Having a large number of followers on social media means companies may want you to vouch for their brand. Discover what you need to know about becoming an online influencer, including the necessary insurance requirements.
Whether you’re a travel blogger, fashion YouTuber, or lifestyle influencer, companies may see your social media following as an easy way to expose their brand to a wider audience. After all, social media platforms are a relatively new and effective way to reach a larger audience. But since you’re essentially acting as a brand ambassador, there are plenty of inherent risks associated with representing someone else’s image.
In this article, we’ll be going over some frequently asked questions about how to become a successful influencer, as well as how you can protect yourself from potentially damaging scenarios with the proper insurance coverage.
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How Can I Become an Influencer?
Step 1: Create an account
To start your journey toward becoming a successful influencer, the first step is to create an account on a popular social media platform. Some of the most popular platforms are:
While each of these platforms will have different pros and cons, many influencers will have accounts on several or all of these platforms to broaden their reach. However, it’s important to cater to the specific strengths of each platform, since they all have unique features.
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Step 2: Build your following
Now that you’ve created a profile, you’ll have to gain a solid following so that brands will want to work with you and pay for your influence. Here are some tips to help you gain your first 10,000 followers:
Show you have value
Make sure everything you post tells your audience something about you or something they didn’t know. Social media platforms are highly competitive spaces to be in, so being intentional with your content is an important way to show your audience why they should follow you.
Engage with your audience
Replying to comments on your posts and commenting on other posts is a good way to display your authenticity and get to know your audience. This can also help you understand more about what kind of content your followers are looking for.
Optimize your posts
You only have your audience’s attention for a short amount of time, so be sure to use the most of it by using the proper techniques.
Post consistently
Be sure to schedule your posts to go live at certain times, and be consistent about when that is. Depending on where you are, certain times will be more optimal than others. Do your research to find out what time of day and day of the week are best.
Be patient
Growing a following is going to take time, so it’s important to be patient. It may be tempting to buy followers for a quick increase, but brands are becoming increasingly aware of these tactics and will avoid working with you. Growing an organic follower base is important, because having a high-quality profile means you’ll be able to work with high-quality brands.
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Step 3: Connect with brands
Now that you have a large following, it’s time to start working with brands. At the start, you may have to reach out to companies, but after a while you’ll find that brands will come to you with products they want you to promote. Whether it’s through a written blog post or an Instagram post, make sure that you’re getting fairly compensated for your time, efforts, and influence.
What Are the Responsibilities of a Social Media Influencer?
Foster relationships
Influencer marketing is all about fostering relationships. One of your main jobs is navigating your relationship with your followers, as well as your relationship with the brands you choose to represent. Brands will want to advertise their product on your social media posts because your followers trust you.
However, if your followers start to feel like you’re just doing the posts for the money, or that you don’t believe in the product, you could start to see a decline in followers. And since your audience is your biggest asset, losing followers means less brands will want to work with you.
Get the right insurance
Brands are going to be careful about who they let represent them, so make sure you have the correct business insurance policy in case the company feels that you’ve misrepresented them. Asking your insurance company for a certificate of insurance is a great way to show potential clients that you already have a solid policy.
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Create relevant content
Creating relevant content for brands is another responsibility. No one wants to feel like they’re being advertised to, so be sure to get creative with how you choose to support the product or brand with interesting content that you think your followers will be interested in.
Who Needs Social Media Influencer Liability Insurance?
As long as you’re making money from a social media account, you should buy insurance so you have something to fall back on in case the unexpected happens. Some common policies included in social media influencer insurance are:
- General Liability Insurance. If the brand you’re working with feels misrepresented by your product or service, they can come after you for damages. Having general liability insurance for social media can protect you from having to deal with a lawsuit, even if you aren’t at fault.
- Cyber Insurance. This important type of insurance for influencers protects your intellectual property from any type of cyber liability, such as hackers, ransomware attacks, identity theft, and other online attacks.
- Property Insurance. From cameras, laptops, and lighting hardware, influencers often have thousands of dollars of equipment with them. It’s important to have it insured in case it gets lost, damaged, or stolen.
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