Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
How over-60s can make money from social media
Reading Time: 4 minutesIf you still think social media is only for ‘millennials’, think again! As more people are reaching advanced ages and staying healthy for longer, an ever-increasing number of seniors are turning to social media to share their experiences online. Just like the rest of us.
(Oh, and a quick side note about ‘millennials’ – did you know the oldest cohort of this generation will be turning 40 soon? Yup. Time to start using a different word to refer to youngsters!)
So, if you’re over 60 and enjoy spending time on social media, have you ever considered trying to make some money while at it?
Here are a few ideas for doing just that:
- Become a ‘granfluencer’
- Start a social media-based vintage shop
- Use social media to promote your crafts/recipes
Become a ‘granfluencer’
One of the most exciting developments in the social media realm of late is the steady rise of older influencers. There’s no doubt that we live in an ageist society and having influencers who can challenge this head-on is truly encouraging.
Plus, to be quite honest, having men and women who have pretty much been through it all in your feed is much more interesting than the cycle of aspirational ‘live. Laugh. Love’ type posts younger influencers often tend to get stuck in.
In many cases, these older influencers shoot to fame accidentally. A post by a great-grandchild featuring them blows up. Or, in some cases, their signature ‘look’ is spotted by a street photographer and they shoot to fame. Or, perhaps, years of being together has made them become ‘couple goals’ to the entire world.
True story! Here are four social media ‘granfluencers’ who match those descriptions:
@BADDIEWINKLE
Bio: stealing ur man since 1928
Followers: 3.8 million
Story: Helen Ruth Elam van Winkle aka ‘Baddie’ is a 91-year-old fashionista with a penchant for rainbow colours and rebel soul from Kentucky in the US. She shot to fame in 2014 after her great-granddaughter posted a photo of her in cut-off denim shorts and a tie-dyed top while giving a peace sign. Since then, she’s been living her absolute best life – throwing glamorous parties, being invited to A-list events and partnering with brands on exciting campaigns.
@DINNERANDDANCE
Bio: none (he’s that cool)
Followers: 52k
Story: Marching to the beat of his own drum, Lance Walsh is a 58-year-old fruit seller from London whose dope street style has always caught the eye. Sporting hip-hop-inspired tracksuits and the like, Walsh was always a popular subject for snapshots. But then, one day, he caught the eye of Ben Awin, an acclaimed street culture photographer, and the rest is history, as they say. Lance still shows up in Awin’s feed on a relatively regular basis and now has more than double the number of followers the popular photographer has.
@BONPON511
Bio: According to Google Translate, their Japanese bio reads ‘husband and wife of bi-white hair (husband = bon wife = pon), 511 is our wedding anniversary (1980.5.11), Our book is on sale’
Followers: 799k
Story: By far the cutest couple you will ever encounter on Instagram, Bon and Pon’s account features pictures of them dressed in matching minimalist chic outfits. Some of the pictures are taken on their travels, while others are just from their daily life. Their sartorial choices are so pleasing to the eye that they will soon be launching their own line of clothing in Japanese department stores! Apart from this, they’ve also published two books and continue to win hearts in every corner of the internet.
The secret to making money as a social media influencer is, of course, to find opportunities to extend your ‘brand’ beyond the confines of a screen. So, if you’re considering becoming Instafamous, definitely take a page out of Bon and Pon’s book!
Start a social media-based shop
One of the things that tends to happen after 60 is the dreaded ‘scaling down’ of your household.
Perhaps you’re moving to a smaller home or maybe you just feel the need to have fewer things weighing you down right now.
Either way, you can make some pretty good pocket money by selling all that stuff online!
If you haven’t noticed, all things ‘vintage’, ‘retro’ and even ‘old fashioned’ are trending right now. And one of the most thriving business hubs for the sale of these items? Instagram!
Setting up a shop on Instagram is as easy as creating a profile for yourself! All you need to do next is take some really beautiful shots of the products you want to sell, post them, add appropriate hashtags and wait for orders to roll in.
For more guidelines on keeping it going, read our article about how to make money by selling stuff online.
Use social media to promote your art/crafts/recipes
Finally, retirement is the perfect time to invest more energy and resources into a hobby you’ve always loved.
While, sure, you can do it for the pure joy of making, it could also be a great way to earn an extra income.
Whether you cook delicious food, sew beautiful garments or make pretty pottery, start a business account on Facebook and Instagram to share your products with a broader audience.
Even though you may have to spend some money to promote items, it could be worth it in the long run as you grow your client base. This will almost certainly translate into sales!
take an online course on making money from instagramx
Check out his website here to see when his next course happens. It’s worth the £29 or so that it costs to learn more about how to make money from Instagram. If you have a good following you should be able to turn those likes into cash – do it!
Still cannot understand why anyone would want to post all their ‘stuff’ online. We keep on about invasion of privacy and then many of us openly tell the world what we do by using what I call the social menace. Still, business is business – but not for me!
All sounds great, but without some instructions of how to start it doesn’t really help. The term Social Media for instance, everybody just glibly says the phrase, but what is it exactly? Where does one begin to be a “social media” entity. Maybe someone who is au fait with this stuff might write an explanation, but it can’t be on “Social Media” as the people who would want to read it don’t know how to access it in the first place. Bit of a “Catch 22” no? Yes I am one of those oldies who might have something interesting to… Read more »
Guess one has to employ someone to create a website though there is helpful software around, I believe. You could start with a blog and then get the link “advertised” via friends on Facebook and Instagram.
I am also an Oldie ( very old Oldie). Should have gone on with my Blog dream in 1998!!
Interesting article for the over 60’s.