Joanna G. Lewis, PharmD, MBA

Social media marketing has grown tremendously over the past few years. In 2018, Linqia Research reported that 86% of marketers and advertising agencies utilized influencer marketing as part of their outreach strategy.

Social media influencers are often used by brands as an invaluable trust mechanism to target specific niche markets. 

 reported that in 2022, influencer marketing would reach an estimated $15 billion.

All in all, consumers are going to social media to get recommendations, answer questions and solve a particular problem. Being able to create a product or join a brand to essentially solve a consumer dilemma is the key to monetizing a social media platform.

If your dream is to be an influencer so that you can quickly amass a 6-figure salary and steady work opportunities, just remember that is rarely the case. Many people use their job as an influencer to supplement their income. Others use it to break into an industry that may have been trickier before (Justin Bieber got his start on YouTube).

Over time, people can transition from working traditional full-time jobs to doing social media full-time if that’s their goal, but it’s not an overnight change.

There are many outlets available to influencers and I will summarize a list here:

 Downloadables, packages, memberships, and eBooks are all ways that influencers can connect with their audience, offer them value, and generate some income at the same time. An example of some of these are resume templates, courses (check out Teachable for some good examples), and membership-only fitness groups.

 Free or paid podcasts and webinars can include sponsored ads that generate money or they may charge a small fee to access the content. Many influencers will offer free introductory webinars where they talk about their paid services at the close of the presentation.

 to use their platform to increase awareness of the company and boost their sales. A lot of fitness companies use this strategy.

 When an influencer pairs up with a brand to promote a specific item or concept. They are paid to post content specific content that is approved by the company. You can see examples of this all over social media. Influencers will tag #ad or include words such as “paid partnership” in their copy.

 Similar to sponsored social posts, sponsored blogs feature a product or concept that the influencer is being paid to promote.

Merchandise, notebooks, shirts, and anything else that you feel confident will help your audience should they choose to support your brand with a purchase.

 When an influencer receives a discount code or link to purchase an item from another company. The more purchases that come from their specific link or code, the more the influencer will earn. Many major retailers have programs such as this, including Amazon.

With a large enough audience, some influencers may be able to do in-store events, meet and greets, or speaking engagements. When you’ve established a name for yourself, keynote speaking events are a great way to not only spread your message, but reach and inspire others.

Becoming an influencer can allow you to manage your own career, connect with thousands of like-minded people, and build an income for yourself. Even though social media is sort of like the Wild West right now, it pays to be strategic.

Take careful first steps to make sure that you are on the right path to success by building valuable content that connects with your audience. In the end, your brand and position as an influencer can be a reflection on your own expertise and that should always help lift up the community you work with too.

Side note: Ultimately, your worth and influence DO NOT depend on how many likes, brand sponsorships, or followers you have. Getting caught up in that metric is not healthy or in many ways, in your control. Social media is just one of many tools that can help you get closer to achieving your goals.

In conclusion, what matters most? Staying true to yourself, developing relationships and finding ways in which you can combine your passion with something your audience needs.

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Becoming an influencer can allow you to manage your own career, connect with thousands of like-minded people, and build an income for yourself. 

How Pharmacists Can Make Money as Social Media Influencers

To curate a brand, build credibility, and engage an audience, you have to consistently show up with high-quality content. Valuable content not only will set you apart from other competitors, but it also will build engagement around your platform.

What do you have to say? That can be summed up by the 

 and by summing up your value proposition, which is your core concept that highlights how you are unique and how you will add value for your audience. After you have that squared away, it’s time to start creating content around your niche.

Content creation can be broken down into 3 steps: planning, creating, and refining. Having a good, easy to follow process will set you up for success and give you a system that is easily replicable when life gets busy.

The planning stage is where you sit down with a calendar or a Google document, organize what you are going to say, and then map it out. By planning your content ahead, you are able to free up time for engagement, be proactive, and align your message with other key platforms and events.

A good way to start planning your content is to pick 4 to 8 themes that align with your message and rotate them. For example, I like to rotate content that focuses on professional development, student questions, physical and mental wellness, and stress management. For me, that’s my wellness niche.

