Hit the ground running in 2021 - The Influencer Edition

The new year is here, and though we may have welcomed it in our PJ's at home, we're greeting 2021 like a long-lost friend we've been dying to see (practically running into its arms)! Whether your a fan of fresh starts or don't believe in the New Year hype - you should definitely be looking at how you can up your game and keeping track of the new trends and changes to social platforms.

Due to the pandemic, digital platforms received an unprecedented boost from the public turning to influencers and celebrities to entertain and inform them at an incredibly confusing time. Social media became a place to escape, but also find like-minded people to follow and a lot of accounts saw great growth over this period. The question now is, how to sustain this growth and continue connecting with audiences.

So if you're new to the influencer world, or a professional looking to shake things up, here are our top 3 tips to get you started this year!

Consistency is key…

Towards the end of 2020 team members from Instagram contacted a portion of its influencer community to give them suggestions on how to increase engagement. The results were an almost unattainable amount of content, as Instagram suggested that the following could help influencers beat the allusive 'algorithm'…

1. 3 IG Feed Posts per week

2. 8-10 stories per week, plus 2 extra per day

3. 4-7 Reels per week

4. 1 - 3 IGTV posts per week

Most creators have rightfully dismissed this schedule as too excessive, but we suggest taking this recommendation with a pinch of salt. It's important to know what Instagram's algorithm is championing and work off this model. Our takeaway is reinforcing the fact that consistency is key! Post at the same time on the same days - Instagram likes patterns so your content will be naturally boosted if you keep it predictable. Experiment with every form of content creation that Instagram offers. Reels are getting an incredible boost in the algorithm due to their fight against TikTok, and IGTV posts appear larger in the discovery section which also makes them more appealing and visible to new audiences. If you're not using everything within the platform you're missing out on an easy way to grow your followers and engagement.

Use IG Stories to your advantage...

The best thing you can do as a creator is to understand your audience and how you can effectively talk to them. Engagement and interaction are key and if your followers aren't talking to you, you're already a step behind.

Our biggest tip to get cracking is to invest time in Instagram stories. Perhaps due to their easily digestible nature and they're less curated/polished look, they tend to spark a more natural dialogue. They're also being boosted by the platform, and we predict that it won't be long before Instagram experiments with showing stories in our main feed, opening up immediately to story content over feed posts. This means it's time to nail your story content now and experiment with the range of creative tools available.

Question boxes are a great way to create conversations that feel almost 'one on one,' and putting effort into fun games like 'this or that' with images garners great interaction that can, in turn, lead to future content ideas. Take note of what your followers are asking and be honest in your responses. Finally, stories don't need to take much time, nor be carefully created in comparison to feed posts which gives you a lot of freedom to have fun and enjoy opening up to your followers in a more relaxed way.

Video is King!

There is no doubt that video's are outshining that of image content. With the rise in TikTok's popularity and Reel's transforming Instagram's posting capabilities, Video truly is king in this era of the digital landscape. Youtube's most recent Culture & Trends report shows that 48% of people rely on video's to show them new perspectives on cultural issues and to learn to do things themselves - clearly a product of 2020 - but this alone proves how important it is to have regular video content scheduled into your social plan.

For those wondering if long-form or short-form videos are best, think about your audience! Are they mostly young adults who have lots of spare time to watch vlogs, or are they parents who need more 'snack-able' bite-sized videos to consume in between looking after busy children? While we have seen an incredible move towards long-form videos, as they rise in popularity, it's important to think about how your followers consume their content and experiment with both styles.

Repurposing content is also incredibly important. This will help minimize your workload and ensure all your followers catch your post in one form or another. For example, a Youtube Haul could easily be sliced up for a Reel on Instagram, or an IG Story downloaded and added to a vlog. Re-purpose your content to your advantage.

Overall, the key to any video post is to ensure your content is original, humorous, instructive, and most importantly authentic to you.

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There's no doubt that influencers saw their followers grow exponentially in 2020, and now, moving forward, it is all about retaining and nurturing this following. Understanding your demographics is key, consistency, open conversations, and ensuring your presence across multiple social channels.

So go on then, go create some incredible content - we'll be watching ;)

Lots of love,

Rosey Management xx