In today's digital age, the power of social media should not be underestimated.
Social media is often associated with pop culture and meeting new people. A lot of men have recently discovered social media's potential to transform their careers and financial prospects.
Today I'll show you how you can use social media platforms, specifically LinkedIn and Instagram, to make more money and elevate your professional status.
How To Earn More Money Using LinkedIn
Most people are aware that LinkedIn is a social media platform that allows you to showcase your work history, connect with other professionals, and find new job opportunities.
But how do you use it to increase your income? It's simple. You just have to use everything on the platform to amplify who you are as a professional. You can then use that to meet other industry professionals who may have new, higher-paying opportunities available for you.
You have to be sure you do the legwork upfront though in order to do this in the best way possible. I'll show you how to do this with 4 simple steps.
1. Create A Captivating LinkedIn Profile
Building a profile on LinkedIn that is both professional and captivating might seem like a challenge. But it's actually quite simple. The first thing that you want to do when building your profile is to start with how you want to present yourself.
Having a strong profile picture is the key to starting off on the right foot. You want to make sure that your picture is high-quality and tells everyone who sees it that you mean business. This means that you need to dress for your industry. If you're a men's lifestyle influencer, you can dress sharply, but not overdo it. Something like a simple sweater and slacks will do.
However, if you are a mid-level executive, you'll want to make sure you're wearing a suit.
Then you need to make sure that all of the information on your LinkedIn profile is up to date and accurate. Beyond that, you need to make sure that you have everything filled out.
This means adding an engaging “about” section and current work title. Also make sure any licenses or certifications you have are filled in. Also, add at least 10 of your top skills to make sure people know exactly what you're good at.
2. Engage With Other Men In Your Industry
Since the global pandemic, the days of conferences and in-person meetings have turned into social media conversations and video calls.
Now, you are more than likely going to start by engaging with them on social media. This is done easily through LinkedIn by simply searching for other men in your industry and reaching out to them.
The best way to do this is to introduce yourself briefly about who you are and what you do. Then ask them for 1-2 pieces of advice. This ensures a better rate of response. Mostly because men in any profession love to give advice about what they're good at.
If and when you get a response, you can slowly start to build a professional relationship with them. This can open up a door to opportunities that would not have been there if you never reached out.
3. Follow Relevant LinkedIn Groups And Start Engaging
Most men are unaware of the power of groups and communities on LinkedIn and how they can help open the door for more opportunities.
This is an important thing to note because the only thing better than reaching out to the CEO of a company and him responding to you, is a group of 3-4 men who tell the CEO all about you and which causes him to reach out directly.
This is the power of following groups and becoming a part of these different communities within LinkedIn. It allows you to connect with more than one person at time.
The best way to start this is to find popular, but not overly large, groups that you're interested in. After you've followed the page, then you start engaging on posts within that community. You can offer information, professional criticism, and other meaningful pieces of value to make yourself stand out within the community.
Then once you've gotten engagement back, it's on to the next and final step.
4. Publish Meaningful Content
The last step to give yourself the best chance of opening the door to new opportunities is by publishing content. This content needs to provide so much value to users for free, that they almost feel obligated to reach out directly.
This can be written content on posts, videos that you post, or even by using the tools LinkedIn provides. This includes polls and other types of engaging posts that allow you to get feedback directly from your followers in your community.
Once you are part of a group, you can begin to become a staple within that community if you are constantly providing others with value. As long as the information you're providing is useful and engaging, people will want to engage with you. They will also want to offer their advice, or even mention new opportunities to you.
This can also help put you on the radar of high-level recruiters whose job it is to find quality, knowledgeable individuals that provide value to others. This can be a massive boost if you are looking to earn more income with new opportunities.
How To Use Instagram To Earn Additional Income
While LinkedIn focuses on professional connections, Instagram excels in visual storytelling.
Don't worry, you don't even have to have a large audience to take advantage of some of the best aspects of Instagram.
In order to use a platform like Instagram to earn income on the side of your regular job, it only requires a few simple steps to begin earning. This can be used as a side hustle, or even sometimes as a full time gig if you allow enough time.
There are 2 ways to use Instagram to make money – earn revenue from the platform itself by gaining millions of views. Or use it to build a community and market products to them. It can be your own products or affiliate products. The 2nd way is what we'll discuss as it is not reliant on going viral and gaining millions of views.
If you follow these 4 steps, you'll have a greater chance of increasing the money you earn on the side that can add to your overall income.
1. Craft A “Click Worthy” Instagram Profile
Your Instagram profile should be visually appealing and reflective of your personal brand. Use a high-resolution profile picture and create a bio that quickly conveys your expertise, interests, and the value you offer.
Make sure your profile information is filled out completely with what you do, how you do it, and what you can provide to others.
Depending on what it is you do, you can make sure that you have any additional information in your profile. This can include contact buttons for people to reach you. Or links to website or affiliate sites.
This brings us to the next step which is to narrow your focus.
2. Find Your Niche And Start Creating Content
The fastest way to grow your community on Instagram is to narrow your focus – or find your niche. This allows you to narrow down what it is you want to create content about.
So for example, if you want to market men's lifestyle products through affiliate marketing – promoting products from companies and making a small commission off of each sale – then you'll need to create content around that.
This can be something as easy as taking a video of yourself talking about a specific men's fragrance and then driving users to a link to purchase. If you connect with companies beforehand, some will even offer you a discount code for your followers to use which can help drive clicks even further.
Be sure to narrow down as specific as you can so that you start gaining engagement on your content and really connecting with people.
3. Instagram Means: Engage, Engage, Engage
Engagement is the lifeblood of Instagram.
Respond to comments on your posts, engage with your followers' content, and foster a sense of community around your profile. Authentic interactions can turn casual followers into loyal supporters.
You also have to be willing to engage with a lot of different accounts within your space. So using the same example of the men's lifestyle category, you can interact with other men in the space and leave comments on their content.
This can be done on their posts, stories, or even by engaging with their comment on another post. The opportunity here is endless.
It is important though that you engage authentically. People can see right through a forced comment. This is why you always have to ask real questions, say genuine things, and do it often.
4. Collaborate With Others In The Space
One of the best ways to grow your own community is to piggyback on the success of another page. In a meaningful and authentic way, that is.
Sticking to our previous example, you can search basic hashtags around “men's lifestyle” and come up with a bevy of other pages doing the same thing you are.
Once you find one that seems like a great fit, follow the formula as previously stated. Engage with their content and build rapport by asking for advice. Remember, men love giving advice on what they're passionate about. Once you've done this, then begin to propose the idea of a collaboration.
It can be a tag team post of a product you both believe in that shows up on both your feeds and can introduce your audiences to one another.
Or you can take this route and reach out to brands or companies and partner with them on a collaboration post. The end result is the same in that you are being introduced to their audience and vice versa.
But after you have done all of these steps, you can begin to market your products or services to your community. Once you have built enough trust with them, it will be hard for the ones who are in need of the product you're promoting to look anywhere else.
Social media has evolved into a powerful tool for enhancing your income and professional reputation.
By mastering platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram, you can strategically position yourself, attract lucrative opportunities, and stand out in a competitive world.
Remember, success in the digital age requires consistentcy, authenticity, and a commitment to building and nurturing your online presence.
So, go ahead and leverage the potential of these 2 platforms to increase your income and become the best version of yourself.
