Successful Influencers Don’t Depend on Creativity, Here’s Why
Creativity, like any other talent, is a gift. Fostering it requires effort and intentionality. This sort of work is difficult because presenting unique concepts for your art or content, on the fast-paced and consistent basis that the social media industry requires, can be challenging. Influencers understand the struggle of trying to separate themselves from the crowd based on their unique qualities, but how does this happen? Why do some accounts rise to the top while others struggle for a decent engagement rate? You might be surprised to learn that it has less to do with the quality of your content and more to do with how well you market yourself.
Marketing, a fundamental business strategy, is at the core of any influencer’s growth. Though a unique approach to content is important, how can anyone know about it if it’s never advertised? Monetization is the goal of every content creator, but upon entering the industry, people severely underestimate the work required.
The first step in legitimizing your position in the industry is to professionalize your business practices.
If properly marketing a personal brand or product seems like a foreign concept, getting more familiar and comfortable with that is a necessity. Before any other step can be taken, gather a few books, listen to podcasts, ask questions, and learn the science and psychology behind marketing.
The privilege of being an influencer is being the center of your brand; the struggle is figuring out how to become your main selling point. Only you have the perfect vision for your brand and only you know how to highlight its key features. The mistake most people make here is hiring someone else to do the job for them. No amount of money will get someone else to care about your brand as much as you do.
In part of your creation, as fun and special as it is to you, success can only be found if it adds value to the people around you. This doesn’t mean you have to create a product or start a clothing line. It means that whatever thoughts, lessons, comments or discussions you put out there should be articulated in a way that provides different perspectives and inspires your audience.
Becoming a successful influencer requires tangible tools to effectively execute your intangible values.
- Your routine is sacred. Time is the most valuable asset to have, so be honest with yourself about when you’re making a waste of your creative work routine without feeling pressure to run yourself into the ground. The best way to avoid this is to incrementally pace yourself with breaks in-between your flow. In those few hours that you are focused without distraction, your productivity will greatly increase.
- Cut brainstorming in half. As much as influencers need to plan out their day or project, the only way to build a business is by execution. Whether they be little steps or large achievements, progression in the influencer marketing space requires hard work and deliberate actions. We can all spend hours sketching out what we could do, but very few influencers show up to do the work, respond to the comments, empty their inbox or take a meeting.
The common misconception with influencers is that they do not have to work hard and everything is all done on their phone. On the contrary, the big-names or brands that social media users know about are the ones who work incessantly behind the scenes to create their own possibilities. Do not be fooled by how easy they make it seem, influencers have to be dynamic self-starters to become successful.
