3 Questions to Stop Asking as a Nano Influencer

With the increase of brands seeing Influencers and Bloggers as a viable marketing outlet, the more pressure there seems to be to grow your community. Because there are so many ways to fake that number … buying followers, bot accounts, follow for follow with other Influencers, etc … being a Nano Influencer is not the kiss of career death it was once thought to be.

With that in mind, here are 3 questions every Nano Influencer really needs to stop asking.

How do I grow my following?

Simple. By focusing on your current following … also stop thinking of them as “followers” and think of them as your community.

Think of a brick and mortar establishment, like a restaurant or a clothing store. The best driver to that establishment is word of mouth. If you and 3 of your friends go to the newest restaurant and love it, you will go tell others who will then try it out for themselves. Barring the service and food are just as wonderful, they will love it and tell more people. Just like that, 4 people have turned into an avalanche of people.

Now, think back to your Instagram and think of it as a restaurant. Your feed is the storefront. Your individual pictures are your entree. Your stories are your dessert. Your community members are your customer. Your engagement is your customer service. If you’re providing great customer service (engagement) and amazing food (individual images and stories), your customers (community members) will tell others about you, thus building your community organically and with the kind of individuals you want in it.

Are there any pods I can join?

Sure, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Way back when I first started, I did jump on the pod bandwagon, but I quickly realized it wasn’t for me. Aside from the sense of feeling like you have to comment on everyone’s images in the pod, even if you have absolutely nothing to say about them, that’s not real engagement. Brands don’t care how many other Bloggers and Influencers you have commenting on your posts if they’re not going to be their actual customer. That’s not serving the brand, that’s serving you.

Does *insert brand* work with Bloggers/Nano Influencers?

Just because a brand worked with someone else, doesn’t mean they’ll work with you. Likewise, just because a brand didn’t work with someone else, doesn’t mean they won’t work with you. Stop trying to work with brands simply because you were told they pay. Stop trying to work with brands because your washer and dryer broke and you need a new one. Stop trying to work with brands because you’re going on a vacation and just want a “free” place to stay.

The question you should be asking is to yourself and it should be how can I serve the brand I’d like to work with. What can I do for them that someone else can’t? If you have an actual answer for that, shoot your shot.