How to Become a Social Media Influencer

Hey guys! Today my friend Jazz from Life By Jazz shared an awesome YouTube video featuring five things that all online influencers have in common. I often get questions about how I built our Instagram following, how to share authentically via social media (what Jazz calls soulful media), and how to build a brand while staying true to yourself.

How to Become a Social Media Influencer

Here’s how you can apply these five characteristics to help reach your audience, grow your network, and still rock your own brand of awesome sauce:

Give more than you take
All successful online influencers (take Marie Forleo for example) operate on the principle of giving. Why? When you give without expectation, you enhance and benefit lives of others. In so doing, you build fierce loyalty and create lifelong relationships, and when you are ready to sell a product, guess what?! You’ll have customers lined up around the digital block to snag your swag.

Tell the truth.
People can smell your bulls**t a mile away. I think maybe it’s an evolutionary response designed to help us stay low stress. Save the drama for your mama, right? Ok, seriously though, think about the person who has influenced you most. (Are you doing it?) Now, I bet if you consider it, you are most influenced by this person because you can relate to them, right? Honesty and authenticity are sexy, bottom line, end of story. So be who you are. Some will like it, some won’t, so what, who’s next? Those who like you will love you and you’ll be building a brand in alignment with your own truth. Now that’s awesome.

Be the funnest version of yourself.
You might be thinking, Be fun? How am I supposed to do that? Too much pressure!!! Relax. You were born fun. Being fun is mostly an issue of being your natural silly self, without trying too hard to fit in. Feel free to be goofy, be silly, and not be perfect. One practical tip that will help you to feel more fun is communicate the way you would talk to your best friend. Show your personality by writing the way you speak, and you’ll reach people who dig your style, man.

Work like a farmer.
This is one of my favorite tips from this video! Because seriously, building an online community and growing your influence takes two main ingredients: passion and dedication. So you worked your ass off for a week and got no results? What would a farmer do? Give up on the crops and smoke a doobie? I don’t think so. Day after day, the farmer toils in the fields, even when there’s no sign of crops yet. So, plant your seeds. Water them. Sing to the tiny buds as they grow up from the ground. Nurture your seedlings, day in and day out. And I’ll be darned if they won’t grow up into a bountiful harvest.

Dare to live a creative life.
One of my favorite quotes is this: “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” BOOM. Now, I don’t expect you to live a life without fear. That’s a bit absurd, considering fear is a primal response that is essential for survival on this planet. However, you can choose who is going to drive the car on this road trip we call life. In my mind, Fear can be a passenger, but Fear is never, ever going to drive the car (Fear is nearsighted and has T-Rex arms. It would be dangerous to put him in the driver’s seat). Living creatively, according to Jazz, means setting fear aside and also daring to share your creations! You might have the most amazing ideas in the world, but if you won’t share them, they will shrivel up and die inside your soul. And, it’s kind of stingy, and I don’t think you’re a stingy person, are you?

Ok, so now that you know the summary, take a look at the video, yeah? It’s good stuff. Enjoy.

Oh, and head on over to YouTube and subscribe if you’re into it! LOVE YOU JAZZ!!! Thanks for being such an awesome person and continuing to inspire me daily.