Instagram brand influencers part of a $10 billion industry

Digital Originals

Instagram brand influencers part of a $10 billion industry

Instagram is full of influencers. They’re social media stars who endorse brands and get paid for it. This industry is expected to be worth up to $10 billion by next year.

CGTN’s Phil Lavelle explains. 

@santi’s got hundreds of thousands of followers. His first tip: Be authentic:

“People that follow you, they trust you. They follow you because of your tastes, because they like your lifestyle. If you’re going to sell something, it has to be something you really like, not because of the money,” Santiago Lopez says.

A whole ecosystem has sprung up around influencers. Books and guides on how to become one.

And even specialist spaces for influencers to have their posts professionally shot.

This one is called SocialSet. It’s in Los Angeles.

Tajana spent years being choreographed on stage as one of Beyonce’s dancers.

Now, she’s choreographing influencers: photographing them for millions of followers:

“When they come to me, we’ll have a chat about their personal style, what is it they like, we’ll curate the content to already match the person they are. I like to do a lot of video stuff too and I think that can be a good way to make something stand out more than just a photo,” Bunton-Williams says.

Other tips from Santi, get some influential influencer friends:

“It all depends on who you know.. If you hang out with influencers and you know who to collaborate with, you have that on your side if you know big influencers, they might help you out with growth then that’s probably going to help you do it a little bit faster”

And ultimately, find a cause.

“You have to have a reason to post. Like, what do you want to translate through photos and videos and that’s what’s going to catch people’s attention.”