In only a few short years we’ve seen this notion of an ‘Instagram influencer’ evolve from a fairly loose concept into a full-fledged, fruitful occupation. Brands of all types are utilizing Instagram stars to help boost their engagement and sales, and we think you should, too.

While everybody seems to make their lives appear better on social media, Instagram influencers have a real knack for portraying a lifestyle in a highly elegant and tasteful manner. This leaves many of us wondering: how luxurious and fruitful can this career path actually be?

Celebrity endorsements are seemingly timeless, but only accessible to the most established brands. For those who are just coming up and looking to expand their social media presence and boost Instagram followers, hiring an influencer who’s fit for your brand can be the golden ticket.

For those looking to boost Instagram followers as an influencer themselves, we’ve researched several agencies to find out how much companies are willing to pay for your service and how to go about getting work as an aspiring influencer.

Find Your Niche

In order to be a successful Instagram influencer, you must find your specific field and stick to it. Brands only want to hire people who consistently post content that is relevant to their image.

For instance, if you are an outdoors fanatic and love to take photos and write about it, tailor your account to appeal to outdoors brands like The North Face, Patagonia or Poler. Just by viewing their profiles, you’ll see their standards for high-quality content and captions.

The same goes for fashion gurus or fitness experts. This is now your Instagram persona, so fine-tune it in every aspect possible in order to stand out amongst your competitors.

Keep in mind that different fields simply have larger followings. This doesn’t mean that you should change your interests to accommodate your career as an influencer, just be conscious of the industries you’re diving into and the size of followings you can look forward to.

Larger Audience = More Money

Yes, more followers typically mean you can charge more per post. However, some brands aren’t only driven towards influencers with over 100,000 followers. In fact, a smaller following means more time for engaging with consumers, which is a top priority for many brands.

According to Lisa Targett at Tribe Group UK – a social media influencer agency – this notion of “micro-influencing” can be highly effective for small brands due to the potency of their engagement.

Let this be source of motivation for individuals looking to capitalize on highly niche industries, like vegan foods or other industries that are dominated by small businesses.

Be More Than an Image

Although plenty of us can take a decent-looking selfie and tag a product, it doesn’t mean you’ve got what it takes to be a successful influencer. Brands want more than a pretty face or an adventurous photographer – they want a completely developed persona that users can relate to on a personal level.

This all comes back to the fundamentals of marketing – being that the most successful advertisements are so effective because they reach the audience emotionally. Instagram influencers have quite possibly the best platform to capitalize on this idea because of the self-driven nature of their accounts.

Going back to the idea of honing your specific niche, this means more than caring about the products in your field. In other words, if you’re the adventurous type who’s looking to work with outdoor companies, take the time to write engaging captions about our environment and inform your audience of ways they can help with climate issues.

This concept can be applied to virtually every field.

Keep these tips in mind as you continue your social media endeavors, and keep up with Kickstagram for more on how to boost your Instagram followers.

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