There is no doubt about it the rise in social media has given rise to the opportunity for many to make money from it. Whether you are an Influencer, run a Facebook marketing agency, or are a freelance social media manager there is a space for you to carve out a busy workload and potentially lucrative career. It sounds promising but as with any industry, there are pros and cons to working in social media and here are some of the top things you need to know when considering embarking on a career in social media.
You get to do what you love
People the world over use social media recreationally every day, for hours so why not get paid to do it? Part of your job in social media will involve using it, a lot. Commenting on posts, watching videos, posting content, creating fun content, engaging and socialising with other users. It all sounds great and in some respects it is, but there is such a thing of too much of a good thing.
There is a difference between using social media to look at things of interest and personal choice and things you are paid to do. You may be working with clients in a niche or industry that is of little interest to you in which case dedicating large amounts of your time to it could actually become tedious and uninspiring. Further, the negative mental health side effects of too much time on social media are well known and it can result in feelings of isolation, reduced self-esteem, lack of sleep or concentration and so on. As with anything you still need to make sure you factor in sufficient breaks to avoid a positive turning into a negative.
It is always evolving
Social media is constantly evolving, new platforms arise, algorithms are changed, what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. For many, this can be an exciting and dynamic industry to be a part of. Yet, for others, it means you are always under pressure to be aware of any changes coming into play and how they may affect your work within social media. It may also mean that any social media training you have paid to do is now redundant. It is important that you stay on top of any changes and developments to ensure your social media success.
Going viral
Going viral is something many people who work within social media aspire to do. Going viral means you have reached a wide target audience, a social media post, comment or video that may have been picked up on a national or even national scale. This can bring with it a high reward, increased awareness of your brand/product etc and in turn increased profitability. It can be the difference that turns your social media side hustle into something more permanent.
However, while going viral is the pinnacle for many the flip side is that your mistakes can also go viral too. It could be something that is professionally or personally embarrassing that you do not want in the public domain. The problem is however is that once it is out there it is out there and it will be very hard to take down.
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Mike Gaudreau is the owner of The Wealthy Boomers, a site devoted to helping seniors make money online. Mike resides in Montreal Canada.
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