How to Become Famous on Social Media

Matt Janaway -

Society is changing, and with that change there has been a huge shift towards people wanting to learn how to become famous on social media.

Whether you’re a business, aspiring influencer, entrepreneur, or just a regular person, social media fame has a lot of perks.

Aside from growing your personal and professional networks, being “social media famous” can be extremely profitable.

You can make thousands of dollars from brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, sales of your own products—you name it.

Here's a guide with steps to take to become a popular social media influencer on any platform.

How to become a famous digital marketing influencer

Digital marketing influencers can become huge on all social media platforms.

After all, social media marketing should be right at the heart of your strategy.

Here’s how to establish your authority in the social media world.

Step 1: Start blogging

Prominent figures in usually have their own blog or  website where they publish high-quality, educational posts.

Blog posts not only showcase your expertise but they also boost your credibility.

With effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), blog posts provide you with a steady stream of organic traffic. This brings hundreds—or thousands—of potential customers to your personal brand message for a fraction of the cost of advertising campaigns.

Of course, one of the main benefits of blogging is that it also provides you with an almost infinite number resources to share on social media. Each post can be broken down into many shareable snippets.

Below is a blogging checklist to get you started:

  • Register an original and brandable domain name on registrars like One Word Domains.
  • Subscribe to a blogging-optimised hosting like 20i.
  • Install or integrate a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, or Squarespace.
  • Choose and customise a theme that reflects the brand you want to build.
  • Optimise your website for user experience and SEO.
  • Conduct keyword and content research.
  • Put together a content strategy.
  • Start blogging.

Step 2: Put a human face on your website

To make your brand social-media-ready, you need to put a human face on your website.

A simple author page or “About The Team” page on your blog with your actual photo helps brand recognition on social media and adds trust to visitors reading your post.

You can write a detailed piece about your professional background and experiences. If you work with a team, you can show everyone’s faces along with their names and positions on one page.

Image Source: marketinglabs.co.uk

Consider placing links to your social media accounts on your “About” page to add more trust. Alternatively, you can add them as buttons on your website’s header, footer, or sidebar.

Step 3: Build your official social media accounts

Internet personalities create official brand pages and profiles on social media.

You can create a profile for your personal brand or the company you're running. Or both. Either way, it’s important to use an account type for brands and businesses.

The steps here vary for different social media platforms.

For example, on Facebook, you can create an official brand page tied to your personal account.

Image Source: Facebook.com

A few quick tips on building an official brand page or profile on social media:

  • Use a professional, official-looking profile photo. Use free tools like Canva to apply filters and colour effects to spice up your profile.
  • Write a short but compelling profile description. In 2-3 sentences, describe what you do and what type of quality content your social media audience can expect.
  • If possible, insert a link to your website and other platforms. Show your target audience more authoritative and valuable content to win their trust.

Step 4: Develop a social media content strategy

Develop a social media content strategy that aligns with your audience’s preferences, your brand’s identity, and your marketing goals.

Below are some tips:

  • Repurpose your blog content. Transform your blog content into something that matches the content formats in your target social media platform. Use the right tools to transform blog posts into infographics, image quotes, videos, and so on.
  • Insert tweetable quotes in your blog posts. Tweetable quotes promote your brand by sharing bite-sized wisdom on Twitter. Mention statistics, impactful statements, or thought-provoking questions to intrigue Twitter users and take them to your website.
  • Analyse your competitors. If you need ideas, look at how other digital marketers craft their social media content. Observe the topics they cover, how they integrate branding, and what CTAs they include in their social media posts.

Step 5: Research and test

Diversify your social media content strategy and measure your results. This lets you double down on strategies that work, tweak promising strategies, and remove strategies that only waste resources.

Major social media platforms have built-in analytics for measuring content performance over time. Gauge the effectiveness of content by identifying and tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like follower growth, likes, views, and reach.

Image Source: Instagram App

Alternatively, invest in social media management platforms like CoSchedule, Vista Social, and Later for more in-depth user engagement analytics.

How to become an Instagram influencer

To be an Instagram influencer, you need to dial up your visual content game.

This requires the right skills, tools, and strategies.

Step 1: Decide your niche

If you’re building an Instagram brand from scratch, choose a niche that aligns with your passion, expertise, and user demand.

  • Passion. What can you talk or read about for hours without getting tired?
  • Expertise. What’s something you’re highly skilled or knowledgeable in?
  • User demand. Are people willing to pay for those skills or knowledge?

Step 2: Invest in your photography skills (or hire a photographer)

Instagram-level photography doesn’t require a multi-year degree.

There are plenty of Instagram photography tutorials and online courses that will teach you how to capture better shots. This one is especially good.

If you're on a budget, YouTube is free and is home to thousands of tutorials that will hone your Instagram photography skills. You just need to use the right keywords in the built-in search tool.

Image Source: YouTube.com

If you want the faster route, hire freelance photographers from marketplaces like Fiverr or partner with a creative agency that offers photography services.

Step 3: Experiment with other types of visuals

Other than Instagram photos, experiment with other visual content formats to get people’s attention:

  • Video content. Consider making videos for Reels, Stories, and feed posts to engage Instagram users. Reels on Instagram work exceptionally well since the arrival of TikTok.
  • Inspirational image quotes. Turn your favourite inspirational quotes into eye-catching, shareable images.
  • Data visualisations. Using a tool like Canva, turn mind-blowing statistics into data visualisations like charts, graphs, and timelines.
  • Blog visual headlines. Promote your blog posts on Instagram by sharing visual headlines, which consist of stylised fonts, a hero image, and a link to the full article.

