Renowned social media influencer and blogger Benard Ewalu Olupot aka Beewol, a blogger and former media personality, says he pays all his bills and sustains his life through influencing on social media.
Beewol, who holds a Twitter following of 61k followers and 14k followers on Facebook, has turned the platforms into his workplace.
According to him, everyone can make money off social media but need to be consistent in the niche they choose to create content for.
“If you get to social media and you are a gardener, and you're always speaking about gardening, someday people doing business around gardening are going to be looking for voices of reason, and therein will be a chance for you,” Beewol said.
Secondly, he attributes impacting people to making a successful career on social media in areas like motivational speaking and trading off social media.
“Social media gives a person unlimited market and opportunities to reach out to those markets,” he said.
However, he also discredited the argument that the more followers one has, the more chances influencing for clients. Rather he said one is given gigs according to the respect that they command on the platforms.
“Respect is gained through a person’s interests and passion. The thing about influencing is that a person has to create their brand before being hired to work with others,” he explained.
He explained that although someone can gain quick clout by posting sensational content and hoping on every new trend, in the long run, the person loses out on long-term business partners who may fear that the inconsistency may cause damage to their brands.
According to him, everyone can thrive on social media as long as they are consistent about their passion and are willing to treat social media with the seriousness and attention it deserves.
“Today, social media is very dynamic, you have to move with the trends. You can’t be an influencer and not know what is happening on different platforms. Visit these sites to understand what is happening so that your clients can trust your versatility depending on your interests,” he advised.
Nevertheless, he said that good monies for influencers come slowly, but once they do, they never reduce.
But he also cautioned that “do not quit your day job because this influencer work is so exhausting, depressing and it can be very painful when it comes to chasing payments, proving return on investment, and staying relevant. There are people who do ridiculous things because they are trying to remain relevant,” Beewol added.
He, therefore, advised those intending to become social media influencers to be consistent, resilient, carry a tough skin and be willing to learn new things.
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