There's never a wrong time to find a new side hustle. Innovations in social media marketing could make influencing a possibility for everyone.
Every week brings with it a new social media app. TikTok rose to prominence during the pandemic, and now the app has become a verb. TikTok features tips and tidbits, diatribes, and DIYs. It predicts trends and provides endless short-form entertainment to millions.
But unlike other apps that allow influencers to make money, TikTok enables regular people to generate income for posting, thanks to the user-friendly Swaypay.
Enter The Swaypay Revolution
Buy stuff. TikTok it. Get paid. So proclaims the exciting new app Swaypay. Is this the future of digital marketing, or is Swaypay too good to be true?
Swaypay seeks to democratize advertising at a moment when influencers often hold more clout with brands than celebrities. Now everyone can be an influencer. Swaypay is the first-of-its-kind zero-party-marketing model developed by founder and Shark Tank-backed entrepreneur Kaeya Majmundar.
“99% of Gen Z already skip ads. Brands that don't leverage zero-party marketing to plug into their customers' creativity will be dead in a decade,” says Majmundar.
Breaking Down Swaypay's Process
After downloading the app, users sign up for an account and provide their TikTok handle to be vetted by Swaypay. “We will vet your TikTok on post quality and creativity, not follower count,” says Swaypay. For so long, we equated high follower count with influence, but Swaypay seeks to put a value on content rather than followers.
Once accepted, you can search Swaypay for all participating brands. Then you can buy those products through the traditional means you buy items. Swaypay does not sell anything. “Instead, you come back to the Swaypay app after you've already made your purchase, show us the receipt, and then post a creative TikTok featuring what you bought,” they say.
The rest is straightforward: Swaypay pays you based on how well the post performs. And while follower count is not the priority for this new app, they are careful to state that TikTok accounts with at least 2,000 followers are the most successful.
They disburse payments through Venmo and PayPal. Unlike some services, which may take a commission or processing fee, Swaypay does not charge its participants. Instead, the brands pay them a cut of your purchases, which is why Swaypay asks you to show the receipt.
A New Way To Earn a Living
While Swaypay may change how we interact with advertisements and products, it does not purport to be a primary income source. Swaypay is the ultimate side hustle: allowing you to make extra cash while buying items you would purchase anyway.
Users can expect to make about $15 per post. Creativity is stressed above all else when making a post, but potential Swaypayers will also want to stick to this advice from the app's creators: good vibes only. Users will want to create clear, high-quality videos in which the product is the centerpiece. They recommend hauls, try-ons, and reviews but remind users to have fun with their posts.
Swaypay has arrived on the scene at a moment when 40% of Americans have a side hustle.
Similarly, 36% of Americans polled in 2022 say they plan to start a side hustle, up 12% from those who said the same in 2021. More men (44%) than women (37%) have a side hustle. Age comes into play as well. Gen Z and Millennials are more likely than Gen X and Boomers to have one.
However, the easy-to-use process Swaypay employs could appeal to an older demographic wanting to enter the side hustle game.
American Dreams in Flux
Side hustles have become a natural, normalized part of the work culture in America. The most common side hustles include taking online surveys (95%), selling items online (18%), and doing freelance work (13%). Americans are taking on side hustles for a number of reasons, including extra cash (63%), to make ends meet (44%), because they enjoy it (32%), and to pay off debt faster (26%).
28% of those polled by an Insuranks survey said that inflation is the reason why they pursue a side hustle.
People tend to spend, on average, thirteen hours a week on their side hustles, but of those surveyed, 49% said they would quit their job if their side hustle paid them enough money.
The pandemic changed the way we interact with our jobs. For some, it eradicated the 9 to 5 workday forever. Freelancing spiked in popularity while side hustles became more feasible with flexible schedules.
At times it might feel depressing that regular Americans have to take on a side hustle just to make ends meet, but this shifting way of working only points to the resourcefulness of people. They are keeping the American Dream alive, even if it looks a little different than before.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Justin McDevitt is a playwright and essayist from New York City. His latest play HAUNT ME had its first public reading at Theater for the New City in September. He is a contributor for RUE MORGUE where he lends a queer eye to horror cinema in his column STAB ME GENTLY.