If you can’t afford an in-house graphic design or video production team, check out services like Kimp for on-demand visual content. They provide businesses, agencies, entrepreneurs, and individuals with their own dedicated team of professional designers.

Step 4: Work with influencers

Instagram has influencer marketing tools baked into the platform.

Use branded content tools to leverage the reach of macro-micro influencers in bolstering your brand’s presence. This enables pre-approved partners or other influencers to tag your brand whenever they post something with your product.

Image Source: Instagram.com, @lushyyshanxx

How to become a Facebook influencer

Successful Facebook marketing relies on content curation, original content distribution, and community engagement.

Step 1: Optimise your content distribution

Facebook is the perfect place to promote your blog posts and reach a diverse audience.

To make sure your content appears on top of your audience’s feeds, schedule your posts at optimal times.

Use the Meta Business Suite to schedule your post at the automatically-detected best times. Alternatively, you can manually schedule a time for your posts will be published.

Image Source: Business.Facebook.com

Step 2: Split test your posts

Split or A/B testing lets you fine-tune your content strategy over time by running multiple versions of the same post simultaneously.

Streamline A/B tests with third-party tools or use the built-in tool from the Meta Business Suite.

Image Source: Business.Facebook.com

Step 3: Actively curate relevant content

Use a healthy mix of original and curated content in your Facebook posting strategy. Don't just talk about yourself.

Content curation is the practice of sharing content created by someone else. This gives your followers fresh content without hours of gruelling content development.

Step 4: Engage in Facebook online communities

Facebook users love a brand that participates in conversations and helps solve their problems.

Respond to comments, answer questions, and acknowledge their feedback—negative or positive.

You should also join Facebook groups and do your part in the community. Engage other posts and share your knowledge wherever it’s needed.

How to become famous on YouTube

YouTube is the premier video-sharing platform where talented video creators thrive.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all blueprint to YouTube fame, there are best practices you can start with:

  • Pick the right niche. Do content research like you would on your blog: pick topics that are popular, helpful to your target audience, and align with your brand offerings.
  • Create tight and highly educational videos. Avoid long intros and get straight to the meat of your content.
  • Try different video formats. Experiment with “talking head” videos, “top-down” tutorials, or full animations to find what works for your audience.
  • Keyword-optimise your videos. To appear on YouTube search results, optimise your videos for your target keywords and build engagement.
  • Respond to comments. Replying to comments will make your YouTube channel more likeable and approachable.
  • Cross-promote. Share or embed your YouTube videos on other channels (your blog, other social media platforms, etc.), and vice versa.

How to become an influencer on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the preferred social media platform for B2B brands and professionals.

Here are the top five tips to earn an influencer status on LinkedIn:

  • Build a company page and link it to your personal profile. If you have an agency, build an official company page and specify your position on your profile (CEO, CMO, etc.).
  • Syndicate your content. Re-post or “syndicate” your blog posts using LinkedIn articles to reach a wider audience.
  • Run polls. Engage and learn more about your audience using LinkedIn’s polling tool.
  • Share relevant industry data. Demonstrate that you’re wired into the industry by sharing studies, surveys, and statistics while chipping in your own thoughts and outlooks.
  • Don’t hesitate to self-promote. Professionals on LinkedIn are more receptive to self-promotions—automate messages to new connections, mention your brand in conversations, and invite others to check out your website.

How to become an influencer on TikTok

TikTok is the reigning king of short-form video content. While most users expect entertainment, plenty of businesses capitalised on the platform’s massive user base to promote their brand.

  • Take advantage of trends. TikTok videos that use trending effects, sounds, and hashtags can be visible to users who use the same tools.
  • Use the scheduling tool. Launch TikTok from a desktop browser to access the scheduling tool.
  • Answer TikTok questions. Use the “Questions” tool to share your expertise with users who need it most.
  • Share valuable information. Other than jokes and memes, TikTok has countless short-form tutorial videos that get tons of views.
  • Use TikTok Creator Tools. Creator Tools help brands boost their exposure on the platform through hyper-targeted advertising—use it to jumpstart your TikTok profile’s reach.

FAQs on becoming famous on social media

How do I become internet famous?

5 surefire strategies to build your internet fame:

  • Practice cross-promotion between your content channels.
  • Establish a presence on every platform your target audience uses.
  • Get involved in conversations and communities.
  • Remain professional and focus on providing value to social media users.
  • Learn how to use social media marketing tools (hashtags, schedulers, etc.).

What is the easiest social media to grow on?

Instagram’s suite of marketing tools can help new accounts build their reach fast. Even without photography skills, you can use drag-and-drop tools with Instagram content templates like Canva to get your target audience’s attention.

Facebook is the biggest social media network with roughly three billion active users monthly. It also has the most diverse user demographic—catering to people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and languages.

Become famous on social media with half the work

Reaching social media fame takes a tremendous amount of research, effort, and patience.

It’s far from easy, which is why most brands partner up with agencies to streamline their social media marketing while they focus on developing their brand.

Request a free consultation today and learn how my team can help you rise to social media stardom, or help you to build your personal brand.