This probably isn’t a topic I would have thought to write about because it feels a bit self-serving, but in the last few weeks, I’ve gotten some DMs on the topic. Specifically, you guys have been asking what you can do to show your daily go-to influencers some love. This is a great question, especially because things have changed/evolved so much with not only Instagram but the influencer/content creator space in general. As someone who spends a lot of time creating both sponsored but mostly free content for you guys, I truly appreciate when I get these messages ! It’s so thoughtful and makes my heart warm to know that you guys are thankful for all the work I put out there and looking to give back. 

Everyone’s online presence is different with some people focusing more on certain platforms like YouTube instead of Instagram or TikTok, or even putting a heavy focus on Pinterest since it’s slowly rolling out more features (do you follow me on Pinterest? Been spending lots of time there lately). Some influencers have online shops/merch/products, etc. So depending on where your favorite influencers spend the most time, there are different things you can do, but generally speaking, here are some things you can do both beyond social media and within the usual apps to show them support!

Buying merch + Buying their courses

It goes without saying that if an influencer/content creator has an online shop, a great way to support them is by buying their merch. To take it a step further, if you love what you buy, take a picture of yourself wearing/using it and share it on social media tagging them! And of course, tell all your IRL friends about it too! A lot of creators have many various forms of income because just one may not be enough to fully support them. Having support in all areas of their business can be more helpful than you may know! 

On a slightly separate note, tons of online people are also creating their own courses these days (insert shameless plug here of my ‘ CONTENT CREATORS HANDBOOK’ ).  From self-improvement to teaching people how to be an influencer, social media-specific courses, or even creating and selling photo presets, there are tons of e-courses out there you could buy, take and then share on social to show support to your favorite people. I know this is an especially great way to support. While creators and influencers may get sponsored posts with brands, this is a way to make sure all the money is going directly to them. These courses or ebooks are normally created to fill a need in the community but supporting and purchasing them from your favorite creators helps them be independent and continue to create free content for you!  

Engaging with them

You might have noticed I mentioned SHARING in both of the previous tips and that’s because sharing is easy, free and one of the most helpful things you can do for an online content creator from a social media perspective. Liking, commenting, saving and sharing to your stories are SO helpful and, ideally, help Instagram and other social platforms continue to serve their content to you. So if there’s ever an account you want to see more content from, be sure to always interact with their content when you see it so the algorithms knows to send more of their stuff your way! 

These days, it’s not about the follower count anyway, its about how much the community engages with the creator. If you are following an account (on tiktok or IG for example)  but not engaging, you are actually hurting the creator. Not only will it look suspicious when brands look at their numbers to see if they have an authentic following, but they may also think the community is not liking the content in general when maybe that is not even the case. If you don’t like the content being created or shared, you are better off unfollowing. Helping them get high engagement on posts that made you feel something, inspired you or taught you something can help the creator continue to successfully create that type of content, land brand deals and continue on the path towards success.

Have a conversation with them

I love having conversations with you guys because I learn so much about you, what you want, like, need or think. Slide into DMs and let your favorite influencer know why you love them or what you would love to see more of from them. Even the simplest comment like “I love when you do this type of content” or “move of this please” can go such a long way! If you have a certain blog post idea or topic you would love to have them cover let them know. Creators and especially bloggers are always looking for new topics to cover that will be beneficial to their communities. I know I am constantly writing down ideas, but sometimes someone will have an idea that I would have never even thought of and it sparks so much inspiration.

  Using their affiliate links

Oh, affiliate links! This is a topic that also gets asked about a lot in my DMs. After all, I know it can be tricky to understand as a consumer. In a nutshell, affiliate links are what influencers use to share products they love with their followers so they can earn a very small commission (like under a dollar or sometimes a few dollars depending on the item) if the link is either clicked on or an item is purchased via the link (the price of the item is not increased if it’s an affiliate link FYI). Whether or not an influencer earns anything based on a click or purchase depends on the platform they use to generate their affiliate links. Or, sometimes, an influencer might have a brand-specific affiliate link given to them directly from a company they’re working with.

Beyond income, affiliate links are also super helpful in trying to understand buying habits and seeing what products are resonating with our audiences. For instance, if I keep sharing links to my jeans, but no one ever clicks on the link… I may start to spare you that extra information and just stop talking about it so often. If I see that links to my t-shirts get a lot of clicks, I will know that I should share these kind of links more! When it comes to working with brands, knowing what my community resonates with by their clicking habits can help me know which brands to say yes or no to when I get approached for a collab. For instance, if a cute retro graphic        t-shirt brand wants to work with me and I know the clicks are always high when I share these kind of products, then I already know this will be a perfect collaboration that you guys will also enjoy. With all of that said, if you want to support an influencer, using their affiliate links to buy products they introduced you to is wildly helpful. Most influencers rely on affiliate link income as a major part of their overall earnings so every click or purchase counts! Earnings aside, if an affiliate link is clicked on, it’s tracked, so we can see how many clicks an affiliate link got (AKA if our following liked the product or not). This helps tell people like me what you’re loving and what you’re not.

Was that helpful for you guys? Hopefully it not only shows you how you can support your favorite influencers and content creators but also gives you some perspective on how important it is that we create content you want to consume. Without useful content, and you to interact with it, we truly have nothing so your support means everything!! Hope this helps and happy to help if there are any questions 

xx Frank