Published: 18th Jun 2021
Being active on social media can certainly boost the career of any male or female model, but what are the top tips to achieving success?
Many of those we represent at Models Direct have a strong presence on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and other new and emerging social media platforms.
Increasingly, our clients enjoy seeing our models working hard to promote themselves, build followers and keep those interested in them up to date.
And here at Models Direct, we like to do the same – after all, it is a great way to support our models and our clients and to show prospective models what to expect.
So, if you are eager to develop your social media presence – or even start taking the first steps to success as a social media influencer – perhaps this is what you should be doing…
1. Consider your image
Think about how you want to present yourself on social media. Will you be yourself or are you going to take on a character or persona? How do you want others to view you and can that be maintained? Remember, very often those following you will want to see you as you are and to hear about your genuine experiences and escapades. They will want recommendations, suggestions and advice from the real you.
2. Choose your area of focus
In order succeed, you need to be a bit different, while also focusing on what people want. You won’t be successful if you talk about what everyone else is taking about. What do you enjoy doing and what makes you stand out from everyone else? What are you good at? What would people like to hear you talking about or doing because this is your niche area and you have something to offer?
3. Find the right platform
Try not to be all things to all people. Decide which platform is right for you and what you are planning to do. Is it right for the way you initially intend to share and update your followers? Are those who tend to use this particular platform the sort of people who might be interested in following you, in what you are doing and in what you have to say?
4. Gather material
Make sure you have some good possible profile pictures and even videos to choose from and to start you off. Then start to build your profile. Decide whether you are going to film or update your platforms from your phone or laptop and think about whether can you manage with simple equipment to start off with. Once people become really successful, they often invest in good software, sound and camera equipment, but our advice would always be to start small and take baby steps to success. The beauty of social media is that any of us can be active on it – with just the phone we have in our pocket.
5. Get going
Build your profile and start to become active. Remember, being a successful social media influencer won’t happen overnight and it won’t be easy. For those who do really well at it – especially those who do it full time – it becomes a job and they have to work hard at supplying regular content. The key initially is to get yourself up and running, start sharing and promoting, and ask your friends and family and work colleagues to do the same. At Models Direct, for example, as an agent, we and our clients love to support our models online and share appropriate posts with and for them.
6. Keep busy
Being a social media influencer isn’t something you can dip in and out of. If you want to be successful you have to keep at it. Your followers will want to see and hear from you regularly. They want to know you are out there all the time, checking in with them frequently and giving them content. You need to keep posting and keep commenting –and you need to try to do so at the same times of day if possible. Your followers will learn when to expect to hear from you and will expect you then. The more you do this, the more you should be able to build your own person brand and grow your following. It then becomes a question of management. This is when you might want to take on an agent to work with you ,because as a successful social media influencer, you may well have some celebrity status and can start to cross over into other areas, such as television and promotional work.
