How To Generate Cash Using An Instagram Account

Social media has infiltrated our lives in ways that our ancestors cannot imagine. Let us focus on one platform – the trendy Instagram (IG). Instagram offers you the opportunity to widen your income or to receive free products by posting photographs. Contrary to popular belief, earning money thru this venue is not limited to becoming an influencer.

There are many methods to capitalize on your IG presence. Here are just of them:

METHOD #1: POST REGULARLY ON INSTAGRAM

To make decent amount of money on the side while feeding your Instagram addiction, you can consider becoming an influencer. Start by treating your feed as a C.V. (Curriculum Vitae). Strategically curate your account to invite as many brands as possible. The wider your feed or portfolio is, the better.

Maintain your Instagram presence by using consistent posting schedules, pristine images, and witty captions. Andrea Chong’s account is an example of a strong local influencer. Remember that you attract the brands that match the content of your feed. For instance, you may be hired as a brand influencer for a detox tea if you exude enthusiasm toward fitness.

METHOD #2: SELL YOUR WORK

You have a knack for photography. If you have numerous quality images that companies and individuals may want to pay for, you can display it on renowned websites such as Shutterstock. Another (relatively uncommon) option is to upload your portfolio on Instagram.

Make sure to add a watermark and a detailed caption to each of your image. This will not only protect your rights, but it will also clearly direct your potential clients.

METHOD #3: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SLIDESHOWS

Do you own a budding small business? Well, you better listen up! This method allows you to establish the diverse angles of your brand using a single post. You do not have to pay for an upgrade.

Instagram has solidified its status as an efficient platform for sharing singular square-shaped photographs. Instagram did its best to sway with the dance of modern technology. It has since expanded to adding videos and time lapses. Furthermore, the Facebook-owned company introduced the slideshow feature. Users can post up to 10 pictures that will appear in one post. This move seeks to help advertisers (like you) to tell sequenced stories. Ensure that your photos follow a unified theme or filter.

METHOD #4: EMPLOY AFFILIATE MARKETING

Various websites display their partners with sidebar banners. This type of publicity is called affiliate marketing. The same principle applies when you are rolling out your affiliates over to Instagram. Affiliate marketing will enable you to receive commission for the products or services that you will promote. Use catchy hashtags and high-resolution images to drive more traffic to the affiliate code or URL.

Step up your game by mentioning the brand on your Instagram stories. Simply edit the text and type “@” followed by the brand’s username. A notification will be automatically sent to the brand’s inbox right away.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Image Credits: pixabay.com

BONUS TIP: You can promote “flash sales” by posting on your 24-hour Instagram stories!

Sources: 1,  2, & 3

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How To Handle The Toughest Online Complaints

Supporting your customers does not always make you right, but it is about making things right. You are more likely to keep your customer if your resolved a situation fully. Deal with the toughest online complaints by following these tips:

Keep It Subjective

In my experience as an Administrative Officer, email scripts were extremely helpful. I answered queries and complaints with ease as we had several fixed templates in our repertoire. However, customers get frustrated after opening a generic email where some questions were left unanswered. This is why your reply must be tailored to the problem of your customer.

A good trick to try is to “copy and paste” the entire content of your customer’s email. Break it up into workable chunks in order to address every issue. This way you will be able to ensure that you respond appropriately to every paragraph.

Not Too Late To Say Sorry

No business is spotless or perfect. Instead of concealing your flaws, it is best to own up to them. Acknowledge your mistakes and think of the potential solutions. Perhaps, you can offer a voucher or discount as compensation.

Post a sincere apology as people will be quick to realize if your apology is scripted. Show your humane side by seeking a natural tone. Translate this tone as you type your message.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Provide Peace Offering/s

As I said above, you may provide applicable compensation. It may be in the form of discounts, vouchers, coupons, refunds, free merchandise, and free classes. Do not hesitate to shower your customer with compensation after a failure in product or service.

A research showed that 58% of complaining customers who received a gift in the mail were delighted. This goes to show that your efforts will be rewarded with increased customer confidence and satisfaction.

