How to become an Instagram Influencer with 500 followers

The Influencer industry is growing tremendously, with over 500,000 active Influencers on Instagram today. You may be considering making this a new side venture. It’s possible to become an Instagram Influencer with as few as 500 followers.

If you’re interested in becoming an Instagram Influencer in 2022, here are some tips to get you going.

What is an Instagram Influencer?

An Instagram Influencer is someone who uses their Instagram presence as a way to make money. They may do this through paid promotions or affiliate links in their photos and captions. In most cases, they do not work directly with brands but use their large following as leverage when negotiating with brands for paid promotions or partnerships. The brand’s goal is to drive more traffic and sales to the product or service they leverage the Influencer to promote.

13 Steps to Become an Instagram Influencer

Consider following these steps when launching a career or a side business as an Influencer:

Write a Good Bio

If you want people to know who you are, have a clear bio reflecting what you wish brands to see. It is also the first thing that consumers see when they come across your account, and it’s what they’ll use to decide if they want to follow you or not.

It’s important for your bio to be exciting and engaging so that people want to learn more about you.

Brand Yourself

Influencers must be branded as an Influencer. For example, suppose you’re posting product reviews constantly without any compensation or sharing content from followers after a simple request for free. In that case, these are areas you could consider charging for later as an Influencer.

Companies will pay you to promote their products or services in exchange for complimentary products or services.

You’ll often see influencers doing this on their stories at events or parties where brands are present.

Stick to a Niche or Category

To grow your brand as an Influencer, you need to be focused on a single niche or area of expertise. For example, if you’re a photographer, focus exclusively on photography and related topics. You will attract audiences that are interested in this specific area.

You don’t want to dilute your efforts or confuse your audience by trying to be everything to everyone.

Create Quality Posts

Strive for quality posts over creating a high number of posts. We know it sounds cliché, but it’s true.

A fast way to grow your Instagram account is by being consistent and posting high-quality content that reflects your brand and the niche you’re in. This will also make you more attractive to the brands that will eventually hire you as an Influencer.

Your goal is to double from 500 to 1000 followers in 30 days, then continue to double growth month over month.

Work the Hashtags

Hashtags are some of the best ways that Influencers get noticed on Instagram, especially if they’re relevant to your content (which they should be).

Make sure that every post has at least one hashtag and use them wisely so that people can find you when searching for other content related to yours.

It’s also important to post during optimal times when your audiences are most likely to see it in their feed.

Check the Competition

Do a little research on the Instagram accounts that are similar to yours. Track their follower growth and the types of people or brands they follow. There are AI tools that empower brands to monitor brand performance with ease.

Doing this will give you an idea of what content gets the most likes and comments and how often they engage, which will help optimize your own content efforts.

Run a Giveaway or Contest

One of the engaging ways to grow your brand is by hosting giveaways or contests on Instagram.

This will help you engage with other people interested in what you’re offering while allowing them to win something valuable from your business.

Use Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories can be a great way to build your audience because they allow users who don’t have an account yet. This makes it easier to see what it’s like using your product or service before signing up for anything.

Sponsor Posts

The next step to becoming an Instagram influencer with 500 followers is through sponsored posts. This is when a company pays you to post about their product or service on your feed.

Sponsored posts can be either photos or videos, but they still need to look authentic and honest for them to be effective.

Post consistently

People will not follow you if they can’t see any posts from you in their feed. That’s why it’s essential to post at least once per day, preferably more often than when you’re growing your influence.

If you want to make money through Instagram, it’s even more critical because brands want to work with people who are active on Instagram and can provide them with regular content for their campaigns.

Earn through Affiliate Links

You can become an influencer on Instagram by promoting different products through affiliate links. If you already have a product you want to promote, you can create an account with an affiliate network.

Connect with Other Influencers

Connect with other Influencers in your niche by following them and engaging with their posts regularly. This will help you grow your social media presence and increase your followers quickly!

There are more than 500,000 active Influencers on Instagram, so it’s better to make friends in the space than be on your own. They can also open up other doors of opportunity for you and share practices that have helped grow their presence.

Engage with Followers Often

Last but not least, engage with your followers by replying to their comments, liking their photos, and posting shout-outs. Being active with your followers will inspire them to be more involved in return and will help them feel appreciated.

Summary

Because there are active Influencers with millions of followers, it won’t be easy for you to become an Influencer with 500, but it is possible. If you have quality content with high engagement ratios or notice that when you post product items, your followers purchase them quickly, brands will notice. After all, they care about the quality of Influencers because they want quality leads and more sales.