You can also make your content align with specific days of the week. For example, #medicationmonday, #tutorialtuesday, #wellnesswednesday, and #throwbackthursday are all examples of how you can organize your message around different themes.

Another good example is to look at the national months and holidays for inspiration. American Heart Month and Valentine's Day are both a way to highlight heart health in February and align it to your message.

Once you have your themes, lay them out in a calendar. You can do this in Google docs, Excel, or even by printing out a physical calendar and making notes. There are also some great apps, such as…the rest is up to you. Some people plan out a week, some a month, and some a year.

How do you come up with a steady stream of ideas? It really comes down to using the themes that you worked on in the planning stage and making content around that.

Usually, you need to have a dedicated block of time to do this. I would recommend you set aside a set amount of time a week—figure out what you can manage—and then go from there. That can be 15 minutes or 3 hours, but it should be consistent and align with the long-term goals that you want from your platform.

Everyone has a different creative process, and you need to find the one that works for you. That could be dancing a little and listening to music, searching Pinterest for inspiration, going to a coffee shop and writing, or browsing some websites to get ideas.

It’s also good to come up with different types of content—both long form (a blog post or YouTube video) and short form (an Instagram caption).

Lastly, you don’t need to show up on every social media platform. Pick the top 2 or 3 that your audience uses and post consistently there—but don’t post the same content on all the platforms.

You need to change it a little bit for each platform. For example, your audience on LinkedIn is probably a little different than your audience on TikTok. If someone follows you on multiple platforms, they do not want to see the same thing pop up over and over again.

Most of all, you need to think about what’s in it for your audience and create value for them. In my opinion, it’s more important to post less frequently—but still consistently, such as Monday/Wednesday/Friday—and have quality and engaging content than to post just for the sake of posting every day.

Twitter and Instagram usually reward more frequent engagement than LinkedIn or Pinterest, for example. Again, that differs depending on the platform, but if you want to experience growth and engagement, consistency and quality are your tools.

In the refining stage, you edit your posts, put together engaging visuals and think of some killer, attention grabbing captions and hashtags. If you are putting together a YouTube video or a podcast, this is the stage where you do nothing but edit.

Some great tools to refine your work are apps such as Canva, Preview, and any other filtering app that is going to give your account a cohesive look. How do you get comfortable with your headlines and writing? Practice, practice, practice. There will be a time investment at the beginning, but it will get easier as you go along.

Spontaneity is a good thing and is important for social media and your professional life. Yes, it’s great to have scripted content but we also want to be authentic when we connect with others.

There will always be trending topics, news stories, or something that is breaking in your profession that you can talk about. Use platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook stories to highlight these moments.

So, plan your foundation but then don’t be afraid to interject some of your daily musings just so people can see the real you and connect. Remember, what sets you apart is your unique journey and perspective.

Set yourself a few boundaries—such as what falls within your expertise and value proposition)—and then don’t be afraid to be creative and color outside the lines a little bit.

Creating meaningful content on social media can be broken down into 3 steps: planning, creating, and refining.

How Pharmacists Can Create Social Media Content That Engages and Invites

Social media presence is an important part of any brand or business—and pharmacy is no exception. As patients turn to the internet and social media more frequently to seek information, social media platforms have provided great tools for patients and health care professionals alike. Among the health care professionals staking their ground on social media are a growing list of pharmacists and pharmacy students.

Being an influencer can also be a real job these days though. Some of the biggest influencers in health care, such as Dr. Mike, ZDoggMD, Kevin Pho, and other physicians and health care professionals are creating personal brands and controlling the narrative around their expertise. Pharmacy influencers, such as Adam from The Fit Pharmacist, Leslie from The Lactation Pharmacist, and Suzy from The Pharmacist Mom’s Group, have carved out niches that they use to unite and educate others about a specific topic or movement.

Because patients and consumers are able to find more information than ever, many professionals have created platforms to divulge it. Not every physician or pharmacist is in a traditional medicine space either.

