So you want to become a fashion influencer? This is one of the fastest growing niches for influencers right now, giving you plenty of opportunity to get on board. That said, this is a very crowded market and it will take a lot of hard work and dedication to make it out on top. But please don’t let that discourage you, this just means there are lots of fashion-lovers out there to make up your audience.
If you really do want to make it as a fashion influencer you need to be extremely passionate and prepared to put in the hard work. Does this sound like you? If so, we’re here to help you kick start your influencer career with our 10 step guide below.
1. Do your research
Look into other fashion influencers and what makes them so great. You’re not doing this so you can copy what they’re doing as that is a sure fire way to fail as an influencer, but this is to give you some ideas and inspiration for how you can put your own stamp on the fashion influencer game. It can also be helpful and inspiring to read their stories. Most will have a website which outlines who they are and how they kick-started their life as an influencer, so check them out.
2. Pick your channels
We all know how powerful social media can be for growing your following, but you can’t possibly dominate multiple platforms – not right away at least. So when you’re starting out on your influencer journey it’s best to choose one platform to update daily and stick with it, whether that’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. You can have another one or two platforms running in the background, but it’s best to choose one to focus most of your attention on.
3. Find your niche
It might seem odd saying ‘find your niche’ when surely the niche is fashion, right? But with so many influencers in this space you need to do something to really stand out. This is why it’s a good idea to find a smaller niche within the fashion industry for you to focus on. For example, environment friendly fashion, lingerie, shoes, ethical clothing or budget fashion, it’s all about doing something that will make you stand out from the crowd.
4. Be creative with your photos
Similarly to the point above, you need to be creative about the photos that you’re taking – especially when Instagram is your core platform. Nowadays it seems like anyone can take an edgy photo with their smartphone, so you need to put careful thought into how your pictures are going to be different. Once you’ve settled on your creative and unique style, stick with it so it becomes your signature.
5. Post like crazy
Now this is important, you can’t post once a week and hope to become an influencer. In today’s digital world we’re used to receiving updates, news, gossip and entertainment 24/7 so people expect regular updates, otherwise they will quickly become disengaged. That’s why it’s vital that you’re posting regularly, especially when you’re starting out, to make sure you’re building your audience.
6. Engage with your audience
Don’t just post your content and leave it at that. Address your audience in your captions, use the right hashtags, respond to their comments and follow them back. Engaging with your audience is what makes them come back to your profile, it’s what makes them want to follow you, so keep an eye out for those who are commenting and liking your stuff regularly and engage with them.
7. Collaborate with other influencers
Once you begin to build a following it can be a nice idea to collaborate with other influencers, especially if you already know some of them. This might be as simple as meeting up and sharing photos and updates of the two of you together. It might also mean collaborating on a project, sharing freebies, allowing the other to take over your account for the day or sharing their content.
This can be a great way to engage your audience, especially those who follow both of you. Plus it proves that you’re part of the influencer crowd, you already know others in the field and they’re happy to work with you.
8. Keep it real
Don’t build up a fake life for yourself on your Instagram or Twitter profiles. People love authenticity, they don’t just want to see your perfectly polished photos that make your life look flawless and 100% wonderful. Because the reality is life is rarely perfect and sometimes things do go wrong. So give your audience a chance to see how long you were on the shoot for, whether anything went wrong, if there were any funny or surprising moments.
Sharing these on your stories, blogs or tweets can be great for showing the real you, as well as letting them enjoy the end product of your beautiful photographs – it adds more depth to you, the person behind the camera.
9. Don’t focus only on the numbers
Of course you want your followers and likes to go up, but getting bogged down in these figures can leave you feeling frustrated and disheartened. Instead, it’s best to focus on producing really great content and continuing to share this. You can use your analytics to look at when you get the most engagement and who it’s coming from, but don’t let these other numbers get you down. Keep sharing great content and engaging with your audience and those numbers will increase naturally.
10. Stay positive
Finally, becoming a fashion influencer can be tough. Some days it might feel like a struggle, some days you’ll be sick of editing photos and sometimes you’ll try new styles and it won’t work out. But it’s important to remember, that it’s OK! Often it’s about trial and error until you find the style that works for you. What is most important is that you stay positive and keep trying, as this is what sets the real influencers apart from the rest.
Written by Stuart Cooke, Blog Editor at Inscripture.com personalised jewellery and fashion accessory specialists.
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