How College Students Can Become Social Media Influencers And Earn Millions

Introduction

Are you passionate about showcasing your talents on social media?

Do you love using social media and being active on it?

Are you willing to sign million pounds brand endorsement deals?

Is educating and engaging with friends and acquaintances something, which you like?

Have you considered pursuing a gig as a Social Media Influencer?

If you have said a resounding ‘yes’ to any one of the above questions, then you would be interested in this article.

The Influencer Marketing industry is booming on social media. According to experts, the industry is set to touch $15 Billion USD by 2022!

Social Media Influencers make anywhere between hundred to millions of pounds every month.

We are not talking about mega celebrities.

We are talking about regular teenagers who are pursuing college degrees in unix.

Becoming a social media influencer when you are in college sets the foundation for a full time career post your studies.

In this article, we will help college and uni students fulfil their aim of becoming real social media influencers.

You don’t need to take help from a full time social media marketing agency to realise your goal. All you need to do is be passionate, engage with your audience and show the right kind of attitude.

College students can start being social influencers as a side hustle to earn handsomely. Once they see desired results, they can think of it as a full time vocation.

Are you ready to rule Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube? Let us begin…

Why Brands prefer working with College students who are Influencers

With more than 4 billion active users on social media, no brand can afford to ignore its importance. This means that from a marketing and advertising perspective, brands need social media influencers.

Most brands prefer college students to be social media influencers because-

• They are already part of a community (colleges and universities).
• Peers and followers can relate to them more than they can with actors and sportsmen.
• College students engage more with their followers in terms of replying to messages and responding.
• Local brands (within a city or country) can target them, as they are more affordable and easy to work with.
• They do not have the baggage that is attached with mega influencers on social media.

It is not only the big brands, which are doing Influencer Marketing.

Small and regional brands are also aggressively pursuing Influencer Marketing.

This means they are looking for regular uni kids who would be willing to advertise and display their products and services on social handles.

Small and Mid-sized brands cannot match the ad campaign budgets of MNCs.

They look to explore channels like social media marketing and Influencer marketing to reach their target audiences. This helps them market and sell their products to their consumers.

Start your Journey to become a Social Media Influencer with these 5 easy steps

1. Create the foundations and tick off the basics of Social Media-

The first thing that you need to do is shift your personal social profile into a Business one. A business account helps you get more data and analytics from social media companies. You will get to know about things like-

• Which social posts are getting the maximum traction
• When are your followers the most active
• What is the gender break-up of your audience
• When is the right time to post on your social profile
• What are some of the top geographical locations from where you are getting engagement

This will help you plan your social strategy better. Understanding data and analytics to succeed, is critical for any social media influencer.

2. Narrow down on what you are most passionate about-

When you are beginning your Influencer journey, you cannot expect to be a multi-category influencer. This will happen, but you need to grow for that. It is always a good idea to narrow down what you are most passionate about.

The top categories for Social Media Influencers are-

• Travel
• Tech and Gadgets
• Food
• Fashion
•  Auto and Riding

Brands look for youngsters who can relate to these categories and publicise them on their social platforms.

If you are good at fashion, you need to stick with it. You cannot keep hopping between multiple categories. This will affect your marketability and hurt the content creativity process.

3.Create amazing Content and Engage with your Followers-

People on social media are always looking for advice and suggestions. However, the best part is that they seek these queries from their peers. This happens because they are able to relate to normal human beings like students.

You should always aim to create amazing content. In the beginning, you need to post about things that you already own. For example, if you purchase a new pair of kicks, you can shoot it nicely and put in on social.

You can then tag the brand in the post. This will help you get exposure. You can also use these posts to negotiate with brands later on, showing the kind of engagement that you received.

Having a theme right from the start helps. For example, if you like sneakers, you can showcase them in various hip urban locations like the best restaurants, markets, malls and so on.

You can also create relevant Influencer names like- ‘The Urban Sneakerhead’. This will help people understand what your brand is all about. Don’t go for names that are too ambiguous.  

4. Start a WordPress Blog-

Having a blog helps you solve multiple things. I am listing down a few benefits of blogs for influencers.

• Some people would want a complete review of something that you put on social. This will help them get a more detailed idea about the product.
• Maintaining a blog adds to the professional approach. Brands will take you more seriously when you show them your website traffic in addition to your social followers and engagements.
• Blogging opens up newer channels of monetization from Guest Posting and Blogger Outreach Services.
• A blog builds your online credibility and helps in networking with fellow related influencers in your niche
• You do not need to create new content. You just need to flesh out your content on social media. This is also known as amplifying digital content.

5. Ask your Friends for help in sharing your content-

When you are starting out, you will not be able to afford paid promotions on social media. This is why you need to ask your friends and peers to help you spread the word.

If you ask ten friends to share your posts and assuming, they have 200 followers each; you will reach 2000 people organically. Once people start sharing, commenting and liking, your organic reach increases.

You can always take out your pals for a drink at the local pub, or give them freebies once you are famous. Most of the biggest influencers started with this help from friends.

This is also when your networking skills can develop. Cross sharing content on other influencer platforms and doing the same for them will help you grow your audience base. This will also help you connect and do business with other influencers who are starting out.

Conclusion

College students who are social media influencers are vastly successful. While some become influencers to pay off their student loans, others become one just to enjoy the good life.

Being a social media influencer in your college days can be a highly rewarding experience. You do not need to invest a lot of money or time to become one. All you need to do is work smartly and manage resources.

Do you have any successful friends in college who are social media influencers? Let me know in the comments section below. 

Author: Mashum Mollah

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