How to Become a Public Influencer from Scratch

Thinking about becoming a public influencer from scratch might feel like trying to climb a mountain with no map, but it’s more achievable today than ever before. This guide cuts through the noise to give you a clear, step-by-step roadmap. We will cover how to find your unique voice, create content that connects, and build an authentic community around your personal brand.

Step 1: Find Your Niche (Seriously, Get Specific)

The single biggest mistake new creators make is trying to be everything to everyone. The internet is a crowded place. To stand out, you need to be known for something specific. A hyper-focused niche allows you to become a big fish in a small pond, attracting a dedicated audience that truly cares about what you have to say.

Don't just choose "fitness" or "cooking." Dig deeper.

• Instead of "fitness," consider "bodyweight fitness for busy parents who work from home."
• Instead of "cooking," how about "30-minute vegan meals for college students on a budget"?
• Instead of "finance," maybe it’s "first-time home buying advice for millennials in high-cost cities."

How do you find your sweet spot? Ask yourself three questions:

1. What am I passionate about? You’ll be creating content about this topic for a long, long time. If you don't love it, you’ll burn out. What could you talk about for hours without getting bored?
2. What am I knowledgeable about? Your passion needs to be backed by either expertise or a genuine journey of discovery. You don't need to be the world's foremost expert, but you need to know more than the average person or be willing to document your process of learning.
3. Is there an audience for this? Do a quick search on your target platforms. Are there other creators in this space? Are people asking questions or using hashtags related to your topic? The presence of others isn't a bad thing - it's proof that a market exists.

Your niche is your foundation. Get this right, and everything else becomes clearer.

Step 2: Define Your Personal Brand and Value Proposition

Once you have your niche, you need to define your brand within it. Ten people can be in the exact same niche, but they all attract different audiences because of their unique brand. Your personal brand is your unique blend of personality, values, communication style, and visuals. It’s the reason people follow you and not someone else.

Think about:

• Your Unique Value Proposition: What specific problem do you solve for your audience? What unique perspective do you offer? Your value can be educational (teaching a skill), inspirational (motivating them), or entertaining (making them laugh). Clearly state this in your profile bio.
• Your Brand Voice: How do you talk? Are you snarky and witty, or are you warm and supportive? Are you a formal expert or the friendly guide next door? Your voice should be authentic to you and consistent across all your content.
• Your Visual Identity: This includes your profile picture, brand colors, photo editing style, and text overlays. A consistent visual aesthetic makes your feed instantly recognizable and professional. You don’t need to be a graphic designer, tools like Canva offer simple templates to get you started.

Step 3: Choose Your Primary Platforms

Don’t try to be on every social media platform at once when you're starting. It’s a fast track to burnout and mediocre content. Instead, pick one or two primary platforms where your target audience hangs out and master them.

Where to Start:

• Instagram: Great for highly visual niches like fashion, food, travel, and design. The trifecta of Reels, Stories, and static posts gives you a lot of flexibility to connect with your audience.
• TikTok: The undisputed king of short-form video. If your niche lends itself to quick, entertaining, or educational video clips and your audience skews younger, this is your battleground. Its discovery algorithm is incredibly powerful for new creators.
• YouTube: The platform for long-form, in-depth content. Perfect for tutorials, detailed reviews, vlogs, and educational deep dives. Building here is slower, but it creates a deep, lasting connection with your audience and offers strong monetization potential down the road.
• LinkedIn: The go-to for B2B, professional services, and career-focused content. If your niche is marketing, finance, leadership, or entrepreneurship, building your brand here is a must.
• X (Twitter)/Threads: Ideal for text-based updates, quick thoughts, engaging in real-time conversations, and connecting with others in your industry. It's about being witty, timely, and conversational.

Start with a primary platform (e.g., TikTok for video discovery) and a secondary one to build a deeper community (e.g., Instagram for Reels and Stories). Focus all your energy on creating content perfectly suited for these platforms first.

Step 4: Develop a Sustainable Content Strategy

"Just post great content" isn't a strategy. A real strategy is a plan that gives you direction and, most importantly, keeps you from panicking about what to post tomorrow. This involves breaking your content down into pillars and creating a consistent schedule.

