HOW I BECAME AN INFLUENCER

It took me years to realise that what I was doing was already Influencer Marketing. Here is my story and why I've decided to take my hobby to the next step.

Like many, I began Instagramming as a hobby originally. With time, I was fascinated with all of Google and Facebook's algorithm shenanigans and decided to expand those interests towards my career. Slowly, my followers grew, as well as my social media techniques. It happened out of nowhere, one day I decided that was what I was passionate about, and that I could make a career out of it, so I decided to just focus on that. It wasn't easy, it is still isn't, but I started to make a list of what I needed to do and with time I was already mastering it.

As a Social Media Influencer myself, I know how competitive the market is and how important it is to be fully authentic. It was not long after that I started to receive a pretty handful of emails and collaboration proposals from fitness companies and nonprofit organisations from England and the United States asking me if I wanted to represent them. That was when I realised I had potential.

It happened out of nowhere, one day I decided that was what I was passionate about, and that I could make a career out of it. It wasn't easy, it is still isn't, but I started to make lists of what I had to do and with time I was already mastering it.

It was not long after that I received a pretty handful of emails and collaboration proposals from companies and nonprofit organisations from all over the world started asking me if I wanted to represent them. That was when I realised I had potential. In the end, I've learnt everything by myself. It's all about practice and how curious you really are. I must admit tho, that still today, there are a lot of things that I do not know, but that is what keeps me motivated. As an influencer, I always have something new to learn, and the great thing about this industry is that it constantly changes, so one more reason to always keep pushing yourself forward.

WHO INSPIRED ME?

My favourite Instagrammers, YouTubers and Bloggers have all inspired me. From Shane Dawson to Victoria from Inthefrow to fitness influencers like Lucy Davis, Whitney Simmons and Sophie Bulter. I started to pay attention more on the content that I was putting out to the public rather than just the numbers and with time I slowly realised that I needed a theme, an identity, and a style of my own.

BLOGGING

To be perfectly honest, I was always a bit lazy to write. Yes, I had a degree in Journalism and Publishing, but I never really had the time to just sit down and write things that particularly interested me on a daily basis. It was only after my Instagram started kicking off, that I've realised that people actually cared about my opinion and wanted to know a little bit more about me. I've finally had a voice and that for me meant that I could use it to inspire others.

From a distance, everyone thinks that a successful Blogger or Instagrammer is somewhat an easy thing to achieve. You just have to take a couple of good quality photos in cute outfits here and there, right? Not really, unfortunately, it requires a lot more brains than just a pretty face. Although the blogger business model itself seems relatively simple, there is so much more to it that people don't see.

As a Blogger and Instagrammer, you are our brand. What does this mean? Basically, you are your own stylist, editor, videographer, writer, web-designer, PR and social media manager amongst everything else within the industry. The creativity and passion we have for our job are endless, but the time we put into it is constant and that's why we are succeeding with our passions. We don't have a nine-to-six sort of job, on the contrary, we work mostly around the clock. Why is that, you may ask? That's because social media doesn't have a particular time. Yes, there are "better times" for us to upload posts, but the overall planning of that post takes time. As we are creative humans, it could also be that we get inspired in the middle of the night. Becoming a Blogger is actually quite scary because you are your own brand. What happens with you when people stop having an interest in your content? These are things that are always in the back of our minds, wanting it or not.

There is a lot of effort that Bloggers put into their content. Since I am a perfectionist, everything I do is always do it as if it was my top priority. Blogging is not a conventional career, but there are a lot of rewards -- and no, I am not only talking about free gifts from brands and the exotic trips -- I'm talking about self-gratification.

THIS IS OUR TIME

This is the time for us bloggers/ influencers to have a massive impact on our audience. We just need to think outside of the box, try new things, and diversify our content in order to ensure that we build a strong platform for ourselves. Take your time yo get to know your audience and the content that you really want to share. Remember, you have a voice and your job is to influence people, so make sure to do it right and for the right reasons!

Fernanda XOX