Good Impressions? Nail Them Like An Influencer

We see them almost everyday on social media: influencers. A reaction to the popularity of Instagram in particular, it’s no surprise that blog-savvy entrepreneurs are manipulating the platform as an online shop – but it’s not just products they’re marketing. It’s themselves.

There’s a lot of work behind creating an online persona, a personal brand, and a recognisable voice on social media, where there are hundreds of thousands of users trying to do the exact same thing. We asked some influencers how they manage to do it, to see what we can bring into the workplace.

Be Authentic

Urszula Makowska, who has almost 200,000 Instagram followers, thinks that in order to establish a strong personal brand, you need to be authentic to who you are and what you have to say.

When I first starting to establish myself as a brand and the kind of brand I should be,” she says, “I had to discover myself, become a credible source and stay true to my interests and the audience I wanted to target. This starts with evaluating your strengths and uniqueness, but of course being 100% you.

Be Recognisable

When it comes to social media, every social media platform is different when it comes to content creation, but one thing you have to always do is be 100% you and authentic,” says Urszula. “For Instagram, imagery perfection is everything and copy is extremely important to engage your audience. I recommend building a branded hashtag. I started to build my hashtag #Urszulala.

Be invested

It’s always important to build your own professional network – of those inside your company or not – so you have somewhere to turn when you need advice or want to pick their brains for a new perspective on a problem. Take the time to really invest in these relationships, and you’ll reap the benefits of having a trusted inner circle.

Influencing online isn't always easy. It takes time and it doesn't happen overnight. You have to build a community. Having an engaged community, having your audience share your content, getting reposted, and of course increasing your exposure helps. With content, videos are more engaging nowadays.

Be Honest

Lucy Locket owns Lucy Locket Runs, a family-run sportswear brand. Her piece of advice? Don’t try and hide parts of yourself – what you see as ‘imperfections’ just make you more real.

I’ve used my business to create an amazing community on Facebook,” Lucy says, “documenting the highs and lows of my life, and even how I cope with stress and anxiety. I communicate directly with the public on a personal level, which has helped to make the business and brand so successful. Simply: I am the brand. I don’t hide behind people, I don’t make out like my life is perfect; I am there, accessible and real which is the biggest influencer hack of all.

Whether you’re looking to make a good impression in an interview or on your first day at work, check out CMI’s Knowledge Bank to see how we can help you prepare to nail that initial meeting.

Join CMI’s Future Leaders community to network with like-minded individuals, share experiences and get advice:

• Join Future Leaders
• linkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram
  

For any questions or queries please contact: social.media@managers.org.uk or press.office@managers.org.uk.