Influencer

by Brittany Hennessy

  Plenty of people are upset that follower count seems to be more important than talent, but it’s really about firing on all cylinders. In today’s version of show business, the business part is happening online. You may not love the idea that your follower count may be seen as more important than your actual skills, but you need to adapt, because those who don’t adapt won’t make it very far. Working on your social presence shouldn’t make you feel like you’ve sold out; it should make you feel like you’re telling your own story online and building a community of people who want to support you. And if you can make some money partnering with brands, even better.

  PROMOTE YOUR COMPANY

  You had an idea and instead of just sitting on it and getting angry when someone else does it first, you acted. Congratulations, you have a business! Whether it’s a product or a service, no one can buy it if they don’t know about it, so you’re off to the Interwebs to find some customers.

  Once you’ve established your presence online, you can use your platform to showcase new products and services, show your followers the life behind their new favorite brand, and of course, acquire new customers. It’s also helpful when reaching out to influencers for collaborations. They want to know who they are partnering with and make sure the brand’s aesthetic is in line with theirs. The first thing people do when they see an ad for your company is to check out the profile, so maintaining that social channel should be a big part of your marketing plan.

  As a founder of a business, you can become an influencer in your own right and this book can do double duty for you. Not only will it show you how to manage and monetize your personal profile, but you’ll understand the flip side when you decide it’s time to activate influencers as a marketing strategy.

  MAKE MORE MONEY

  For some people, creating content is more than just a hobby, it’s their “side-hustle.” They work during the day, but everything they do, they’re doing for the ’gram. Many times these influencers start in one category, like beauty or style, and as they gain influence and start to make more money, they branch out and cover all things lifestyle.

  This is the stage where you can try new things and make mistakes. Once you’re on the radar of more brands and you have more followers, any changes you make will be scrutinized, and unsolicited feedback will be given. If you’re lucky, this phase will only last about a year, so get all your experimentation in while you can.

  QUIT YOUR JOB

  Whether you are working full-time on your blog/vlog or creating your own makeup or clothing line, you have reached the promised land when you are making enough money that you can quit your job and still retain most of the comforts you previously had (steady paychecks, health insurance, savings).

  It is by no means easy, the nights are long, and a big payoff isn’t promised, but if you read this book, your probability of success will increase tenfold, because you’ll be armed with the knowledge an insider has accumulated over the last decade and a list of mistakes to avoid like the plague. Let’s get into it!

  PART 1

  Building Your Community

  CHAPTER 1

  The Feed

  How do you find your voice and create great content?

  Being a creator who is looking for brand partnerships is no different than being an employee who is looking for a job. People will google you before deciding to work with you, and they need to be pleased with what they find.

  Head on over to Google.com and type in your first and last name. Now take a look at your search results for general, images, videos, and news. All the content on the first page should either be created by you, or provided by you.

  If it doesn’t look so hot, don’t panic. Head on over to google.com/alert and set up an alert with your name in quotations (e.g., “Brittany Hennessy”). Every time new content with your name is indexed by Google, you’ll receive an email to let you know you’re on the right track. Every three months, do a Google search and keep tabs on the progress you’re making. Remember, if you’re not telling your own story, someone else will tell it for you.

  Sazan Hendrix (@Sazan) is a great example of someone who has her Google search results on point. Type in her name and the first page will pull up her website, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles and a few interviews.

  On the video tab, you’ll see a link to her YouTube channel along with a bunch of videos she created. Head over to the images tab and it’s gorgeous photo after gorgeous photo of Sazan with a few of her husband Stevie sprinkled in. Under news, a bunch of articles and interviews, and under shopping her business, BlessBox.

  It really doesn’t get better than this, folks. But the only way to dominate your search results is to create, create, create!

  WHAT’S IN A NAME?

  Many of you may already have a name, so you’re probably side-eyeing this section hoping I don’t say something that makes you want to pull out your hair and start over. I can’t say that I blame you. Naming your brand may be the hardest part of becoming a content creator. Add in the fact that nothing on the Internet is ever really deleted, and the pressure is on. Now is not the time to choose a name that you will regret in six months, a year, or even five years. Vloggers have some of the best names, and by best, I mean the most ridiculous. I am looking at you, @sexypanda89. I won’t name names, because I promised myself I would only call out people anonymously, but you probably can think of a few off the top of your head.

  So how do you come up with a killer name? Well, that depends on who you ask. Some people invent entire brands, like Heidi Nazarudin (@theambitionista) and Charlotte Groeneveld (@thefashionguitar) or mashup names, like Brittany Xavier (@thriftsandthreads) and Jade Kendle (@lipstickncurls). Others incorporate their name, like Jessica Franklin (@heygorjess), Alyssa Bossio (@effortlyss) and Courtney Fowler (@colormecourtney). And some keep it super simple, like Iskra Lawrence (@iskra), Rachel Martino (@rachmartino), or Nichole Ciotti (@nicholeciotti).

