College students are able to make money in their free time while at school, through social media influencing.

To understand how to be a social media influencer, first there needs to be an understanding of what social media influencing is. According to techtarget.com, social media influence is a marketing term that describes someone’s ability to affect others thoughts and opinions through social media. Different forms of influence on social media platforms are creating videos, selling products, doing paid-promotions, and more. This includes all major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.

Social media influencing can be done from your phone at any time. Most people have quick access to their phones since they keep it on them and are able to do the necessary things at the touch of a few buttons. College students in particular are glued to their phones for approximately eight-ten hours a day according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

As young, tech-savvy people, college students have a general understanding of most social media platforms. By understanding social media, many may know what is trendy across platforms or what is getting the most attention. The influencer can work the angle of what’s trendy to obtain the best exposure. However, influencers may find their niche or area of focus for social media platforms.

Companies and brands may offer to pay people who have great feed and a following. This includes brands like Shein, for female clothing, or FNX, a company that produces workout supplements. There is a large range of companies that search for influencers and often accept applications on their websites. There are other ways to become a social media influencer.

Sota Maehara, a 21-year-old senior at The University of Sydney in Australia, has found his niche in social media influencing. Sota primarily posts running related content on his YouTube channel that influences over 3,000 subscribers. Sota earns nearly $370 monthly from the videos he creates.

“Once I realized I could earn a bit of side cash from it, I increased my production quality,” Sota stated in a brief interview. Sota’s channel took a rapid growth in subscribers and views in the past few months. Much of this cause can be attributed to his increase in quality.

Sota looks forward to continuing to make YouTube videos and expand his influence by doing paid-promotions and more. Like Sota, many college students can take advantage of this opportunity to make money while in school.