Influencer

by Brittany Hennessy

  ON PRODUCING HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT . . .

  The three most important elements of great photos are storytelling and composition, high-quality equipment, and post-editing. When thinking about storytelling and composition you should be asking yourself, “What does this photo say?” or “What does my series of [Instagram] images say?” High-quality equipment can mean a good camera (I have a very basic SLR and a Samsung S8+ smartphone that takes amazing photos). And post-editing means ensuring your photos are edited for light balance and retouched for minor things. A lot of content creators filter their images to create the right mood. The only thing I would advise against is retouching so heavily you are not recognizable. It’s disconcerting to your followers if they meet you in real life and you do not look like they thought you would.

  ON RECENTLY SIGNING WITH AN AGENT . . .

  I did not have an agent for the first five years of building my blog and just recently signed with the agent I am with now. Having a great agent is awesome, because you can bounce ideas off of him or her, and the agent can concentrate on making your ideas into concrete campaigns and reach out to brands on your behalf. But I loved the fact that I was doing fine without an agent too. I think it gives you an assurance and confidence to know that you’re going to be okay no matter what. I decided to sign with my agent now because I am much too busy with my projects, and it’s just so much more effective to have her doing certain things on my behalf.

  ON BUILDING OUT A TEAM . . .

  I have a full-time personal assistant, a social media manager, and an editor. I also have a photographer who is on retainer and helps me with visual content. And as I mentioned, I also have an agent who finds all my campaigns. I have a team now, but I was dealing with everything myself for the first four years with the exception of a virtual assistant I worked with on and off during that time. But it’s nice to have help now.

  ON HER MARIE CLAIRE MALAYSIA COVER, WORKING ON KUALA LUMPUR FASHION WEEK, AND BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL STAR . . .

  I NEVER would have aimed for a Marie Claire cover, and I really feel super lucky to have had that experience. I did have goals like “gain X amount of followers, work with X number of major brands, and keynote at three fashion conferences in the next X months.” My team and I worked toward those goals, and when you have goals it’s funny how things happen for you. Most goals are possible—but you need to be realistic about timing. It took me 18 months to work with Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week from the day I emailed them to the day I was confirmed.

  When you’re speaking to multiple countries and multiple demographics, make sure you have content that is unifying, but you should also have unique content that speaks to a specific group. No matter what I do, my content tends to feel motivational and uplifting. And sometimes funny. Which is all me. So all my content will be like that. And then I focus on specific groups. Maybe today it’s about dealing with oily skin in Malaysia, and next week it’s about dealing with Hollywood types (for my LA readers) and later I talk Eid al-Fitr preparations—because my family is Muslim and I have a lot of Muslim followers in Malaysia. I keep my content real and unified, but there is something for everyone. If you have a target audience from another country, make sure you have content for that specific audience regularly so they can relate to you in some way.

  ON NETWORKING . . .

  I think the key is to just be “real” and don’t be afraid of what people will think. I talk to a lot of women, and a lot of time they overthink what to say to someone they want to meet. Just make eye contact, smile, and when they smile back say something nice and innocuous such as “I like your outfit” or “Your shoes are awesome.” Anything really—and go from there. Online it’s the same thing. Follow someone you like and start interacting. And be genuine. I never give a compliment I don’t mean. And my best tip: Be helpful and give freely. It’s funny how generous people become when you are generous first.

  ON DEALING WITH HATERS . . .

  I was being digitally bullied by someone who accused me of buying followers, and he decided to anonymously email brands that have worked with me (he actually took the time to find the contact emails of the brands I tagged in sponsored posts) and told them that I am buying followers. All fabricated and without proof, of course. My team, attorney, and even friends and family told me to take the high road and deal with this privately. But I decided to screenshot his emails and posted them on my social media accounts and essentially told him to “bring it.” He sort of freaked out and contacted everyone he emailed and apologized. So I resolved this situation in about four hours after it happened. If I had gone the quiet route it could have cost me thousands in attorneys’ fees, months of time, and a lot of pain and suffering.

  I think bullies are cowards and can’t deal when you show them you’re not afraid. I learned who my real friends are, that sometimes you have to tackle things head-on, and that my followers are awesome. That particular post got 1,000 comments and some followers even posted on their feed some motivational quotes dedicated to me. It made me realize how unifying social media can be.

  ON WOMEN DOMINATING INFLUENCER MARKETING AND INSTAGRAM CREATING UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS . . .

  I think women are social creatures and form strong relationships and connections much easier than men, so it’s natural that we dominate social media. I definitely think Instagram can create unrealistic expectations. I have had comments and DMs from followers telling me how my content makes them feel depressed or inadequate. So you know what I do now? I post lots of Insta stories and Facebook posts, usually unedited, about what really goes on in my life. This way, they see the prep that goes into that other Instagram post they saw, including the giant mess that is my office, the team that helps me out, and the 3 A.M. late nights. And if you read a lot of my captions, I poke fun at my images and my feed a lot. I am basically sending the message that the photos they see are just a highly curated highlight reel and it’s mostly inspirational. The real me is just like most working women: working our asses off till 2 A.M. regularly, dealing with week-old laundry. And all the flawless photos are the product of a team working together and post editing. When they ask, I tell them that a photo has been retouched. I also post about the fact that I do have problems—I struggle with skin issues, weight issues, and work issues just like everyone else. And that it’s okay and normal.

  ON HINDSIGHT BEING 20/20 . . .

  My advice to aspiring influencers is to put out amazing content but be real and honest. Perfect personas won’t do anyone any good in the long run. The truth is liberating. I also wished I didn’t care so much about appearing prim and proper. I am still polite, but I definitely speak more freely now, and it has really helped increase my engagement with my followers. I also wish that I had connected with more bloggers when I started out. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but I was so busy building content that I sort of just did it my way. Having friends who were also in my industry would have helped me avoid some mistakes.

  CHAPTER 2

  The Audience

  How do you get people to follow you and engage?

  When an influencer posts content, her audience listens to what she has to say, and they trust her, even if that content is sponsored. This is the main reason advertisers hire influencers: They want access to their audience. Brands spend millions of dollars each year creating and promoting advertisements that people block, skip over, or scroll right past, but when they can get their product/service in the hands of an influencer her audience takes notice. This is the very reason building your community is so important. Even if your content is excellent, if you don’t have a loyal audience that enjoys the content you create, you won’t be influencing anyone, and advertisers will not hire you.

  Growing your audience may seem like a daunting task when you look at how many influencers have 500,000 or more followers. But remember, you don’t need that many to become a full-time influencer. Some of my favorites, like @krystal_bick, @heygorjess, and@scoutthecity, were full-time influencers
with a little over 100,000. We’ll use that number as our guide, but any of the tactics that follow can be applied no matter how many followers you have.

  THE ROAD TO 100,000 FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM

  STAGE 0: ZERO TO 2,499 FOLLOWERS

  This is the window where you decide if becoming an influencer is for you. At this stage, you’re testing whether or not you have the interest and the commitment it takes to create content on a regular schedule. Tell your family, friends, coworkers, and random people you meet you’re an aspiring influencer and they should follow you on Instagram. Work on getting your blog/vlog and social content down to a science. You’re not really on anyone’s radar yet so you can still experiment and make mistakes until you get into a flow you’re happy with. Also make sure to include your Instagram feed with a follow button on your blog. Many themes come ready to do this, but if not, you can find a plug-in that will help.

  Once you feel like you’ve got your content schedule under control you can join one of the many Internet communities to increase your follower count and get feedback on your content. There are so many Facebook groups for influencers categorized by location, vertical (fashion, beauty, style, parenthood, food, DIY, etc.), and just general interest. Join them, introduce yourself, ask people to follow you, and ask for feedback on your content. Just make sure you check the rules of the group before promoting yourself or your work as some only allow links on certain days of the week. While you’re looking for groups to join, you may come across something known as “Instagram pods.” These are essentially groups of people who promise to follow each other and comment on/like each other’s posts. This may seem enticing, but at the end of the day it may do more harm than good. You want followers who are engaging with your content because they actually like it, not just because you’ll return the favor.

  INFLUENCER INSIGHT

  Sometimes people don’t realize the amount of brainstorming and effort that goes on behind each post. Motivation is what gets you started. Commitment is what keeps you going.

  —@tsangtastic

  STAGE 1: 2,500 TO 4,999 FOLLOWERS

  You might read articles that tell you to start using hashtags to gain followers right away. There are a few reasons why that’s not the best approach. The first is because until you have your voice and posting schedule down to a science, there is no benefit from inviting strangers to look at your content. The second is because hashtags invite bots, and these will throw off your true follower count. The last is because early on you are more prone to hashtag abuse because you’re desperately trying to increase your follower count. Once you have your voice and posting schedule down, then you can start using hashtags. And there’s no reason to go crazy. Five to seven hashtags are more than enough to get the job done. Mix and match to see which hashtags get you the most followers and the most likes.

  Some top hashtags for style, beauty, and travel are:

  • Style. #style, #styleblogger, #instastyle, #igstyle, #personalstyle, #fashion, #fashionblogger, #fashionista, #instafashion, #igfashion, #OOTD, #ootdfashion, #ootdmagazine, #outfitinspo, #whatiwore, #wiw, #lotd

  • Beauty. #beauty, #beautytutorial, #beautyjunkie, #bblogger, #instabeauty, #makeup, #makeuptutorial, #wakeupandmakeup, #makeupaddict, #makeuplovers, #fotd, #motd, #cosmetics, #hairinspo

  • Travel. #travel, #travelblog, #travelblogger, #travelphotography, #instatravel, #travelgram, #traveling, #travelling, #traveltheworld, #doyoutravel, #seetheworld, #wanderlust, #passionpassport, #digitalnomad, #stayandwander, #beautifuldestinations

  INFLUENCER INSIGHT

  The one piece of advice that I’d share is to find your “why” and stick to it. Share whatever it is that you love, are passionate about sharing, and have a fresh, unique perspective on, but always remember why you’re sharing in the first place. These reasons vary and can become catalysts for shaping great content. Your why for sharing/posting will amplify your voice and shine through in your content. That’s what makes this space so amazing—the myriad of different perspectives out there.