Many of these professionals have branched to wellness, fitness, skincare or functional medicine (Hello Dr. Mark Hyman!). Regardless, it’s important no matter what space a person lands, as they use their influence to spread information, promote advocacy, and raise awareness within their niche. 

As an influencer, you are a brand. You decide what is at the heart of your content, what type of tone you’d like to have with your audience, and you get to determine how much of your personal life you’re going to share.

There isn’t exactly a rulebook that details how to be a top influencer—and that’s because there really is something for everyone. Ultimately, at the heart of it all is connecting with your audience.

, an influencer can be defined as someone who has “specialized knowledge, authority, or insight into a specific subject.”

Influencers then use this authority to connect with their target audience and give them advice, connect them with tools they can use, and promote products that the audience may be interested in. Pharmacists, pharmacy students, and other professional accounts usually fall in the micro-influencer or content creator categories.

There are several types of influencers, each with an essential role in our digital world:

People who have multiple platforms to reach their audience, such as television, ads, social media, and video.

People who have made a name for themselves as an expert in their niche, who have an audience who tunes in specifically to improve their own knowledge. They may do in-person engagements as well as digital work.

People who have created a brand for themselves on social media and have amassed a large following online.

 Bloggers and vloggers who create content on a smaller scale, but still have an engaged audience.

The biggest questions people usually ask are what do you do, how do you start, and how do you make money? Although being an influencer won’t immediately start you off with a 6-figure salary and steady work opportunities, many people use their job as an influencer to supplement their income.

Though it may look glamorous from the outside, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. Over time, some can transition to working traditional full-time jobs to doing social media full-time instead.

Some of the outlets that influencers may use are digital products, podcasts, sponsored posts, or affiliate marketing. We will do a much deeper dive into this subject later in the series.

Is this something you just want to play around with and see what lands, do you want a fun hobby that supplements your career or do you want to make a career out of it? There are a few key questions to ask yourself before you start.

: Why do you want to start a public social media presence? Don’t worry, this answer can evolve as you go. Answering this question will help you focus your brand and target your audience with content that is right for them. Some reasons may be to explore a creative interest, supplement your career, make connections, build a platform for advocacy, or build credibility in a niche field.

 One of the first steps to becoming an online influencer is actually signing up for the same platforms that your audience uses. For some people, Instagram is the only way to connect to their audience. For others, 

, Twitter or LinkedIn may work better. To set yourself up for success, do research on which platform is right for you before you start investing serious energy into this goal.

Think about what you want to be known for. Make sure that any opportunities you pursue align with that vision. It will reduce your audience’s trust if you are an influencer that focuses on health, but suddenly decide to do a sponsorship with McDonald’s for a cheeseburger. To build an effective brand, you need to start out small and specific to gain an audience and continue to foster that relationship. After all, it can be tempting to try and land big brand deals, but you have to remember that your audience’s reaction is what will make or break those deals.

Your brand is you. Just like you wouldn’t want to be the same version of you that you were in middle school, you don’t want your brand to stay at the same level. You need to continually push yourself to learn, improve, and do more so that you can continue to grow and help your audience as well as your own expertise.

Don’t forget that one of the best things is the ability to change. How you start does not have to be where you end.

The journey to becoming an influencer can allow you to manage your own career, connect with thousands of like-minded people, and build an income for yourself. Take careful first steps to make sure that you are on the right path to success and that you can meaningfully connect with your audience.

In the end, your brand and position as an influencer can be a reflection on your own expertise and that should always help lift up the community you work with as well.

Among the health care professionals staking their ground on social media are a growing list of pharmacists and pharmacy students.

How Pharmacists Can Build Their Brand on Social Media

There are 6 stages to behavioral change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Though this model was first constructed by researchers observing smokers trying to quit, these stages also apply to actions we take throughout our life.

Building a brand is a powerful thing, whether you use it to break into an industry, follow your passions, or stand out on social media. In 

, we will lay the groundwork to take you from the contemplation stage to the preparation stage. Even if you have never thought about building a brand or growing a social media platform, this can be valuable information and lay the groundwork as you think about how to position yourself for a promotion, take on a big project at work, or pivot to another career.

