Have you heard of MostlySane? She’s a social media influencer, has her own YouTube channel, runs her Instagram page like a boss and also at times, gets to travel to tell her stories. She’s achieved all of that at a very young age and within a short span of time. She’s achieved all of that because she was doing something right. Or, because she wasn’t doing anything wrong.
For most, being a social media influencer is a full-time job and requires care and attention. You are interacting with tons of people at any given second just by using your phone. You can take the metro and while doing that, still convince the young adults to try out a new fashion or food trend. After all, 6 out of 10 teenagers follow advice from influencers over celebrities.
However, with more gains, the stakes also go up. Any small mistake can ruin your media presence, reduce followers and set you back. In fact, if you make a mistake early in your career, you might not even have one at the end of the day.
So, avoid the following common mistakes to reach your true potential –
1) Not having a goal
Sometimes, social media influencers start their own page or channel because they are bored. They just created it one day because they wanted to be recognized with no goals or plan of action in mind. That is where most influencers go wrong. It might not take a lot of planning to post a couple of videos or photos.
However, to continue that trend, to continue to attract attention or gain followers, you need to sit down and think. Think about what kind of an influencer you want to be, what are the things you want to talk about, the issues you want to focus on and the kind of content you want to post. Only then you will be able to distinguish yourself from the clutter of self-proclaimed influencers.
2) Being confused
You might be new in the business, or working for a while, sometimes too much work and information can make one confused and de-focused. Confusion begins when you start saying ‘yes’ to everything. A brand which doesn’t belong to your genre approaches you, and you say yes because well it’s a ‘Big thing!’. A university asks you to give a speech on fashion when your core is food – And you say Yes because who wants to let go of this lucrative opportunity? But, let me tell you straight, by doing this you are digging your own grave.
3) Poor quality images
As an influencer, you are what you post. If your images aren’t sharp, not of the right light or composition, you tend to lose the eye of your social media squad. Work on clicking pictures with the right light, use a good camera and keep your hands steady. Moreover, a lot of times, using a wrong app for editing can ruin the quality of original pictures. So click right, edit right and review right before posting. There are even several tools that let you create and glam up your social media posts.
4) A dull or boring profile
Your goals are set, your pictures are bang on, still not attracting followers? One of the major reasons might be your wrong approach towards content. Social media influencers use visualization as its secret power. Taglines, hashtags, photos, videos and everything else that they do, it is to reach the eye. Sometimes, you might be trying too hard or not trying enough to have a profile that is colourful, fun, and interesting. Try using Canva to develop better infographics and banners, use colours and be creative.
5) Too much or too less personal information
As an influencer, you let your followers, your social media squad into your life. They want to know about the things you do, your likes, your interests, and your opinions. Especially when it comes to the genre that you talk about. It can be food, comedy or fashion or anything else. However, there is always a thin line that must be maintained. Too much personal information about things that are out of context, unnecessary can irritate your followers and can hamper your image. Like, if you are food influencer, it won’t make much sense to keep talking about how a movie did not make much sense to you.
49% consumers depend on influencers recommendations before making their purchases. So, make sure you avoid these mistakes to not lose out on your goal and justify the dependence of the masses.
Women Love Tech would like to thank Prince Kapoor for his article.
