Expert Tips for Making Money With Social Media

By Sam O’Brien, Chief Marketing Officer, Affise

People making money online, either as a primary source of income or via a side hustle, is not uncommon these days, and has been made a lot easier with working from home being more readily available.

With being in the office no longer mandatory for many companies, it has given budding social media influencers more freedom and flexibility to promote brands and create content alongside a full-time role.

There are many different techniques that can be used to make your presence bigger, from tracking the algorithms put in place by the websites, to using the correct hashtags and targeting the appropriate audiences. Without the right knowledge, it can be very difficult to get your brand off the ground and noticed by other businesses that may want to collaborate.

Whether you have always dreamt of running a home-cooking channel, a sustainable-living account, or even an ‘aesthetic’ TikTok, the marketing experts at Affise have compiled a list of handy tips and tricks below aimed to push your socials to a wider audience.

1. Gather the Tools You Need to Target Your Audience

If you dream of building your own ‘aesthetic’ channel on TikTok, you will need to have the correct look and surroundings to accompany it. ‘Aesthetics’ was first introduced by the Gen-Z community on TikTok, and the term refers to very specific styles and visuals.

If you are targeting an audience interested the ‘Dark Academia’ aesthetic, which revolves around dark colours, vintage clothes and gothic surroundings, you need to make sure everything in your videos conforms to this.

Similarly, if your aesthetic is more ‘Japanese Kawaii’, you need to surround yourself with lots of cute, pink, almost childish items. This way, you will be able to easily create new content to keep your viewers interested.

2. Post Regularly

This may seem like an obvious tip, but posting very regular content is one of the best ways to gain a following and not get forgotten.

If you are attempting to become bigger as a fashion and beauty blogger on Instagram, it is very important to keep up to date with the latest trends and products, in order to avoid falling behind.

If you are just starting out and cannot afford to make regular purchases (which will be the case for most people), ensure that you remain relevant by posting about the latest beauty and skincare trends, beauty hacks or products that are special to you.

An example of a social media influencer that posts very regularly is @shandathapanda.

3. Subscribe to News Channels to Stay in the Loop

Whatever kind of influencer you are trying to become, it will always be important to stay ahead of the rest of your competitors.

Because of this, it could be useful to subscribe to different news channels, in order to be one of the first people to post about a particular product, offering or breaking industry topic relevant to your audiences.

For example, if you are an aspiring gaming YouTuber, signing up to the PC Gamer newsletter, or even regularly checking the #Steam hashtag on Twitter to see what fellow gamers are talking about, could make a huge difference.

For a small fee, you can also sign up to PlayStation Plus, which offers a multitude of free games each month – allowing you to stream yourself playing expensive games for a fraction of the price.

4. Be Sure to Show Your Personality in Every Post

Showing your true personality and sense of humour can be what sets you apart from the crowd. Streaming vlogs (video blogs) requires a lot of talking, so try to make every post as natural as possible, to allow your followers to get to know the real you.

It may be tempting to practice what you are going to say before each take, but this could lead to you sounding clinical and, essentially, just like everybody else.

Even if you are not planning on speaking in a post, you can still ensure your sense of humour shines through in your caption – so try to implement it as much as possible. Good examples of effective caption creators are @yasminjohalx, @naomijon and @luuudaw.

5. Try to Beat the Algorithms

Instagram is especially notorious for having a problematic algorithm, which can make it hard for some content creators to push their posts to their audiences. This is based on interests, accounts you have favoured in the past, and even how many people you are following.

In order to avoid it having an effect, make sure you post regular Instagram stories – this way, even if your posts aren’t showing, people will be drawn to your profile.

Another way to beat the Instagram algorithm is to stream live (as it notifies your followers), or to run a giveaway. Also, never overlook the quality of your photos, as crisp, striking pictures are always guaranteed to get more likes.

Some influencers that regularly post stories are @demicolleen and @fullbodiedbekah.

6. Harness the Power of the Title and the Hashtag

Utilising hashtags to their full potential can propel you into the sightline of far wider audiences. If somebody is searching for something in particular on Instagram, then making sure your hashtags are as specific as possible will push them right to the ‘Explore’ page.

Similarly, if you are planning a career on YouTube, your titles have to be as relevant as possible, while still remaining succinct.

For example, YouTuber @naomijon has a compilation on her channel called ‘German Girl Tries…’ and a selection of eating videos. This allows her to be located by people that know she is German, but may not know her name.

Horror gamer @markiplier includes warnings like ‘SERIOUSLY SCARY’ in his titles, allowing him to be more specific and stand out from the crowd of people simply mentioning the name of the game.

✔ You may also be interested in reading:
How to Become an Online Influencer in Canada and Beyond
How Canadian Online Influencers Find (and Pitch) Brands and Businesses
How to Make Money Blogging in Canada: The Ultimate Guide

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Melody McKinnon
Digital Business & Marketing Manager at  | Website |  + posts

Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business/marketing education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.

Melody has worked with many businesses in a multitude of capacities. She can often be found on CanadianDigitalMedia.com, CanadiansInternet.com, CanadianFamily.net, and AllNaturalPetCare.com, as well as other quality digital publications. Her content has earned reference links from highly-respected websites, magazines and university textbooks.

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