  —@simplycyn

  STAGE 2: 5,000 TO 9,999 FOLLOWERS

  Once you’re hashtagging like a pro, it’s time to add on following people and liking their posts. At this stage in the game you only want to follow people who have a high probability of following you back. So I would limit it to people with similar content who have fewer followers than you do, and a few people who are at Stage 3. In terms of liking content, jump on a hashtag you use and like every piece of content that resonates with you regardless of how many followers the influencer has. The goal of the like game is to get on the radar of as many people on Instagram as possible. You’ll see a lot of services that offer to follow people and like/comment on their content for you, but don’t do it. It’s a shortcut and all that will happen is your name will be associated with a bunch of emojis and comments like “cool pic bro.”

  INFLUENCER INSIGHT

  I receive so many emails from people who want to start a blog because they want to earn money from it and make it their full-time job. I didn’t earn an income from my blog for a year and a half after I started, but because I loved what I was writing about every day, it was much easier for me to stay motivated to continue. Make sure you really love whatever you’re creating content around or you will tire out. Be really consistent, be committed, and be ready to work! It won’t happen overnight, but if you aim to create content around your passion rather than what you could earn, you will be more set up for success!

  —@thriftsandthreads

  STAGE 3: 10,000 TO 24,999 FOLLOWERS

  Congratulations! You are officially what the industry calls a “micro-influencer.” In Chapter 4 we’ll talk about creating a press kit and a one-sheet, and getting the word out to media outlets. At this level you can start being included in the “Instagrammers to Watch” lists you see on every website. Keep reintroducing yourself in groups, using hashtags, liking content, and following influencers smaller than you and a few from Stage 4.

  INFLUENCER INSIGHT

  Network!!! Networking is key for anyone who aspires to do anything. For aspiring content creators, I would say that you should definitely connect with other bloggers. Team up, and take over the world together. There is enough success out there for everyone, so why not lift everyone else up? Another key thing would be to make an effort to go to events as often as you can. That ties in with networking, but it always is good to show face. Last, think about what you want your brand identity to be. Network with others who are on brand with your brand identity.

  —@tsarin

  STAGE 4: 25,000 TO 49,999 FOLLOWERS

  You might have appeared on a list or two and have a few small campaigns under your belt, and this is the stage where you start doing collaborations with other influencers. Collaborations will expose you to new audiences and help you pick up followers who might not have found you on their own. It will also help get new creative juices flowing because you’ll be working with people who have their own way of creating content, whether that means using stop-motion photography or shooting in new and exciting places. It will also keep you connected to people. One thing I think aspiring influencers don’t realize is that this business can be lonely. When your job consists of every aspect of your life being Insta-perfect, or at least seeming that way, it can be a bit much for people who aren’t on the same path. Some of the most successful and happy content creators are those who bring their friends, family, and pets along for the ride.

  DON’T BE THAT GIRL

  It always blows my mind when I look at an influencer’s feed and no matter how far down I scroll, not a single other person makes an appearance. Does she not have friends? Does she live a life of solitary confinement? Who is taking this picture if she literally never encounters another human being?

  I was casting for a program and the advertiser wanted an influencer and her friend. My assistant and I stalked down dozens of profiles and not a single person had a friend on their feed. When you #SquadUp, your feed
becomes less about you and how perfect your life is and more about how amazing you and your squad are. And besides, squadding up is how you get booked on group trips. It’s like getting free vacations just for having friends. Who wouldn’t want a piece of that?

  Rene Daniella’s (@ownbyfemme) feed has tons of photos of her looking gorgeous, but there are almost as many photos of her squad having a blast. It makes her look human, it makes her look fun, and it makes people want to follow her and see what she’s up to. Sai De Silva (@scoutthecity) is another example. Her feed has a lot of photos of her, but her kids, London Scout and Rio Dash, really steal the show. And since her business features her kids and her kids are a part of her job, she can make money traveling the world and creating content with them. That is what I call having it all.

  Looking for #couplegoals? Look no further than Michaela Wissén (@michawissen) and Riley Harper (@lifeof_riley). While I don’t love his underscore, I do love the fact they they’re always in each other’s photos. They’re a couple, so it would make sense that they’re always together and appear on each other’s feeds. And I’ve even hired them together, with Riley serving as a model and Michaela taking the photos.