We live in an era where everyone follows weekly unemployment numbers with ever-increasing alarm. Since the coronavirus pandemic began nearly a year ago, weekly unemployment insurance applications averaged anywhere between 750,000 to more than 1 million.
However, one number that people don’t consider much anymore is the average American salary (and for obvious reasons).
As of February 2020, the average American worker made about $48,700 annually after taxes or about $940 weekly.
That salary estimate was calculated a month before the coronavirus pandemic struck. It isn’t a stretch to imagine that this estimate has changed.
It will be hard for many to adjust to the new post-pandemic world order. Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chairman, says that millions of Americans should not expect their former jobs to reappear when the virus is under control.
The global economic shock caused by the pandemic will necessitate businesses to evolve their operating models. Also, Powell said, many pre-pandemic jobs will be obsolete in the post-pandemic world.
This is not to imply that the business world will end, but life will get harder before it gets better. So you must take every opportunity possible to make money in the online freelance economy or side hustles.
You can start with Facebook. Here are three ways to make extra cash on the world’s biggest social network.
The Facebook hustle
The most important thing to understand about making money on Facebook is that the business world has most migrated to the online world. It’s even called e-commerce now.
So, you can use Facebook’s popularity with the world, and business advertisers, to your advantage. Consider these stats:
- Facebook earned over $17.74 billion in Q1 2020.
- Over 2.6 billion people use Facebook every month. About 1.7 billion use Facebook every day.
- The average person spends an hour every day on Facebook.
- Almost 70% of American adults use Facebook every day.
The point here is that to make money on Facebook, you should understand who you are selling to, what they want, and how you can accommodate that need.
Start or join Facebook groups
You need to think of a service or product to sell on Facebook. To do that, you need to develop a business plan.
One thing that can make your job easier is to know that a typical Facebook group has no limit on membership. You could join a Facebook group with 100 or 100,000 members from different countries.
Peruse Facebook groups by activity, like couponing, parenting, technology, or whatever subject suits your business needs. Take the time to target and develop your online consumer demographic.
Promote yourself via Facebook ads
Facebook is notorious for its advertising retargeting methods. Facebook, along with many other tech companies, employ algorithms and tracking technology that records your online activity.
Then, each time you log online, you will see advertising that matches your previous search engine inquiries. You can use Facebook advertising to promote you’re your service or product in your Facebook groups.
Manage online advertisements for local businesses
There are many local companies that don’t know how to market on Facebook.
If you know how to manage Facebook ads, or are willing to learn, you could manage the advertising for several local businesses on Facebook. This isn’t as hard as it sounds, and you could potentially make money faster this way than selling products in Facebook groups.
Teach yourself how to manage Facebook ads, for yourself or local businesses and you could make a few hundred or thousand dollars monthly.