  You can make your name as simple or as complicated as you like as long as it’s easy to promote (that means forget spelling forever like FOREVEERR, dropping the numbers, and leaving the underscores behind) and consistent. If your website is FlyFashionista.com, but your Instagram is @imaflyfashionistaaa and your YouTube is @flyfashionista4lyfe_, audiences and brands alike won’t be able to connect all your profiles to each other. You can get away with having a website name that’s different than your social media handles, but only if they’re all consistent.

  Teni Panosian is one of my favorite influencers. She is a true professional and is one of the best content creators out there. Her website is Remarques.com, but she’s @TeniPanosian on every platform. The consistency of her social platforms was key when she changed her site from MissMaven.com to Remarques.com. She could easily set up a landing page to direct people to the new site, but changing her name on her social channels could have had terrible results. If people see an unfamiliar name in their feed, they’re more likely to unfollow. It also means that any article ever written about her that linked to one of her channels would now point to a page that doesn’t exist. But that didn’t happen to Teni because Teni is smart. Be like Teni.

  OWN IT

  The first question people always ask is Do I really need to be on every single platform? and the answer to that is no. While I would recommend securing your preferred username on every platform so someone can’t steal it, you should only be active on platforms you have plans on updating. Nothing is worse than finding a great influencer on a platform only to find out she hasn’t posted anything new in three months.

  That said, everyone should have an account on the big four: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. You’ll want an Instagram account, because it’s where the majority of influencer marketing campaigns take place. YouTube is also a big market for fashion hauls and beauty tutorials and is also a great way to show advertisers your video presence. You may think you don’t need Facebook or Twitter, but you would be wrong. The content you make is usually shar
ed by brands on Facebook and Twitter, and if they can’t tag you in it, you just lost a huge opportunity to pick up new followers. The biggest reason to keep an updated Facebook page is because at some point, you’re going to want to get it verified. The little blue check may seem like no big deal, but if a brand you’re working with also has one, Facebook will require that any influencer they work with also be verified. This is why you don’t see as many influencer campaigns on Facebook as you do on Instagram, but that is changing, and you want to be ready. If you’re a blogger, especially in food, home decor, and DIY, Pinterest can also be a great way to drive traffic back to your site. I’ve found that most clients don’t ask for pins on Pinterest, and won’t pay a lot for them unless you have millions of followers, but it’s a good platform to join if you think you will dedicate the time to make it a success.

  HOME IS WHERE YOUR BLOG IS

  Blogging has come a long way from its early days of anonymous diary entries, and because it was the first medium to produce influencers, advertisers have had more time to become comfortable spending money on sponsored posts. They also love that they can easily provide feedback/edits on the content, unlike a YouTube video, and can give the influencer tracking links to see if anyone has clicked on the content or made a purchase.

  Since a blog is pretty easy to set up and maintain, it’s great for aspiring influencers who are testing the waters. Unlike a YouTube channel, you don’t need video equipment or editing skills, and unlike Instagram you don’t necessarily need to shoot your own photos. I have seen many beautiful and highly clicked on blog posts that are made with some text, a brand-provided video, and photos found on the Internet. Given how easy it is to get started it always surprises me how many vloggers are not also bloggers. Granted, creating and editing videos may leave you with little time to do anything else, but you’re losing out on so many opportunities when you don’t have a blog, because so many advertisers want influencers to create blog posts. Think about it: When you google a product or service, what comes up? Reviews on people’s blogs. Sure, you may also see a sponsored YouTube video or a sponsored Instagram post, but advertisers can track how many people came to their site because of a specific blog post, and advertisers love things they can track.

  You should also create a blog because you want to establish your home base on something you control. Any of these social media platforms can delete your profile at any time without warning, or prohibit you from promoting your other channels, but if audience members know your blog URL, they’ll always know where to find you.

  There are many, many resources available to help you set up a blog, but here’s a crash course:

  Step 1: Buy your domain. You can either do this on GoDaddy.com (it usually has coupon codes floating around the Internet) or directly from your host. If you’re not that tech savvy, I would suggest buying your domain through your host to make your life easier.

  Step 2: Set up your hosting provider. I use Bluehost.com because it’s the only provider whose dashboard doesn’t confuse me. It also has great customer service via chat so there’s none of this waiting on the phone business when you inevitably break the code on your blog. Back up your blog. Back up your blog. Back up your blog. You will try to experiment with a new theme or plug-in and you will break your code and be shown the white screen of death. There is no reason for that heart attack. Pay the extra handful of dollars each month and let your host automatically back up your blog for you.

  Step 3: Install Wordpress. I love Google and all of its products, but why anyone is blogging on a platform that isn’t Wordpress is beyond me. Wordpress.com is the free version, but you can’t control the back end and customize it to your needs, so I would skip it. Wordpress.org requires a host, but that’s how you can upload custom themes, plug-ins, and tweak things until they are exactly how you’d like them to be. Your host should have a shortcut for installing Wordpress directly on their server. If you’re not sure, ask them before you sign up.

