It may have only recently entered common business parlance, but influence marketing has a long and rich history that predates social media and is based on a simple core principle that people will take buying advice from people they respect and trust.

To that end, many business owners have stepped out from behind official social media accounts and become brand ambassadors themselves, helping to give your business a face, increase brand awareness and enable potential networking and collaboration opportunities with other businesses.

Influencers come in all different shapes and sizes, and so if you are engaging and enthusiastic, you can become an influencer yourself and help to boost your brand’s profile.

Here are the ways of becoming an influencer yourself can help your business.

People Trust People

Ultimately, people on social media trust other people more than they trust brand accounts. They value authenticity, which is why influencers are so important to help generate sales in the first place.

Whilst it may sometimes look similar, make sure to show off rather than sell your product or service in your role as a brand ambassador. Effective influencers tell the story of a brand and connect it with your target audience.

Boosts Engagement

If you are an engaging person, followers will engage with you, and sometimes it can feel easier and more natural to communicate with another person than a brand account.

So long as you are frequently posting and engaging with your followers, you are helping to boost and grow your social media presence.

Improves Networking

Influencers benefit heavily from collaboration, and so being an influencer yourself can help you work with other influencers in your niche for mutually beneficial collaborations.

Other influencers are people too, so look for people who you get along with or where both of your brand messages align