Trust us, we know how difficult it can be to market yourself as an influencer, especially when you’re just starting out. For some reason we all feel a hint of embarrassment and a pinch of imposter syndrome when it comes to marketing ourselves, whether it’s our job to or not.
And whether influencing is a full time job for you, or a side hustle, there’s one thing to keep in mind: you’re running a business. Sure, it’s a business of one where you get to talk about and share the things you love, but it’s a business nonetheless.
So next time you’re feeling a twinge of uncertainty when you’re marketing yourself, remember to market yourself as a business. We can’t say those feelings will magically disappear, but we do think it’ll help you be taken more seriously and it’ll sky rocket your confidence! So here are our tips for marketing yourself as a business:
Strategize Your Growth
Come up with a business plan! Where do you want to be 90 days from now? 6 months? A year? Layout a reasonable plan of action for your growth and start to strategize how you’re going to get there. We all know things don’t happen overnight, especially social media growth in today’s landscape. Set attainable goals that you feel confident you can reach within those given time frames.
Commit to Learning
It’s important to invest back into your business, ie. yourself, and one of the best ways to do this is to constantly be learning and growing personally. You don’t necessarily have to learn a new skill – though that could be an option. It could be that you learn more about how to best sort your business expenses or learn best business practices. If you’re going the more tangible learning route, commit to learning how to use your camera in manual mode or teach yourself how to edit videos. Always be learning.
Express Your Credibility
Say you’ve been influencing full time for 3 years. First of all, congratulations, that’s a huge feat! Second, you have credibility, but make sure it’s known. When you’re talking to brands, they should be able to get a feel for your seniority. Walk (or Zoom) into a meeting with your head held high and don’t be afraid to draw on your experience. Three years is a long time to be in a field that is barely 10 years old, so be proud! The same goes for when you’re talking with other influencers. If you feel you are an expert in a certain area, don’t be afraid to share your knowledge.
Build a Community
Stop and think about it. All of your favorite brands have some sort of community aspect to them and this is so important to keep in mind! Your community is who you’ll go to when you have questions for your audience, they’ll give you honest feedback, they’ll chat amongst themselves in the comments, they are a huge part of your brand and therefore your business. We’d venture to say that any successful business has a community that rallies around it, and yours should too!
Be Confident
Listen, we’re not saying to fake it til you make it, but we’re not not saying don’t do that either that. If you want to be taken seriously as a business, then you need to act the part. And confidence is key! We’re tired of influencers not viewing themselves as a real business just because someone somewhere doesn’t think it is. You aren’t getting paid in magic beans, you’re getting paid in real money, so it is a real business! Be confident in who you are and what you do!
And those are just a few of our tips for marketing yourself as a business in the influencer world! Happy marketing!
