Fun Ways to Become an Influencer Online : The Branded Daily Digest

These days, it’s hard to find a person who isn’t familiar with the term ‘influencers.’ While some may think that they’re just people with a lot of followers on social media, in reality, influencers do so much more than just post pictures and hope for likes. They actually have an in-depth role in many big companies’ strategies.

From the million-dollar deals between brands and Instagramers to becoming YouTube sensations or bloggers, there is no doubt that influencers are here to stay. But what does online influence even mean? We’ll talk about what an online influencer is and how the term came to be in this post. But even more importantly, we’ll discuss some fun ways that you could become an influencer online too.

What Is an Influencer?

An influencer is someone who influences others through social media by creating high-quality content that promotes products or services of various brands. Individuals can wield influence towards their peers or larger communities via social networks and blogs.

While famous celebrities gain substantial followings online, many micro-influencers (regular people) have a more direct relationship with their fans. As a result, they often earn disposable income from YouTube endorsements, sponsorships, brand deals, and social media advertising.

Currently, there is a greater demand for micro-influencers than ever before as marketers are shifting toward this form of advertising. After all, people are apt to trust those they can relate to.

So How Did Influencing Become So Popular?

The first people who started using this new type of advertising were probably YouTubers. By creating videos about specific products or services and showing their audience how to use them, these creators unwittingly made themselves very useful to companies and advertisers.

Their reputation has grown to such an extent that even big companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s are constantly looking for influencers to partner with and work together towards a common goal: build trust with their audience and make both parties benefit from it.

Even though influencers aren’t the only ones who can make videos or blog posts, they do occupy a special place because of their huge following. They, therefore, have more power than the average person on social media, which makes them perfect for advertising certain products.

Why Don’t More People Break Into Influencing?

Despite the opportunity that lies within this rapidly growing industry, awareness around what it takes to thrive as an influencer remains low among individuals looking to break into the field. Becoming an influencer can be daunting at first because of the limited resources on how it works and information about the potential opportunities that exist.

In this next section, we’ll talk about some fun ways to become an influencer online. Follow one or more of the suggestions below, and you just might find your way to fame, fortune, or both!

Fun Ways to Become an Influencer Online

Do you have a talent or interest that you would like to share with the world? Perhaps you want a little more recognition for the time and energy that goes into it. Whatever your reasons, being an online influencer has many advantages.

The internet is full of opportunities to showcase talents and interests, whether you consider yourself a seasoned professional or you have something new that you are interested in learning about. If you want to turn your passion into a career as an influencer, here are some ideas:

Use Your Favorite Hobby and Create Content About It

One of the best ways to begin as an online influencer is by utilizing your own personal brand. Pick a subject that you enjoy learning about and sharing with others through various multimedia platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Try taking up a new hobby and creating informative or fun step-by-step tutorials for others to enjoy.

For example, if you are interested in fashion design, you could create tutorials and post them regularly on your favorite social media platform. This way, you can start to build an audience around your unique personal talents and passions. Don’t forget about blogging, either. Creating high-quality content can be lucrative too.

Later on, you may get the chance to partner with online sources for purchasing the latest sewing equipment—sewing machines, sergers, fabric, notions, and other supplies.

Share Your Opinion With Online Surveys

If you want to start influencing with baby steps, there are dozens of survey companies online looking for people just like you to give their opinions about various products and services. While this may not be something that will make you rich, these companies offer people extra spending money or gift cards for their time and effort.

Not all survey companies are legit, so you will want to align yourself with a site that has a great reputation. Branded Surveys is one such company. They have been in the survey business for many years and have over 42,000 real user reviews on Trustpilot (plus a rating of excellent).

Taking surveys for cash is a great way to start getting your feet wet as an influencer.

Become a Food Influencer

This is a big one. The internet is utterly fascinated with food. If you have always dreamed of having your own cooking show, dream no longer. Set up a camera-ready kitchen and have at it!

The best way to be successful in this area is to focus on a narrow niche. For example, you might choose to specialize in pies only, or you might want to share your love of grilling with the world.

Other influencers focus on outside businesses such as coffee shops, pizzerias, or vegan eateries. Whatever your interest is, you can find an audience who will want to follow you as long as the content you provide is engaging and compelling.

Start Influencing as a Game

If you are into gaming, you already know that the leading gaming influencers have millions of fans and make a ton of money. (Ninja has 17 million twitch followers and allegedly earns $95k per month).

While you may never catch up to these mega gaming influencers, there is still plenty of room to get your piece of the pie. Start by choosing a niche:

Challenges
Game Reviews
Tutorials
Team Matchups
Montages

As a gamer, you can probably think of many more. Then, set some goals. Create a brand, website, and blog. Resolve to get 1000 new followers a month. Whatever it is you are trying to achieve, get it all down on paper and go after your goals relentlessly.

Closing Thoughts

The list above is just a tiny sampling of the categories of influencing you can get involved in. There are several influencing categories gaining traction. For inspiration, we’ll leave you with a list of 11 popular upcoming influencer categories for 2022: