“Why Aren’t Brands Noticing Me?” Common Frustrations For New Social Influencers
So, you want to be a social influencer? Don’t worry. This post isn’t going to try and convince you of all the reasons why you can’t or shouldn’t. Quite the opposite, in fact. It’s about helping you to realise that you’re not alone. And when you’re first starting out on your journey, it’s common to feel very alone. You may feel as though only your friends and family interact with your post. That you’re invisible to the kinds of people who’d enjoy your content, and even more invisible to brands.
However, in this post we’ll address the common frustrations of nascent influencers and take a look at where you may be going wrong so that you can be more visible and appealing to brands.
Stop referring to yourself as an “aspiring” social influencer
You wouldn’t let an aspiring plumber install your downstairs bathroom. You wouldn’t want an aspiring lawyer representing you in court. As such, you can understand why brands might not want aspiring influencers to promote their products. If you’re dropping content like an influencer, reviewing products like an influencer and involving yourself in the beauty community like an influencer… you’re an influencer, girl!
Don’t be tempted by the dark side
When you’re starting out, you may feel desperate for followers. But don’t make the mistake of reaching out to services that will set legions of bots on your profile for fake likes and comments. Think about it. If you worked for a brand, would you want to associate yourself with someone who bought their following? One of the realities of influencer / blogger life is that organic genuine engagement can’t be bought. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t experts who can give you a helping hand. Which brings us to…
Stop leaving your strategy to chance. Seek professional help
If you feel that you need an inside track on building your following, yet want to steer clear of the dark side, it’s a good idea to approach a social media agency. Yes, this requires some investment on your part, however, it’s a fantastic way to get a better understanding of what performance metrics to keep an eye on, how platforms’ search algorithms work and what makes you more visible to brands and other users on your chosen platform. You can use this information to establish a content strategy that’s more likely to get you noticed.
Remember… Shy girls get nowt!
While there’s a right way and a wrong way to approach brands, there’s absolutely no shame in being proactive. Shy girls get nowt after all. The worst they can say is “Come back when you have a slightly bigger following”. But you don’t need to have millions of followers to be worthy to approach brands.
Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that your profile or your following are too small for you to merit getting promo products from brands. Brands don’t just give products to the Jamie Genevieves of the world. In fact, bigtime influencers get (by their own admission) so much stuff from brands that they literally don’t know what to do with it, and give most of it away to friends and family. Brands are starting to learn that giving their promo to smaller influencers provides a better chance of them actually using / reviewing it.
