The Best Podcasts To Listen To If You Want To Become An Influencer
Now I am by no means an expert on this because I myself am not in any way an influencer. However, in this social media age, I’ve learned a thing or two from observations — and from listening to podcasts like those I’ve shared below — about how successful social media influencers have become successful and, well, influential in their brand.
I think, if anything, these are some of the best podcasts about influencing because they dive into the mechanics, as each of them has experienced it, of social media and how to use social media and an online platform to their advantage; for instance, you have to learn how to play to Instagram’s algorithm in order to even begin to get noticed.
I think each of these podcasters makes good points about how to market yourself as a brand name and as a business — something I think a lot of people tend to be uncomfortable with, myself included. I’m of course very much learning but these podcasts have helped me awaken my entrepreneurial spirit.
1. ‘Building An Online Brand Authentically’ with Jaci Marie
I really liked this episode of What We Said, the podcast Jaci co-hosts with her best friend, Chelsea, because it answers all of the hot questions about influencing and becoming an influencer from one of the most known influencers out there today. Jaci describes both the personal touches and the statistical information that is needed in order to build a brand and gain a following; you need to be able to be yourself and, in doing so, find your audience while also using your chosen social media platforms to their fullest.
Jaci knows the pulse of and knows how to navigate the social media influencing world because she is directly involved in it. One thing I didn’t know about influencing was that it really is a full-time job, and she doesn’t hold back when saying two major truths: if you truly want to be an influencer you (1) have to look at yourself as a brand, as a business and (2) you need to commit a heck of a lot of time to start this personal online brand. In other words, if you’re busy with a million other things and don’t feel like you can commit fully to developing this brand then maybe right now is not the right time to do it. But, like anything else, it just depends on how badly you want it.
Jaci also chats about how to build this brand from the ground up which I think is very useful because very rarely do people become international superstar influencer/bloggers overnight. Yet that is often how quickly we want these things to happen. However, that’s rarely the case and Jaci talks about how to build your brand brick by brick, building first your solid foundation and then moving on up. It’s a really good introductory podcast from someone who knows what she’s doing.
2. ‘The Truth About Personal Branding’ with Valerie Howard and Shenee Howard
Now, this is a great podcast to listen to on a commute. This episode is part of Valerie’s podcast, Brand Ambition podcast and is 47 minutes long but filled with tons of golden nuggets of information, as her and guest Shenee Howard chats about personal branding, as well as building and marketing a brand. For me, as someone who doesn’t have an education in branding and marketing, I find this podcast so welcoming and informative.
Podcasts are meant to inspire you, to help you see your potential when you might be feeling stuck or even when you’re feeling receptive. This podcast falls into my ideal and expectations for podcasts are meant to do for me. I love when hosts interview interesting individuals within the field because they have their pulse on the market, they know what they are doing and are able to speak to and about it confidently.
This is a really smart podcast and one that definitely deserved a spot on my best podcasts for influencing and branding list. Shenee describes how to build your personal brand with useful tips about what to focus on because typically your brand doesn’t come to you, nor does it come to fruition, overnight. They chat about how to make the hard work you have to do in order to develop your personal brand a little bit easier by showing you what to focus on.
Like Jaci mentions in her own podcast, you need to put in that hard work and build from the ground up. That said, it doesn’t have to be painful. Think of this as an exploratory and curious mode that will help you learn a lot about yourself — and, in turn, what your personal brand will be.
3. ‘Influencer Insights 030: 5 Keys To Becoming A Successful Influencer’ by Julie Solomon
Now you know this podcast, aptly called The Influencer Podcast, about how to be a successful influencer is good when it’s hosted by someone who’s been in the business a long time. Julie Solomon is a marketing strategist, New York Times best-selling publicist and influencer, giving her a well-rounded perspective on all things influencer. I think her whole episode list is well worth a listen but I chose her podcast, ‘5 Keys To Becoming A Successful Influencer,’ as a good base, especially if that’s a goal of yours.
The great thing about this podcast too is that it’s teeny tiny but jam-packed with some useful tools. I love a good long podcast, especially on a long commute, but what I like about short podcasts just as much is that they are short, sweet, and to the point. Since influencing, in my opinion, can be an overwhelming feat in this already very saturated social media influencing world, absorbing digestible pieces of information to help you get to where you want to go is all the more essential.
Julie’s key points in this small podcast are an excellent starting point to get you into the mindset of what you have to do to actually be an influencer and enjoy doing it. I’d say this is an essential intro to influencing and how you can find your unique advantage in the influencing world successfully but realistically.
4. ‘How To Kill The Instagram and Blogging Game’ with Gabby DuBois and Lauren Phillips
Like Valerie Howard’s Brand Ambition podcast, Gabby Dubois’ The Green Belle podcast and, more specifically, this episode she does with Lauren Phillips who is behind The Renegade Love is, in my opinion, one of the best podcasts for those who are interested in online influencing. This is another lengthy podcast coming in at about 1 hour and 10 minutes but perfect for a longer commute and so packed with hearty tips and tidbits that you’ll be wishing it would never end.
Gabby picks Lauren’s brain about how she started The Renegade Love and what platforms she uses and believes most useful for her brand. I think this is useful because it teaches its listeners how to best tailor and align your personal brand and influencing interests to certain platforms. This may include multiple online platforms at once or one main platform with engagement on several others.
They also chat about broader topics relating to sponsorship and building your community while also digging into the nitty-gritty of social media branding and influencing like follower count and monetizing your creative output. I love this episode because I feel not only inspired but informed (going back to my podcast ideals and expectations) by what comes out of Gabby and Lauren’s conversation. If you want to focus on building your brand and your community, I highly recommend giving this a lesson when you have some time to spare.