  Step 4: Install a theme and some plug-ins. Wordpress has really stepped up its game; there are tons of free themes that are absolutely gorgeous. Of course, if you find one that you absolutely love that isn’t free, by all means, buy it. If you’ve seen a blog you like, you can head on over to one of my favorite tools, whatwpthemeisthat.com, to find out what theme the person uses. It’s also a great resource to find out the plug-ins your favorite bloggers are using, or you can do a quick Google search for the best plug-ins for your type of blog. When you’re buying a theme, you can also check out how many people have downloaded your theme. It is part of your brand and you don’t want it to be a carbon copy of someone else’s site. If you have the funds and can swing it, I would recommend hiring someone to design a theme for you. It’s not a necessity, but it is definitely nice.

  Step 5: Add in your social media accounts. Sometimes I will end up on an influencer’s blog before seeing any of her social channels, and my favorite thing to do is to search high and low for her Instagram and/or YouTube profiles. JUST KIDDING. So many themes come with options to make these front and center. Use them. And make sure you link them to the proper account. This may seem like a no-brainer, but apparently it is not.

  DON’T BE THAT GIRL

  I was working on an event and I needed to find influencers to promote it. I found this one influencer who was great, so I went to check out her Instagram and got hit with the “Page Not Found” message. I went back to her blog and clicked on a different Instagram icon and got hit with the same message. I told her about it, and she told me she had changed her Instagram name but forgotten to update it, and that was the end of me trying to work with her. If you can’t even manage the links on your own website, there’s no way I’m going to trust you to manage a campaign. It sounds harsh, but there are millions of dollars at play here every day, and you need to always remember to put your best foot forward.

  When looking at themes, the type of layout you choose really depends on your personal preference and how often you think you’ll be posting. Just make sure your site looks modern. Wordpress has come a long way, and anyone can make their site look like a million bucks, so why people insist on having their sites look like they were created with duct tape and a dream is beyond me.

  I love reading blogs for fun, and I recently noticed that many of my favorite sites were created by the same person, so I asked her to give five tips to aspiring creators.

  EXPERT TIP

  1. Have a point of view. Being unique is the only way to get ahead in the market today. You could be talking about the same subject as someone else, but your perspective is what makes you stand out and be remembered.

  2. Trust your instinct and don’t let social media drive your decisions. Be aware of what is happening and take it into consideration, but put your own aims and goals ahead of anything else and use your blog and social media to achieve them.

  3. Content is still king queen. Although there are lots of different forms of it that are popular (written, video, podcasts, imagery, etc.), creating compelling content that speaks to your reader will create a bond between you. This allows you to create a community—which is different, and more important, than a following.

  4. Trust your gut; however, use data to aid your decision making. We are lucky that we have the means to learn what our readers like and don’t like, enabling us to tailor our product (the content) to what they want.

  5. Networking online and offline helps keep a blog/brand alive. You need to have visibility in your niche in order to stay relevant and also grow.

  —Chloé (@chloeadelia), founder and CEO of chloédigital, a tech support and strategic planning membership for style publishers

  YOUTUBE VIDEOS

  Vlogging may seem like a completely different world than blogging, but they’re very similar, and many influencers who have found mega success are great both in front of the camera and behind the keyboard. While high-quality content with a point of view is also the goal, there are some unique aspects of video making th
at you must master.

  • Intro/Catchphrase. This is usually the theme music followed by the “Hey guys, welcome to my channel” intro you see at the beginning of every video. This will set the tone for your channel and will immediately tell brands if your aesthetic and tone are in line with theirs. If your audience really skews in one direction (bubbly teenagers/moms/gamers) you can make an intro that is heavy on a theme. From the music, down to the fonts, go crazy with it. But if you want to cast the widest net, and make the most money, your intro and catchphrase should be simple, chic, and brand friendly. That means no cursing. Most brands are not too keen on their content running right behind your potty-mouthed intro, so make sure you’d be cool with your mom, grandma, and kindergarten teacher watching your intro and you should be in a good place.

  • Thumbnails. These should follow the same guidelines as your intro and catchphrase. Any thumbnails that have crazy fonts, wacky colors, and special effects automatically put the influencer into the juvenile casting bucket. It’s totally cool to have text on your thumbnails, especially if you want to call out something special from the video, but remember to keep it minimal and easy to read.

  • Trailer. This may be the most important section of your YouTube channel, and it’s sad to see it replaced on many channels by the latest video. Not only is it a tool to convince viewers to subscribe, but it’s also a place to tell brands who you are, the content you create on your vlog, and why they should hire you. And please keep your trailer current. Some vloggers have trailers that are four years old. You look at that video and then at the other videos on their channel and you can’t even tell it’s the same person. Updating your trailer quarterly is best because it will be reflective of you in that moment. It would be a shame to lose out on an opportunity because you’re a brunette in your trailer, even though you’re a blonde now, and I was looking for blondes to dye their hair black for a campaign.