If your Twitter followers outnumber your followees, your friends eagerly await every Facebook post you make, and your Instagram feed is no less than a gallery of glowing works of the photographic arts, then congratulations: you’re a social media whizz.
Whether you’re already a bone fide social marketing professional or you’re just damned good at content, you should be aware that you’ve managed to develop a skill that has implications way beyond your regular use of those big brand websites. If you know how to get the right kind of attention online, it’s about time you put these marketing skills to work in boosting your income by means of a side-hustle.
A side hustle is any way you make money outside of your regular job
These days, it most frequently refers to one of several potentially lucrative online sources of income: the gig economy, the sharing economy, the maker thing, and a number of other online niches.
The gig economy means taking odd jobs that you find through pro or semi-pro online networks, such as Fiverr, Rover, or TaskRabbit. It also includes things like driving for Uber or Lyft.
The difference between you and the average Joe who is competing for these jobs is that you know how to promote yourself on social media. Creating a buzz around your brand – be it your fancy car, your affable good looks, or your sense of humor – puts you head and shoulders above those who simply fill in their registration forms and wait for the work to pour in.
You can even pimp yourself as a chef-per-hour these days, with customers eager to invite somebody who really knows how to cook into their homes to prepare meals for parties and special occasions. Might you be the Jamie Oliver of the gig economy?
Keep a blog or YouTube channel about what you do, and folk will find their way to you specifically instead of picking the first random chef, dog-walker or graphic designer who pops up with a Google search.
Likewise, if you have a product that you’re able to sell then you can boost that weekly car boot sale income or occasional eBay windfall by marketing your T-shirt designs or hand-knitted teddy bears just as you would a regular product – only with a little more personality. Pair your online shop and social media presence with an IRL existence – such as that regular car boot sale spot or a pop-up shop for your hand-crafted goods – and you will give an impression of craft, professionalism and charm that is hard to resist.
Whatever your ‘thing’ is that you have to sell, a disciplined and consistent social media marketing strategy will help you to make it more than just a random shot at an extra buck or two. Whether you’re renting your room out on AirBnB, renting your car out on Turo or selling old football cards in eBay, putting a face to your name will help potential customers make an emotional connection.
What Side Hustle Should You Try -Infographic
For more ideas on what you can do for those customers, check out this handy Infgoraphic created by QuidCorner:
[Image credits – Infographic by QuidCorner, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International CC BY-SA 4.0]
Amit Raj is Digital PR Coordinator. His passion for a range of topics across dozens of industries flows through in the expertise that he provides.