What Makes a Good Social Media Influencer?

By McKenna Burns
News Services Marketing and Communications Assistant

You see influencers almost daily on social media, so what do they do to become and stay successful? Here are a couple of qualities and actions that I have found seem to make influencers popular, and although no one is ever perfect, they sure do try their best to be. 

First, they must genuinely be a good person. Although this can be tough since some people may be better at faking this than you think. It’s much easier to create genuine and personable connections with their audience and other influencers when they want to make those connections, not because they feel forced. They must be honest as well. When you are aware that someone has the opposite of good intentions, tends to lie, or is just interested in their benefit, you will likely not want to support that person in any way.

Second, they only endorse brands or ideas that they truly support. Being an influencer can become challenging once the offers, endorsements, and deals start. Good influencers should be a supporter of everything they claim to be. Since once again, they become unreliable if they begin to take on endorsements they don’t support. Good influencers do their research first and make sure that a product or service is something they want to be supportive of and would encourage their audience to use and or purchase, even if they weren’t getting paid. 

Lastly, they have to be creative and funny. Influencers must attract their audience somehow, which usually involves getting creative. Their audience usually wants to see original content from them, meaning influencers must constantly stay on top of the current trends and keep them original enough to keep viewers satisfied. Being an influencer can become a challenging job that requires a lot of balance, but if you’re up for the challenge, it can be pretty rewarding.