Branding is not just for companies such as Nike or TV personalities like Dr. Oz. Branding is the new reputation and, if done right, we can control the narrative of how others perceive us and how we position ourselves in our industry.

This is not about being deceptive, but rather highlighting your strengths and experience in a way that can take you to the next level. For example, you may have worked at a PR firm for a decade and just branched out on your own and started a company.

Instead of waiting for people to find you, you can start aligning yourself with high profile people who would use the service, market yourself on social media and find creative ways to highlight your work and experience. As you contemplate taking the plunge into social media influencing or building a brand, there are a few questions that you need to ask yourself as you start.

Before you start thinking about what color you want your logo to be, you need to get clear on what you are offering to the world. You may want to be a pharmacist who educates on pain management or nutrition—or even someone who talks about a passion project such as bird watching, for example.

Whatever the case, it’s best to be pretty specific at this point and get known for doing one thing really well instead of having a broad scope. For example, my friend The Lactation Pharmacist originally focused on teaching health professionals about medications in pregnancy and lactation. Along the way, she has expanded to consulting for the public, doing many talks and courses, while also becoming a doula.

This is one of the hardest points to nail down and it often requires some soul-searching and trial and error. If you’re not entirely sure the answer to this, ask yourself:

What do people tell you that you’re good at?

What is a passion you have that you want to get really good at?

Getting crystal clear on your why is one of the things that will help with your messaging so it’s important to answer this early on. Is it to connect with others, build a platform for a career pivot, explore a subject, play around and see what lands, make money or become really famous?

There are no wrong answers, but you do need to understand this as it will guide your content and strategy. Don’t worry, this answer can evolve as you build your brand. `

In business school, a big concept in marketing is “knowing your audience.” You may say, well that’s easy: pharmacy. However, there’s more to it than that.

When you speak to someone, you have to know what angle they are coming from. For example, you would educate a patient about a new medication very differently than you would a physician. Speaking the same language as your customer will also ensure that you communicate effectively and get your message across.

What platforms do you want to show up on? It’s not the best idea to set up an account on all social media platforms and then post the same content everywhere.

You need to purposefully understand your audience, where they like to hang out, and what kind of topics they are searching for. Where does your audience spend their time? TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, podcasts, Instagram? When you have this figured out, you can focus on setting up visuals, content and taglines that will appeal to that market.

After you have the answers to these questions fleshed out (I recommend that you write them all down and post them somewhere that you can reference—remember, it’s ok if they change as you will grow the more action you take), then you can start the logistical process of picking a domain name for your brand, exploring the different web hosting sites and writing your bio so people know what you do.

Remember, one of the best ways to stand out is to pair something you love with something your audience needs. Don’t worry too much about a saturated market. If you are really passionate about the subject you choose and don’t want to change, remember, you are a unique person with a unique story and perspective. That alone will help set you apart.

Building a brand is a powerful thing, whether you use it to break into an industry, follow your passions, or stand out on social media.

Getting Started as a Pharmacy Influencer: Building a Brand That Connects

Conventional wisdom tells us that if we work harder, we will be more successful, and if we are more successful, then we will be happier. This reasoning is backward. Happiness is the fuel of success.

We all feel as if happiness is a thing we should have more of. And even though we know that happy people tend to live longer, experience fewer severe health issues, perform better at work, and socialize more, happiness still sometimes seems elusive.

Happiness can also play a significant role in your overall success in your professional life. In her book 

, self-help author Gretchen Rubin says, “Happiness is a critical factor for work, and work is a critical factor for happiness.” Happy employees outperform unhappy employees. They also get along better with others, collaborate more, and are less prone to burnout, absenteeism, and work disputes.

Work can also be a source of many of the elements necessary for a happy life, such as an atmosphere of growth, social contact, fun, a sense of purpose, self-esteem, and recognition.

We do not have control over a lot of things in our work environment. However, by focusing on our circle of influence—that is, what we have control over&mdash;we can take charge of our careers and achieve professional happiness.