Conversations Must Extend Offline

Polarization, the emergence of two views that drive groups apart, occur when conflicts are stirred in public. All communications on social media platforms are in the public eye. Instead of allowing negative comments to flood, deal with the issue offline. Directly communicate with the significant person face-to-face.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Doing so will prevent the situation from escalating. Stay calm, firm, and polite during the encounter.

Sources: 1 & 2

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Creative Ways To Earn Money On Snapchat And Instagram

Social media platforms have infiltrated our lives. According to the findings of the Connected Life by Kantar TNS global study, Singapore ranked third among the countries of APAC.

Third in which scale? Well, third in the usage of Instagram and Snapchat apps. Considering that Singapore’s connectivity speed is impressive, it comes as no surprise that more and more people are using these two apps.

Put your knowledge of social media into good use by earning cash on the side!

SELL YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

With the knowledge that social media allows daily access of diverse consumers, one of the most obvious methods to make money through this platform is to post an advertisement. For example, you may clean up the clutter in your closet and find the things that you deem to be unused or underused and sell them to your friends and family through Instagram. Or, you can turn your hobbies (e.g., baking cupcakes or making jewelries) into a home-based online shop.

You can either use your personal Instagram account or set up a secondary business profile. Instagram’s business profile allows you to add details (e.g., contact number and location) so that interested individuals can directly reach your brand. Interestingly, it includes a tool called “Insight” that enables you to learn more about your followers and to observe how your posts are performing.

PROMOTE FOR OTHERS

It never crossed my mind that I could be paid to share a selfie simply because I am a blogger. I once gave a “shout-out” for a humble jewelry business while rocking some of their products. No! I am far from a huge celebrity nor am I as close as the famous social media personalities. However, I have a decent amount of followers. Marketers seem to ensure people like me when it comes to promotion.

Well, it might be due to the trust placed by the consumers. According to Singaporeans aged 16 to 24, they seem to accept the information shared by the social media personalities rather than the information distributed by the brands themselves. You may take advantage of this ideal by selling your selfies and shout-outs in Instagram and Snapchat (considering that you have a relatively huge following).

For instance, you can feature the songs of rising artists on your Snapchat live stories. Keep in mind that the stories are no longer auto-advanced, which is why you must maintain the interest of your audience.

EMPLOY AFFILIATE MARKETING

How often have you seen websites with sidebar banners that publicize their partners and other affiliates? This is called affiliate marketing. The same principle applies when you are rolling it over to Instagram. You use affiliate marketing to receive cash for the sales of the products or services that you promoted. Use catchy taglines and vibrant HD photographs to drive more sales through an affiliate code or a URL (i.e., to be attached in your profile bio).

SELL YOUR ACCOUNT

If you are ready to quit your social media addiction, consider selling your account along with the audience that you carefully built. Your hard work will not put to waste as budding businesses and other individuals are interested in managing an established account.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Simply wipe out your sensitive information as well as all your uploads before handing it out to the new owner.

Sources:  1, 2, & 3

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Here’s How You Can Effectively Earn Cash Through Facebook

Facebook is one of the strongest social media platforms that have been dominating its competitors with over a billion users worldwide. It presents a great opportunity for business and people like us to generate money in the comfort of our own home.

To begin, here are 4 ways you can make money through Facebook:

1. SELL YOUR STUFF

Social media, defined as websites or applications that enable the users to share content and to network, allows daily access of many consumers…all over the world. With this knowledge, you can supplement your Facebook post with a Facebook Ad.

For example, you may clean up the clutter in your closet and find the things that you deem to be unused or underused and sell them to your friends and family through a creative Facebook page. Treat it as your virtual “garage sale”!

Alternatively, you can turn your hobbies (e.g., baking cakes or making soaps) into your home-based business.

2. USE SOCIAL INFLUENCE TO INCREASE SALES

Aside from directly selling on your Facebook page, you can redirect the post to a website that you own. This is a revolutionary idea that the 20-year-old Koby Conrad embraced. He owns an online shop called Hippies Hope Shop that sell unique items such as ring bracelets, crystal necklaces, hookahs, wood incense, and hippie clothing.

