Nurse Influencer. That term either makes you cringe or piques your interest doesn’t it? A few short years ago, nurse influencers were just beginning to emerge—now it seems as if every other account you run across has some kind of…#angle.

When done right, nursing-related accounts with tons of followers and an active, engaged community are definitely an asset to our profession. At the heart of nursing, we are connectors—bridging the gap between patients and practitioners, promoting health education and informed medical autonomy, and somehow doing it all with the compassion and heart nurses are well-loved for. It makes perfect sense that companies and organizations seek out these established nurse influencers “doing it right” to promote their services and products.

But, what if you are starting out on square one, eager to build yourself into a self-made influencer/affiliate marketer? 

Whether you want to authentically share your journey as a student nurse, document your experience as a GN, or (ahem) rouse a kickass grassroots revolution to overhaul healthcare through nurse-led innovation, it’s perfectly okay to position yourself to profit from the effort that takes. Mixing money with altruistic intention can feel icky, and there’s certainly a cringe-worthy approach that should be avoided at all costs (we’ve all seen those disingenuous Instagram grids, overflowing with product placement and nary a “real” post to be found). But ‘sales’ is not a four-letter word! When done tastefully, you can actually add a ton of value to nurses seeking out content just. like. yours.

With that in mind, let’s dive in to the “how” of becoming a successful nurse influencer!

Define your mission, build your brand:

Generalized nursing content is a HUGE topic to broach. Not unlike the vast and varied ways in which one can be a nurse, there too exists unlimited potential when it comes to being a nurse influencer. So—get specific. 

One way to approach this is to consider who your target audience will be. Are you looking to inspire nurse assistant personnel to take the plunge and apply to nursing school? Help busy nurse parents balance home and work life? Share your journey (and tips) of living a successful travel nurse’s existence? Narrow down your focus, and your audience will find you.

Your goal here is not just to build follower counts. (In fact, fixating on this very ego-driven data point is one way to fast-track doubting yourself and quitting before you’ve even begun.) Yes, it’s impressive when we see an account with thousands…or even hundreds of thousands of followers. What you’re not seeing reflected in this number is the engagement. When you begin to make make marketing connections with companies, they will ask for far more than follower counts. How often people are liking, commenting, sharing, and saving your posts reflects the true nature of engagement. 

Ultimately companies are looking to maximize their return on investment (ROI) with you as their affiliate marketer. Someone with 1K followers who tune into—and interact with—every one of your posts is way more valuable to them than someone with 50K followers scrolling on by. 

Want a deeper dive on this topic? One great resource for newbie influencers is The Nurse's Guide to Blogging, an excellent guidebook on brand creation and strategies for rising nurse influencers. The authors, Brittney Wilson, BSN, RN, and Kati Kleber, BSN, RN, CCRN, also run a web site specifically for this purpose with brand-building guides, crash courses in affiliate marketing and the like called The Health Media Academy. 

The negotiation dance:

Once you’ve put in the work to establish yourself as a trusted voice, it’s time to talk shop with the businesses you’d like to work with. At the start you’ll likely be offered “free xyz in exchange for a post” offers. In other words: “Hey! We’d love to send you a pair of compression socks in exchange for 2 posts and a story mention—tagging us—and making sure to speak about these 10 key features!” 

Let’s simplify—what they’re describing here, is WORK. 

You wouldn’t consider going to the hospital and starting your day an hour early without clocking in, would you? You’re passionate about your work as a nurse, but you wouldn’t do it for free. Same goes for affiliate marketing. When you post about a product or service and those leads convert into sales, you are part of a chain helping businesses to turn a profit. (If you’re not sure what you should be charging for brand mentions and promotions, sites like socialbluebook.com can help you to gauge your brand’s worth.) 

Be prepared to disclose metrics of your social accounts (which can be found through each platform when you designate your account as a business profile) and don’t sell yourself short. Access to your audience holds tremendous value!

Once you’ve developed a working relationship with a company and are prepared to post on their behalf, there are a few key points to remember. You must disclose that you are being compensated for the post, on the post itself. This designation can be as simple as adding “#sponsored,” or “#ad” to your post before the affiliate link. Any company worth their reputation should also mention this in…your contract. 

Yes, contracts are put in place when you become an official affiliate marketer for a company. They should outline expectations for both parties, cover compensation in detail, and may include any stipulations the company might have regarding working with competing brands. Make sure you go over all sections with a fine-toothed comb. 

Before you hit ‘post’:

The first few affiliate-linked posts you make will undoubtedly create a sense of giddiness. By all means, take a moment to be proud of the work you’ve put in to get here, but be smart! Remember, we are nurses first and foremost; as such, you have a duty to the profession to uphold the level of trust people place in us, and in YOU, specifically. In that spirit, as you begin to wield your influence, we’ll leave you with a few speed bumps in order to proceed responsibly. 

• Do. Your. Research. — Today, just about everything is politicized, polarized, and opinionated upon…it’s just as important that the company you virtually lock arms with represents who you are—as much as your message aligns with their’s.

• HIPAA — Yes, you must avoid overt mention of patients and/or workplace in your posts…but you also must be wary not to leave a trail of breadcrumbs.

• Don’t hate on the haters — With any level of success, the trolls appear. If you find you are the target of unfair commentary, do your nurse-y best to use it as an opportunity for healthy dialogue, rather than shutting it down outright. Your professionalism will always speak louder than the contrarians. 

• Grow roots but branch out — You’ve worked hard to craft a vibrant social media identity, so make sure you use that strong foundation wisely. Many influencers find they have a larger presence on one channel vs. another; but placing all your virtual eggs in one basket has the potential to backfire with every algorithm change. To avoid this pitfall, consider creating a blog, personal website, or at the very least, maintain activity across multiple platforms.  

We hope to see you on the interwebs!