Do you want to become famous on social media and perhaps earn a slice of the $15 billion a year pie that merchants are paying influencers to promote their brands? If so, the first step to becoming an Instagram influencer is finding your niche.
For some people, this comes naturally, because they have a single compelling interest that defines their lives. There are beauty-obsessed people who naturally gravitate towards being beauty influencers. There are people who live to travel — and as they document their adventures, it becomes obvious that they should become travel influencers. There are artists and crafters whose creative work becomes the logical focus of their Instagram feeds.
But what should you do if you have many interests, and none of them stands out as being the one thing you want to be Insta-famous for? Let’s define a 6-step process that can help you discover what your ideal Instagram niche should be.
Make a List of All Your Habits and Interests
Do you drink coffee or go jogging first thing every morning? If so, put coffee and/or jogging on your list. Do you go to temple, church, or mass every Sunday? If so, spirituality goes on the list. Do you have an adorable pet roaming around your place? Cats, dogs, bunnies, or whatever other animals could go on the list. Whatever other activities or topics you’re enthusiastic about, whether it’s knitting, painting, skiing, cooking, RVing, dog training, bullet journaling, or playing the guitar, include it on your list.
Cross Out the Interests That Are Unrealistic for You to Post About Frequently
Sailing might be one of your primary interests – but if you don’t already have a sailboat, how would you go about making sailing the main focus of your Instagram feed? Of course, you could buy a sailboat – but if that isn’t your top financial priority right now, it’s best to just cross this one off the list for now and move on.
It’s the same with travel. Unless you already live in a place that has lots of nearby attractions, or you are genuinely prepared to spend serious cash in getting to interesting travel destinations, this niche may be an unrealistic specialization for you.
Cross Out All the Interests That You Can’t Easily Help Other People With
Finding your niche as an influencer is really about finding other people that you can connect with. Ultimately, it’s also about helping, motivating, and inspiring other people to live their best lives. You might have an interest in a particular activity such as decorating, drawing, or homesteading – but if you aren’t good enough at that activity to actually help others learn how to do it, or to inspire them to want to try it for themselves, then it probably isn’t the ideal focus of your Instagram feed.
Cross Out All the Interests You Don’t Want to Share Publicly
Perhaps you collect toys, but you want to project a more grown-up image to the world. In that case, it’s best to keep the Legos, teddy bears, and Beanie Babies out of your Instagram feed.
Home décor might be one of your main interests, but this is a notoriously challenging niche to conquer on Instagram. You have to be willing to invite the whole world over to your place, so to speak. Even if you have a lovely home, that means you’ll be doing a ton of work to keep it sparkling clean and well maintained – and to keep the decor looking fresh and new for your audience, day after day after day. Are you really up to those challenges? If not, cross that niche off your list, too.
Perhaps you’re interested in beauty or skincare, but you don’t feel as if you’re young or beautiful enough to put pictures of your face out there for public viewing and commentary every day. These aren’t insurmountable hurdles; there are popular influencers of all ages, including many influencers over the age of 50 — so be assured that you can succeed at becoming an influencer even if you aren’t 18 and drop-dead-gorgeous. Putting yourself out there basically amounts to building up your self-confidence levels and then going for it.
Do be aware that many popular social media influencers don’t look that amazing naturally; many are undergoing cosmetic procedures to look younger, thinner, and more voluptuous. Of course, this is an option that’s open to you, too; you could certainly visit a top-notch clinic in Melbourne to get dermal fillers or visit a local practitioner to have skin needling therapy performed.
You’ll be competing for attention with other Instagram influencers who are doing these things, so keep them in mind as a viable way to boost your own appeal, too. But if you’re genuinely reluctant to put pics of yourself out there frequently, beauty might not be the best Instagram niche for you to pursue. Be honest with yourself. If that’s the case, cross that niche off your list and move on.
Make a List of Your FAQs from Others on Instagram
What causes people to engage with your Instagram content most frequently? To answer this question, it’s good to take stock of the questions you get asked most often by other Instagram users. If you get bunches of questions like the following, it could give you a clue about what your ideal niche might be:
- “OMG, where did you find that dress? I want one just like it!” If you’re getting variations on this question fairly frequently, fashion might be your Instagram niche.
- “What do you put on your hair to make it look so shiny?” If questions like this one pop up in your comments often, perhaps beauty would be the right niche for you.
- “What yarn weight did you use to knit those adorable mittens?” If people engage with your craft pics, crafting might be the niche you’d want to focus on.
Perhaps some of the niches left on your list are ones that people don’t really ask you about. If that’s the case, you might want to consider either scratching those off your list or challenging yourself to create better content in those niches.
Focus on a Niche That Still Remains on Your List
By now, you’ve probably crossed a bunch of different niches off your list. It’s time to take a look at the niches that remain on your list to see if any of those stand out as being the perfect fit.
Following these 6 steps is likely to help you narrow down your list of interests to the ones that would be most viable for you to work with. Hopefully, this could help you refine your focus enough to choose the perfect niche you want to pursue when you create new content for Instagram.