Because of consulting and mentoring, Conrad was introduced to the power of social media. He markets his items and receives traffic to his shop just by posting them on a Facebook page he runs called “The Hippy Bloggers.” With a Facebook page that has over 150,000 likes, he now runs a small business and taking on investors. Remarkably, this millennial is now living off Facebook!

Image Credits: facebook.com/TheHippyBloggers

Image Credits: facebook.com/TheHippyBloggers

3. GET PAID FOR ANSWERING FACEBOOK SURVEYS

Yes! You can get paid for your opinions that you are otherwise putting out there for free. If you are the type of person who is decisive and opinionated, try completing paid surveys offered by companies, universities, and other industries.

On the flip side, if you are the researcher, you can tap a massive focus group and reward them after by using SurveyMonkey and Facebook. Gather feedback from a wide range of people and enable them to share the survey easily by using SurveyMonkey’s Facebook Collector on your personal page or SurveyMonkey’s Web Link Collector on your fan page.

4. JOIN AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

Big companies and websites offer affiliate programs that pay you for your advertising efforts. Most of these affiliate programs provide you with marketing materials (e.g., link-backs or promotional banners) and pay you depending on how much traffic and sales you generate. In other words, this is a commission-based activity.

For instance, you can either take up Amazon or Qoo10’s affiliate program. Amazon offers a competitive affiliate program that pays you a percentage of sales after a person makes a purchase through your Facebook post. Simply follow these instructions.

While Qoo10 Curator Affiliate Program gives you 2% of the total sales amount if the item is sold due to your curating efforts. And if the item is sold due to your advertising efforts, you will receive additional rewards that are set by the sellers. The best thing is that you can join this program with no minimum traffic numbers and no initial fee! Simply share items, promotions, and others posts in social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Image Credits: facebook.com/Qoo10Singapore/

Image Credits: facebook.com/Qoo10Singapore/

Click here to know more!

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

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Increase Your Sales Through Social Influence

As the technology advances, the presence of social media became inevitable. With this in mind, the marketing department must up their game by creating and showcasing a credible online persona for the company and its products or services. A great online persona will attract more people to the website, boost the brand’s loyal consumers, and increase the number of new consumers.

The efficiency of this social influence is due to the Bandwagon Effect. Bandwagon Effect is a phenomenon that occurs when people do something predominantly because others are doing it. Social media allows the consumers to talk about a brand and its competitors. Using this tool to your advantage can help boost your sales.

In fact, Engage Selling‘s C. Francis once said that sales of US$30,000-250,000 were once made due to finding opportunities in LinkedIn or Twitter.

HOW TO BOOST YOUR SOCIAL INFLUENCE?

1. INTEGRATE TESTIMONIALS

Integrate honest testimonials by using the company’s website, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, or other social media accounts. This is a way to show the clients’ great experiences – making the company be as relatable as possible. People are more likely to be patronizing a product if they heard about it from an existing satisfied client.

2. ENABLE CLIENT’S REVIEWS AND RATINGS

Truth be told, whenever I am about to watch the latest movie or eat from a new cafe, I would search for the previous reviews and ratings first. This is because I want to get my money’s worth by choosing the best and the most affordable products or services out there. Adding this feature to your website will allow direct feedback to increase your credibility. This is what e-commerce websites such as Amazon or eBay strive for.

3. FEATURE YOUR AWARDS

If your company won an award or has been featured in an article or two, post them up for everybody to see. Through this, it will show a new consumer that your brand has shines from the rest because your product or services are outstanding.

4. PUT SOCIAL MEDIA WIDGETS OR PLUGINS

Adding social media widgets or plugins that enable the consumer to share your content is important as it optimizes the traffic that will only come back to your company’s website. One example of it is “ShareThis” (get the code here– for free). It is important that your valued clients see the number of likes, shares, or followers. A hint of trust to the brand increases, as they will see their friends patronizing the same product or service.

Image Credits: mkhmarketing via Flickr

Image Credits: mkhmarketing via Flickr

To sum it up, a sure-fire way to increase your brand’s desirability, profits, and consumer interaction is to boost your social media influence.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, & 4

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