In this post, I’m helping you land more paid jobs with 5 influencer tools that you probably aren’t using yet! There are a lot of common tools that you’ll use as an Influencer. Things like Instagram, WordPress, and Liketoknowit. But I also have a few additional resources in my toolbelt that I use every day as an Influencer to help me get more paid work.
What tools do social media Influencers use?
The Influencer tools I’m going to be sharing with you in this post range from apps you can download to events you can find in your area. (I bet you didn’t know Influencer events were a tool you SHOULD be using…)
But before we get into that, I wanted to share with you a new free class that I’m teaching, to help you land more consistent, PAID work as an Influencer. This class will offer free templates, tips, and tricks I’ve learned in over 4 years of working as an Influencer.
I’ll be honest, taking advantage of free classes like ahem… the one I teach… is actually one of the best resources that new Influencers can take advantage of. Classes like mine are even followed up with a LIVE Q&A where I’ll answer your questions at the end. It’s a free opportunity to pick the brain of a full-time Influencer. So, if you haven’t already, sign up here.
Now, back to these incredible Influencer tools that are going to help get you paid!
What tools do you need to be an Influencer?
I preach all the time about the importance of using good lighting, developing cohesive branding, and taking the time to build a brand directory (pssst… I teach you about all this in my How to Land Paid Brand Deals Webinar). One of the things that my students and colleagues totally underutilize is a pitch deck. This is why pitch decks have landed at the top of our list as an underutilized resource for Influencers.
1. Pitch Decks
A pitch deck is a presentation that you send to a brand outlining specific ideas, prices, and timelines for the work you’ll be doing together. When you want to work with big, national brands, you need to speak their language. And that language is new, big, and bold ideas!
Creating a pitch deck helps you stand out, and shows the brand how organized, creative, and killer you are to work with. When they’re choosing between you and another influencer, they’re going to pick the influencer who’s gone above and beyond by taking the time to send them a pitch deck.
To learn more about how to pitch and land brand deals using a pitch deck, click here.
If you’re in need of a pitch template, you can steal mine! Get the exact pitch template that I use to pitch brands every week.
What platform do influencers use?
Hint: it’s not what you think!
This is a question I get asked all the time. Influencers use a ton of different platforms depending on their goals and where their audience hangs out. I wanted to highlight one platform in particular that a lot of Influencers totally forget about and that is LinkedIn! In my How to Land Paid Brand Deals Webinar I teach you exactly how you should be using LinkedIn. That is why LinkedIn is number two on this list of Influencer tools:
2. LinkedIn
Yup, the next underutilized Influencer tool I’m sharing with you is Linkedin. And I know you’re thinking… “Great Tara, another channel I need to start posting on…” but what I actually use LinkedIn for is to find the right contacts before pitching a brand. When I’m ready to pitch a new brand and I need to find out who’s in charge of their media partnerships and brand collaborations, I go straight to their LinkedIn.
I’m teaching you my exact ways of doing this in my new free class – join here.
Collaboration & Networking for Influencers
A lot of my students forget that who you know and how you nourish those relationships is totally a tool/skill that you should practice and develop. So rounding out numbers three, four, and five on our list of influencer tools that are underutilized are three ways to implement collaboration and networking in your business.
3. Networking with PR Managers and Brand Reps
One of the best ways to get consistent work as an Influencer is by networking directly with brand reps and PR managers. You need to build relationships with the brand reps that send you work! The goal here is to get on their list of qualified, personable, and easy to work with Influencers so that when they need someone for a job, your name is the first one that comes to mind.
It can be overwhelming knowing where to begin networking, especially with brand reps for big, national brands. Start by simply being your friendly self. Respond to their emails quickly, while also taking the time to thank them, ask how they’re doing, and create a personal relationship.
Check out this Instagram post on how to be every PR rep’s favorite influencer here!
4. In-Person Events
You’ll want to show up to events in your city or town hosted for business owners. To become a sought out Influencer who supports local events, businesses, and charities. Remember, connections are everything, and one of the easiest ways to grow your own connections is through networking!
A few ways to get started networking in your area would be to reach out to local PR firms for a list of upcoming events in your area, join city-specific Facebook Groups to stay up to date with local events, and you can also follow event centers to find out when they’re hosting events relevant to your business that you can attend.
5. Collaborating with other Influencers
The last underutilized Influencer tool that I’m going to be sharing with you today is all about collaboration. And I don’t just mean with brands. You need to collaborate with fellow influencers as well.
You can and should connect with and collaborate with other influencers. Not only does it help to have friends in the industry but the possibilities for sharing audiences are endless.
What I recommend is finding other Influencers in your niche, with similar audiences and audience sizes to you! Then you can create content that gets cross-promoted across all of your audiences.
Some ways to collaborate with other influencers might be:
- Collaborative Reels that show up in your feed and theirs
- Going Live together
- Doing photoshoots together (if you can meet up in person)
- Creating educational content with advice from multiple creators
- Writing a blog post for each other’s blogs
Collaborating is a great way to ‘share audiences’ in an authentic and genuine way.
I know that these 5 Influencer tools are going to help you propel your Influencer dreams into a full-time career. If you’d like to learn more about working as an Influencer, don’t forget to join my free class.
