How to Become an Industry Influencer

Knowing how to become an industry influencer is less about studying and more about execution. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few things to learn before embarking on this new endeavor.

Influencers enjoy free publicity thanks to the attention they’ve cultivated from the audience. No longer do they need to invest in expensive product launches but, instead, can build up interest with a quick tweet or a short YouTube video.

Similarly, influencers enjoy incredible business opportunities with up-and-comers and industry mainstays clamoring to work with them in the hope their own products will enjoy a bit of free publicity.

Furthermore, influencers can enjoy an increase in their personal income with businesses happy to fork out cash for the opportunity to work with them. And the good news is that becoming an industry influencer doesn’t have to cost you anything — just time and effort.

The bad news is that it’s not easy and success is never guaranteed. So if you’re wondering how to become an industry influencer, check out this five-step guide which will help you on your way.

Find Your Niche

If you really want to become an industry influencer then you need to start thinking about which area to become an expert on. Unfortunately, there are hundreds and thousands of people looking forward to become industry influencers, which means large, general topics are out the window.

Chances are you will find it difficult to be a travel industry expert in today’s saturated market. Instead, look to narrow your expertise. You might want to focus on eco-tourism or creating tour itineraries for sports teams.

Whatever industry you choose, there are two things you need to check:

Is the market open?

Before you get your webcam out and start creating YouTube videos, do some research and see how many influencers there are in your chosen niche. If the market is too crowded, look elsewhere.

Is there enough interest there?

It would be heartbreaking to put all your energy into building your product, creating your online persona, writing 3,000-word blog posts only to realize… no-one cares. Do your research and make sure people are interested in the niche you want to become an industry influencer in. The effort put in could save you time and a bruised ego.

Choose Your Channel

The next thing you need to do is work out your best plan of attack. There are a million different ways to become an influencer but picking the right one will be the difference between success and failure.

Different options include blogging, vlogging, live chat, podcasting and all the different social media platforms. But how do you narrow down your options?

1. Get Honest With Yourself

The first thing you should do is take a look at your strengths and weaknesses.

Are you a natural on the camera? If so, then starting a YouTube channel or live chat is probably the best option for you. If you’re more of an introvert or have a way with words then blogging could be your best way forward.

The most important thing is to pick a platform you enjoy because you’ll practically live there.

2. Find Where Your Audience Spend Time

The next thing you need to do is discover where the people you want to impress are. If you are looking to influence a youth-focussed industry then, in all likelihood, social media platforms could be the best way forward.

For every different industry, a different method will be better. It’s up to you to find the one that your audience is using.

3. Determine the Opportunity

Finally, you need to figure out whether there is enough room on that platform for you to become an influencer. If your chosen method is already full of industry influencers then it will probably be difficult for you to build authority. Like most areas of business, doing research is absolutely vital.

Study the Market

After you’ve chosen your plan of attack, you will need to figure out which types of posts work and which don’t. To do this, check out all the competition in your niche and start taking notes. Find out everything you can about them.

What topics are they focussing on?

Where are they publishing their articles?

Which posts have received the most interaction?

What else could they be doing?

Once you have thoroughly explored the influencers in your niche, widen the search. Are there clever things other people are doing that could be a hit in your niche?

Start Creating Content

Now you’ve done the legwork, it’s time to get to the enjoyable part: creating the content. No matter which platform you’ve decided to launch your campaign from, the key to building an audience is regularity.

Some influencers have to post everyday to keep their audience engaged, others can get away with once a month. However, it is important to realize that audiences prefer to know when their content is coming out.

So if you decide to post your first video at 9 pm on a Friday, post all subsequent videos at the same time (unless there is a good reason for changing).

A great tip is to start collaborating with people who have already made themselves industry influencers. Simply chatting to them and bouncing thoughts off them will allow you to absorb their good ideas and cut out any of your bad ones.

Furthermore, your stock within the industry will rise massively if others see you collaborating with already-respected figures.

The Final Stage: Patience

The last thing you need is patience.

Publishing blog posts or releasing videos every day will, at some point or another, seem like a tedious task, but you need to go on.

Typically it can take a blog 6 months of constant posting to even start gaining traction, although many suggest 12 to 18 months is more realistic.

It can take years and years to become an industry influencer, so don’t be disheartened if you’re not getting any phone calls in your first few months. However, after working hard and plugging away, you will start to see the incredible benefits that industry influencers enjoy.