Misfeldt knows that hard work is needed to become a successful influencer: She has 40,000 followers on her Instagram account. — dpa
The life of an influencer on Instagram or YouTube may seem easy on the surface, but in reality, it takes a lot of time and effort to build and maintain a fan base. Here are a few tips to get started.
Receive fancy gifts, post a few pictures online and get paid handsomely for the effort – this is how most people would imagine the life of a social media influencer. But the reality is far different.
Johanna Sophie Misfeldt knows that hard work is needed to become a successful influencer – someone who has amassed a large fan base on social media and can turn all their attention into a business.
Under the name mintundmeer, Misfeldt blogs and shares images on Instagram about furnishings, design and sustainability. Almost 40,000 people follow her on the image-sharing network Instagram.
She regularly receives offers from businesses that want to capitalise on the reach of influencers in order to spread their advertising – and are willing to pay for it.
But this kind of collaboration is not always a good fit.
"Initially it's about designing a concept through which the product can be well-presented. Sometimes I realise at this point that it won't work after all and back out," Misfeldt says.
If the collaboration is a good fit, she agrees the key parameters in writing with the client. She then receives a product, tests it, photographs it, publishes a post – and, ideally, ensures that her followers become clients of the business, or are at least aware of it.
And this isn't just the case for the sectors most people would expect, such as fashion, travel or lifestyle. "Virtually every topic is possible," says Marlis Jahnke, who wrote a book on influencers.
The important part is to bring significant affinity for a particular subject, and ideally expertise, to the table. There are many opportunities in areas such as technology, gardening or do-it-yourself – as well as significant interest from advertisers.
Passion alone is not enough to project a convincing image, however.
"To be successful, you must have a certain professionalism and endurance," Jahnke says. "Establish a plan detailing what you will post, and when. You must stick to this and repeatedly show yourself."
In addition, legal principles have to be abided by – for instance, clearly identifying posts that contain advertising.
Journalistic and technological knowledge may also be needed to produce good content for some platforms. "Making a convincing YouTube video is not that easy," Jahnke says. "And a person running a blog should have the ability to write professional texts."
Thus, it's important to acquire the knowledge needed. Studies in the media sector make the road to becoming an influencer easier. But there are also many experts who have shared online their tips for success and explained the most important steps.
What's Misfeldt's tip for potential influencers? "Trust your gut feeling. Don't try to be someone you're not."
Of course, it is also important to regularly publish posts and interact with your followers. "But that is the part that is really fun – these are, after all, social networks," Misfeldt says.
Jan Stranghoener, a social marketing expert from Cologne, recommends following technological developments and prevailing trends.
"The already successful influencers took the opportunity to position themselves early on new platforms such as Snapchat or Instagram," he says. They quickly understood how the networks worked and built up their reach, thereby becoming their own brands.
Even with existing platforms, there are always new opportunities. "What counts is quickly adapting to new features," Stranghoener says. – dpa
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