The following 7 tips can help you achieve happiness while working in pharmacy:

Instead of following someone else’s definition of happiness in life and work, think about what it means to you. Is happiness a roof over your head, a safe environment, or helping others find effective therapy? Whatever it is, stay clear of the happiness myth we tell ourselves: “I’ll be happy when I….” By learning and defining how to be happy in your present state, you will be living in the moment instead of waiting for life to happen to you.

By the nature of our work, pharmacists are either standing or sitting in front of a computer for most of the day. Good posture can instantly make you feel more energetic and cheerful. Instead of hunching over your desk or straining your eyes at the screen, focus on your body’s alignment by centering your computer horizontally in front of you, an arm’s length away, and make sure your eyes are level with the upper portion of the screen. If eyestrain is contributing to headaches, take small breaks when you can.

Let’s be honest: our jobs are busy and stressful. We are bombarded by constant distractions, negative coworkers, or a lack of resources, and that can contribute to burnout or getting stuck in patterns of negative behavior. However, instead of being trapped in negative patterns, we can try to get stuck in positive ones.

, Shawn Anchor describes the Tetris Effect: the person who walks into the room and immediately finds the 1 thing to complain about.

 Many times, this habit is caused by the inability to break a pattern of behavior because the brain is good at scanning the negatives.

By nature of our profession, we scan the negatives. We make sure procedures are compliant, written correctly, safe, and accurate, but we can also let the habit bleed into the other areas of our lives. It can be very hard to break out of a pattern like that, but we can turn the negative into a positive Tetris Effect by reframing our thoughts and focusing on what we can control.

Exercise is one of the most effective—and easiest&mdash;ways to lift your mood. Study results show that exercise changes the brain by adding volume to the hippocampus, the area linked to happiness that tends to be smaller in people with depression.

 It also releases endorphins and neurotransmitters that can positively affect our moods. Not only does exercise help blunt stress, it also helps minimize inflammation, and it is helpful for both our physical and emotional resilience. These are all essential elements to our happiness.

In health care, taking a lunch break is usually an afterthought. Maybe the reason we are not able to leave our workstation is because of workload, or maybe it is a company policy about when breaks are allowed or whether food is permitted in patient care areas. Though we cannot control everything about our work environments, management at many companies is starting to see the importance of allowing pharmacists to take breaks to increase productivity and engagement. Stash some nuts in your pocket, run to the hospital cafeteria for a smoothie, or keep a banana in your bag for emergencies. No one likes a “hangry” pharmacist, so advocate about your need to eat.

Whether you are pursuing a passion project, a side hustle, or a hobby, make space in your life to pursue what you enjoy. And if you are thinking, “I have no idea what to do or where to start,” do not overcomplicate it. You don’t have to make your hobby into a business; just start following and developing your interests. You might join a running club, get involved in a charitable organization, or take up photography. The idea is to invest time in yourself and get fulfillment from an activity outside work.

When someone gives you a compliment, brings you lunch, or jumps into your work queue to help, it makes you feel good. As Mark Twain is often credited as saying, “The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer somebody else up.” Performing acts of kindness for others can go a long way, in making not only their days better but yours too.

“Happiness doesn’t come from focusing on yourself,” says Laurie Santos, PhD, host of The Happiness Lab podcast. So when you are feeling down at work, make time for a heartfelt conversation, bring your coworker a favorite treat, or give a colleague a well-deserved compliment. The effect will help not only them, but you as well.

 has practiced pharmacy in a variety of settings, and is the author of the Pharmacist’s Guide blog and series of e-books.

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean my Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being

The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work

Blumenthal J, Smith P, Hoffman B. Is exercise a viable treatment for depression? 

. 2012;16(4):14-21. doi: 10.1249/01.FIT.0000416000.09526.eb.

Carek PJ, Laibstein SE, Carek SM. Exercise for the treatment of depression and anxiety. 

. 2011;41(1):15-28. doi: 10.2190/PM.41.1.c.

By focusing on our circle of influence&mdash;that is, what we have control over&mdash;we can take charge of our careers and achieve professional happiness.