone can begin their influencer journey overnight? But mind you, becoming a successful influencer is not an overnight phenomenon. There is no “Eureka moment” that leads one to fame and popularity.

Here are 5 important steps you can follow to succeed on this journey and keep growing even after you’ve attained what you wished for.

Switch to professional
Think hard, then some more
Educate, engage, inspire
Collaboration is the key
Focus on community building

5 ways to become Instagram famous

Switch to professional

If you haven’t already, turn your personal Instagram account into a professional Instagram Creator or Business account. This will give you access to a lot of unique features to analyse and grow your follower base. Instagram’s built-in analytical tool can provide you with a comprehensive analysis of your audience demographic, engagement metrics, page traffic and much more.

By analysing these performance metrics and accordingly tweaking your content strategy, you can better judge the audience sentiment and enhance your reach and recall value. Isn’t that way better than sitting on your couch wondering whether your content is making an impact or not?

Think hard, then some more

In the days to come, “What is your niche” will become a more relevant question in the influencer space than “What is your name”. So if you really think about it, defining your niche is one of the fundamental steps to form your online personality the way you want to.

Selecting a niche can be challenging but rewarding at the same time as it allows you to personalise your content and narrow your audience. Depending on your interests and area of expertise, you can decide the course of your content. Be it fashion, lifestyle, fitness, travel, photography or entertainment, it is best to pick an area of interest and start from there.

Learn more: Check out the best Instagram tools for influencers

Educate, Engage, Inspire

Instagram is one such platform that provides creative liberty and a personal space for every creator to make their move. Now it’s up to you whether you use the platform to educate your audience, engage them or inspire their lives.

Being an influencer, you have the power to connect with people through meaningful content. So curate content that speaks to your audience about who you are, what values define you and what all they can expect from you in terms of engaging content. While you may focus on creating content for your niche like others do, in order to go the extra mile you must include unique ideas, perspectives and techniques that can make you stand out. Also, don’t forget to use relevant hashtags and monitor your feed’s analytics to improve your content’s reach and recall value.

Collaboration is the key

You know what’s the best part about being on Instagram? You are among people who have the same drive as you. This digital medium connects you to a world that you could not have explored on your own physically. This gets us to our next point - Collaborations. Whether you are partnering with your fellow influencers or with different brands, collaborations are a great way to increase visibility and credibility in the digital space.

Not only can you enter a core area in your niche, but collaborating with content creators and brands help you reach out to a larger set of audiences. Brand collaborations in particular require a lot of legwork. So, the best option is to search for an influencer marketing agency that can connect you to your preferred brands and set you on a path of successful campaigns. In short, go and connect with Viral Pitch now!!

Learn more: 5 Top influencer marketing trends to watch out for in 2022

Focus on community building

A lot of influencers today bank on viral trends to get more views and likes on their posts. But if you are someone who has a long-term vision of creating your own IP (Intellectual Property) on Instagram, then following trends might not be enough. You must focus on building a strong foothold over your online community.

Interact with them more frequently, reply to their comments, host Instagram Live sessions to engage your audience candidly, be consistent with your content, plan giveaways etc. There are many ways to make your audience feel connected to you. So curate content which they will crave to come back to because what’s the fun in influencing if your audience doesn’t get addicted to your content like it’s a drug.

Anyone can be an influencer. But in all honesty, being an influencer that people really look up to requires hard work, patience and creative thinking. If you are willing to put in the extra effort, then it might take a while to get there, but we’re damn sure, it’ll be worth it!!