Yes, you read that right. You can actually turn your social media hours into something of monetary value. And that’s a good thing because it means you can continue enjoying social media guilt-free, and possibly debt-free that is, if you use credit cards to buy gadgets, gaming items and internet loads. Plus, you have another legit reason for convincing mom or dad for extending your mobile gadget limit or upgrading your device.
So how do you go from plain mobile device user to mobile-preneur, from social media addict to social media mogul? You can begin by following these suggestions.
- Sell Items Online
The quickest way to make your social media account into an income-generating machine is to turn it into an online store. You don’t have to post at online sites such as Ebay or Olx anymore. Whether you have a few items or a truckload of them to sell, you can turn your social media account like Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram into your very own retail business. If you can tag friends, make posts, or create an album and add descriptions, you can practically set up your little online shop with no problem at all.
Have you been ranting and posting lengthy editorials in your Facebook or blog lately? Have you been making well-thought-out comments to topics you feel connected and interested? Have you made converts because of your persuasive posts and comments? If so, you just might pass for a social media content specialist. Many companies have business pages in various social media sites and are looking for people to create copies and content for their pages. To see available copywriting opportunities for you, start with a quick Google search.
- Write Product Reviews
Writing product reviews for money isn’t something new, although it’s very much common in Europe and the US. These sites offer product review jobs, but require you to have an active blog or a social media account such as Facebook or Google+ (and more likely great English writing skills) to join. Here in the Philippines, there are similar opportunities, though not as many. Few years ago, online shopping site Sulit.com.ph hired people to create short product reviews. If you’re really serious about making money from writing product reviews, try your luck at Webbline.com – they’re looking for people to review PH-based products and services, doesn’t pay so much but it’s a good starting point.
Note: We are not affiliated with any of these job sites.
Unlike a social media content specialist that is focused on the content (images and text copies) of a client’s account, a social media manager handles a client’s overall social media portfolio, which includes but is not limited to content. This means that if you’re hired as a social media manager or marketer, you also handle customer comments and complaints, strategize for increasing the number of followers, planning for the next updates or posts, etc.
- Be an Amazon Affiliate
Do you have a blog that you consistently build up? If you want your blog to earn you money, you can register as an Amazon affiliate. Now, Amazon may not be familiar to you, but perhaps you’re familiar with Lazada and OLX. These shopping sites and many more like them actually have affiliate or associate program to which you can join. All you need is to register your savvy website with quality content, and you’re just about ready to earn money as an affiliate. To inspire you, check out how much one Pinoy earned in 2011 from this online moneymaking scheme.
- Market Your Photography
If you’re good at photography, sell your services over Facebook or have your photos licensed at Creative Commons. It’s amazing how many people are into photography these days (read: creative selfies, as well as portraits and landscape shots). If you have an eye for great composition, lighting effects, beautifying your object with your handy camera, and at the same time doing critical photo edits, why, you can earn from your photography and social media passion. Start by voluntarily taking prenup shots or baby photo ops for your friends. It helps too if you attend photography workshops. It won’t be long until you master your craft and be noticed by clients.
- Be an Online Chef (Wannabe)
Everybody loves to eat. You don’t have to be a certified chef to be able to cook and be great at it. As they say practice makes perfect. Create a blog or channel of your kitchen experiments. You can earn from ads displayed on your site. While you’re at it, be more ambitious by writing your own e-cookbook and sell it online. For a quick guide to writing ebooks, read this inspirational article from Content Marketing Institute. Another helpful but longer read is from the infamous Tim Ferris of the Four Hour Work Week.
- Sell Your Music
If you’re good at making music, market your craft at SoundCloud or record your covers and original pieces at Youtube, Vimeo and similar channels. Social media has been the starting point of some of today’s music sensations. Think Colbie Caillat, Justin Bieber, and even Adele. If you want local examples, well there’s Arnel Pineda, Charice, Joseph Vincent Encarnacion, and Maria Aragon to name a few.
- Increase Your Online Network
As they say, there’s social media that brings in friends and there’s social media that brings in finances. It’s great if you get both – and that’s exactly what many professionals at LinkedIn are doing (although the same can happen at Facebook, Twitter and other social media). What they did is grow their network or contacts by updating their accounts and linking to other people of similar interests. This opens business and job opportunities for them because, well we have to admit it – while it does pay to know a lot of things, it also pays to know a lot of people who have the means to further your career.
Social Media Connecting Blog Communication Content Concept
Your OOTDs, daily makeup, shopping sprees, travel escapes, pregnancy diaries, parenting woes and whatnots of your daily existence can be a huge hit online. No matter how mundane you think your life may be, you’ll be amazed at how this many people can relate to you and actually be interested to follow through your updates. For instance, try recording a short clip of you rescuing a pup from the pound, walking it to a nearby park, teaching it some tricks, and voila – you’re starting a vlog about your little fury friend. If you want to know how much money blogging or vlogging generates, know some of Youtube’s richest vloggers.
More and more Filipinos are into social media. It might be safe to say we’ve grown addicted to it considering the number of hours we spend checking our Facebook, the effort we put on taking that selfie so we can post it the next minute, or how much attachment we have to our smartphone like it’s truly our lifeline.
Sadly, not many of us are taking advantage of our social media obsession. If anything, it’s working against our favor. We hope this list would somehow inspire many to turn their social media activities into profitable endeavors because after all, money is money, which many of us are in dire need of.
If you found this article helpful and inspiring, do share this with your social media friends so that they too will know that spending a few hours on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media isn’t just for leisure and fun, it’s for moneymaking, too.
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