Do you have too much month at the end of your money? There is a really simple solution. Start a social media side hustle. You don’t need celeb status, have thousands of followers or ditch your day job. Pieter Groenewald, CEO of a major influencer marketing business in SA, tells us why ordinary people are fast becoming the sought-after option for marketers.
From a small-town boy from the Karoo to a chartered account and now CEO of the Influencer Division of Nfinity Media. Pieter Groenewald lives and breathes media. More specifically – influencer marketing.
“We offer influencer solutions to our clients via our platforms, theSALT and Webfluential. Almost like AirBnB is connecting rooms with guests, or like Uber connecting passengers with drivers, we connect social profiles with brands.
Pieter is also the founder of theSALT – a nano influencer channel that connects brands to the social profiles of ordinary people. Something he is super passionate about because he believes that normal people can speak best to the consumers on the ground.
It doesn’t mean you will only be successful if hustling on social media is your full-time gig. Nowadays, more and more people are getting into the side hustle game.
“The rise of the side hustle started well before the pandemic. Partly a response to the unemployment crisis, and an increase in recognition of the potential to earn additional income – and make life a little easier. At the moment, it’s estimated that one in three employed South Africans has a side hustle of sorts. And with the continued evolution of online influencer marketing, that number will increase.”
Pieter added that the advances in technology and the rise of social media in brand marketing have enabled people to work wherever they are, on whatever they want.
“The ability to use these advances has inspired tech-savvy professionals and innovative individuals to find more ways to monetise the time they spend online.”
The conclusion to all of this? Social media gives us many opportunities and ways to earn extra money from home – all you have to do is look for that perfect one, the one hustle that not only you’re good at, but makes you happy and provides some extra moola as well.
Despite loving every single moment of his job, Pieter does stick to a healthy work-life balance. Apart from spending time with his wife, Leandra and two boys, 20-year-old Landré and 18-year-old Kyle, you’ll most likely find him behind the braai, at a food market, sipping a good red wine or watching a Formula One race. And training for an endurance event … on his enduro or mountain bike.
Just like you need endurance and dedication to take part in an endurance event, the same goes for when you want to be successful in a social media side hustle. Start where you are and hustle, hustle, hustle! Details: thesalt.co.za, nfinity.co.za
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET IN THE GAME OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA SIDE HUSTLE? BE REAL!
1. A shift from celebrity status. Traditionally, the trend in influencer marketing has been for brands to work with celebrities who have hundreds of thousands (dare we say, millions?) of followers, because the perception was that that’s where the value lies. Of course, along with the many followers would also come a hefty fee, driving up the cost of a marketing exercise that didn’t always deliver tangible results. A lot of marketers were left with the question as to what they’d achieved with the influencer activity. And the answer wasn’t always easy to come by.
2. Big followings don’t count (as much). Evolutions in the approach to influencer marketing suggest things are changing. And it’s about time. Brands have come to realise that big follower counts don’t necessarily mean something if the followers don’t care about what’s being shared. At the same time, celebrity audiences realise that much of the brand activity on their accounts is the result of an impressive paycheck, as opposed to an organic, tried-and-tested review. In its own way, this has brought into question the value this brings for brands, with ROI coming under scrutiny, as marketing budgets are pulled tighter and the call for real value increases.
3. Power to the people. That’s where people like you come in. Yes, YOU. The “normal” person sitting on the other side of the screen. Whether you know it or not, you have a circle of influence, and it can give real value to brands – while putting real money into your pocket. “Normal” people like you are fast becoming a hot commodity in the world of influencer marketing – and we say, more power to you!
4. The rise of the “normal” person influencer. “Normal” people working as influencers have become increasingly important for marketers – and for good reason. Not only do they produce niche content, but their audiences are highly engaged. They’re real people who have conversations with other people, who exist within real communities and have a real impact on the lives of those around them. They create real connections, so any brand or product advocacy is authentic because it’s founded on trust. The people they’re talking to, from their friends to their family to their followers, are more inclined to believe them. And when the time has been taken, and an effort made, to match the person with a brand they already know and use, the result is something exceptional!
SEVEN TIPS ON HOW TO START YOUR SIDE HUSTLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
1. Create a profile on a few platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok. Perhaps even start a blog if you are brave.
2. Pay attention to your bio and make sure it is very descriptive of the social message you want to send out around your profile. Avoid the word influencer in your bio.
3. Start connecting with people you know on these platforms.
4. Connect with people whose content you find interesting, as you can learn a lot from them in terms of their content creation skills.
5. Engage with your connections and their content in a professional and uplifting but honest way.
6. Start creating your own authentic content around a subject that you are very comfortable and knowledgeable on and post these onto your platforms. Engage with your audience when they engage with you.
7. Register on www.thesalt.co.za for the platform to connect you to brands for collaboration opportunities. It is for free!
Five social media pages to follow to help grow your biz:
- Airbnb
- Marketplace
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- theSALT
Four easy side hustles that you can do to earn money:
- Airbnb if you have rooms to rent out. It could be a room in your primary residence, a separate unit, or an apartment or house that you don’t live in. Regardless, the value of the asset makes it possible to rent out to others. It turns unused space into an income-producing asset.
- Provide translator services online. If you speak more than one language, becoming a translator is an excellent side hustle. A million blogs are posted every day, podcasts come out every hour and more hours of footage are uploaded on YouTube every minute. All this content needs to be transcribed, subtitled, proofread, time-coded, tagged and translated.
- Sell unused items at home on Facebook Marketplace. Or buy used items and sell them for a profit. One of the smartest items to buy online is used furniture that needs some restoration. Outdated items can be modernised with a little elbow grease and a new paint job. Remember to link all your skills to freelancing marketplace platforms like Fiverr and Upwork to be linked to freelance jobs.
- Give online lessons. What area do you find fascinating? In everyday conversation, what do you talk about the most? This could be an indication of what you could teach others. What questions are people always asking you to help them with? If individuals are always approaching you for advice, perhaps within that there’s something you can teach. What genre of books do you tend to read? Answering this might point to a subject area you might teach.
Text: Rialien Furstenberg
Image: Supplied
