Who are influencers? The term has gained significance as social media has dominated as the crowd-favorite platform with 3.1 billion people by 2021. That’s roughly 40 percent of the world’s population as of mid-2019, according to the United Nations.
Essentially, influencers are those who wield power over the purchase decision of others. This clout comes from a higher position, credibility, reputation, or expertise in a niche or genre.
The good news is anyone, including you, can be an influencer and join the ranks of celebrities, academics, journalists, bloggers, and content creators. As your social-media following is bolstered by high engagement rates, you may get your fair share of a 6.5-billion-dollar industry.
Being an influencer, after all, entails skills and tools to create likable, shareable, and credible content that will attract people’s attention. Here are a few gadgets that are essential to your influencer’s starter pack.
DSLR Camera
Images and videos, which are often seconds to minutes long (as in the case of vlogs), are staples in social media. A reliable DSLR aside from your phone camera ensures you have quality posts to wow your audience.
It doesn’t have to be state-of-the-art; an entry-level DSLR that has a decent megapixel count, battery life, and price will suffice. Using DSLRs also teaches you about composition, light, and other settings that can cut the time for postprocessing.
Travel Tripod
It stabilizes your camera or smartphone, as applicable, so that you can capture still images or movements. Unless you are aiming for a shaky camera or Blair Witch effect, you need a tripod for steady and stable footage.
Some tripods are lightweight, such as those made of carbon fiber, and are tall enough. In fact, certain tripods can fit into a jacket pocket and sit on tabletops.
Monopod for Phone
Also known as a selfie stick, a monopod, or a tripod with one leg, is a quintessential tool for vlogs, selfies, and group selfies. The gadget holds action cams, cell phones, and digital cameras. It is easier to lug around than its three-legged cousin.
However, some monopods can convert to tripods for stability. Security of the clamp mechanism, size, and stick length are vital considerations in buying monopods.
External Microphone
A boom mic and someone holding it give off real production feels. For now, you can use an external microphone for your smartphone or laptop so that your audience can hear you loud and clear. The audio from an external mic is often better than the built-in mic in some devices.
You can also buy enhancements such as a wind muff to block out the wind in the recording. External mics are also portable plug-and-play gadgets.
Power Bank
The things you do, taking a lot of photos and videos and even responding to comments, can drain your battery. To cut the number of charging times of your phone, tablet, or laptop, take a power bank with you always. The portable charger’s battery capacity and weight are two main criteria when seeking out the best one for you.
Laptop
Smartphones enable you to do anything on the go, but you still need your trusty laptop to execute a full range of functions. From photo-editing programs to blogging platforms, you are better off accessing them through a computer to see the whole picture.
With a laptop, you can sit down and take time to compose your thoughts or response to commenters online. And like any gadget on the list, the laptop computer is made for business, work, and leisure.
Multiport Adapter
Expand the functionality of your laptop with a multiport adapter. This USB-C hub, for example, helps out with your social media endeavors by doing the following:
- Connecting to an external monitor for a 4K display through an HDMI port
- Copying files from the camera’ or phone’s SD and microSD cards
- Accessing data stored on USB 3.0 thumb drives
More peripherals mean more ports that hubs can provide. The laptop and adapter combination makes for more productive and convenient sessions for the creation and delivery of content.
Content is king to any influencer’s dreams of building a brand and a name on the internet. And you have the abovementioned gadgets to gather and present your ideas in understandable and concrete formats.