Identify Your Content Pillars

Content pillars are 3-5 sub-topics within your niche that you will talk about over and over again. They provide structure and ensure you always have something valuable to share. For a "bodyweight fitness for parents" influencer, pillars might be:

• Quick 15-minute workouts
• Healthy meal prep ideas
• Mindset and motivation tips
• Managing fitness with a busy schedule

Every piece of content you create should fit into one of these pillars. This trains your audience on what to expect from you and establishes your expertise.

Plan Your Content Mix and Schedule

Consistency is more important than frequency. Posting three high-quality videos every week without fail is far better than posting seven times one week and then disappearing for two. Start with a schedule you know you can stick to, even on your worst days. Maybe that's posting a Reel every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and sharing behind-the-scenes content on Stories daily.

A content calendar is your best friend here. It doesn't need to be fancy - a simple spreadsheet or notebook works. Plan your content ideas a week or two in advance. This removes the pressure of creating on the fly and allows you to batch your work (film all your videos on one day, edit on another).

Step 5: Create Content That Actually Connects

With a strategy in place, it's time to create. The goal isn't just to produce content, but to produce content that stops the scroll and makes people feel something.

Hook Them in the First 3 Seconds

You have just a few seconds to grab someone's attention. Start every video or written post with a strong hook. This could be a controversial statement, a relatable problem, or a question that sparks curiosity.

• "You've been doing squats wrong your whole life."
• "Here are three things I wish I knew before becoming a freelancer."
• "Stop trying to motivate yourself and do this instead."

Provide Relentless Value

Every single post should serve your audience by either educating, entertaining, or inspiring them. Before you hit publish, ask yourself, "What is a follower getting out of this? Will this help them solve a problem, make them laugh, or motivate them to take action?" If the answer is no, rethink the post. Share your best knowledge freely. People follow accounts that make their lives better or more enjoyable.

Don’t Overlook Production Quality

You don't need a Hollywood budget, but basics matter. Good lighting (natural light from a window is best) and clear audio make a world of difference. Your phone camera is more than good enough. Focus on stabilizing your shot and making sure viewers can hear you clearly. Minor details show that you care and respect your audience's time.

Step 6: Engage Meaningfully to Build Community

This is the part many aspiring influencers skip. They post content and then walk away. Influence isn’t built on a monologue, it’s built on a conversation. You need to turn followers into a community.

Respond to Everything

In the early days, you should personally respond to every single comment and DM. When someone takes the time to engage with your content, acknowledge it. Answer their questions. Thank them for their kind words. These small interactions build incredibly strong loyalty over time.

Start a Conversation

Don't just post, prompt a response. End your captions with a question. Use polls and Q&A stickers in your Stories. Actively solicit opinions and experiences. The more you make your content a "we" conversation instead of a "me" announcement, the more engaged your audience will become.

Collaborate, Don't Compete

Find other creators in your niche who are at a similar stage in their journey. Don't view them as competitors - see them as colleagues. Engage with their content genuinely, share their work, and propose simple collaborations like an Instagram Live stream or a shared TikTok challenge. This cross-promotes both of your audiences and builds powerful network effects.

Step 7: Analyze Your Performance and Adapt

Your journey as an influencer is a cycle of creating, measuring, and optimizing. Social media platforms provide free analytics that tell you exactly what's working and what's not.

Pay attention to these key metrics:

• Engagement Rate: (Likes + Comments + Shares + Saves) / Followers. This is the most telling metric. A high engagement rate means your content is truly resonating.
• Reach/Views: How many unique people saw your content.
• Saves: On platforms like Instagram, saves are a powerful signal to the algorithm that you've created highly valuable content that people want to return to.
• Audience Demographics: Learn who your followers are - their age, location, and when they're most active. Post when they are most likely to be online.

Once a month, look at your top-performing content. What do those posts have in common? Was it the topic, the format, or the hook? Whatever it was, do more of that. Likewise, pay attention to the posts that flopped and try to understand why. Use this data, not your ego, to guide your future content strategy.

Final Thoughts

Building a presence and becoming a public influencer from scratch is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s built on the foundation of providing real value, showing up consistently, and forging a genuine connection with your audience. Focus on serving your community, and the growth will follow.

The hardest part of this entire process is remaining consistent, especially when juggling different content formats and platforms. We faced this very problem while growing our own brands, which is why we built Postbase. Having a visual calendar to plan your videos and posts, a reliable scheduler that publishes your content every time, and a unified inbox to manage all your comments makes the day-to-day work so much easier. Our goal is to help you focus on creating, not juggling apps.