Calling all bloggers: Becoming an influencer

Calling all bloggers: Becoming an influencer

It’s no secret that money talks, but in the digital age, so do mentions. If you’re working to build an audience or following online, there are a few key steps to take to make sure you’re not only targeting the right demographic for your product or platform, but also maximizing your exposure to that group of potential followers and customers.

First, bloggers and up-and-coming social media moguls have to maintain a supply of content for the internet’s insatiable appetite.

We’re not just talking web traffic here; instead, it’s important to focus on retention- that is, turning a click into a subscriber.

This may take multiple impressions over weeks or months before a user in your target audience becomes a subscriber, so multiple communications between you and the individuals you’re looking to reach online per day is the most important way to not only be seen, but to be remembered, thought about, and eventually followed.

Because a loyal subscriber base is a golden key to unlocking the profit potential of the online marketplace, staying relevant is important to keep their attention. No, we don’t mean in a Britney-Spears-circa-2007 kind of way. Smart bloggers, advertisers, and influencers will create content that’s not only specific to their demographic, but also related to trending events, people, places, and movements. It’s all a part of the effort to ‘beat the algorithm’; since social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram only feed content to users based on what they’ve looked at, lingered on, clicked on, and engaged within the past, your content has to be synced with a user’s interests online. Plus, the more you can manage to hit their feed, the better chance you have of tempting them to click on your blog post or product.

However, make sure to avoid the usual clickbait techniques. They have worked in the past, but internet users are getting smarter and savvier to advertiser’s strategies in luring them toward today’s products and services. Avid internet users are quick to call out standard clickbait techniques, like writing misleading headlines for shock value or vague product descriptions to draw clicks without any up-front product information. These sneakier advertising techniques will turn the most skeptical consumers in your target demographic off immediately, and only frustrate those who fall for the bait.

Finally, use experts to your advantage. You might be the source of content, but that content does not provide any inherent value or credibility without an expert or anecdotal source to back up your experiences, claims, and conclusions. Plus, a blog boils down to your word against the internet’s and having a few solid sources and collaborators on your side can expand your platform even further.