Why social media Is the best way to build a second Income in 2026

Social media isn’t just for scrolling anymore, it’s one of the easiest ways to build a second income in 2026
In this episode, we’re not focusing on what to post, but why you need to start. Because relying on one income stream today isn’t security, it’s risky.
If you’re already spending time online, you’re sitting on an opportunity to turn your knowledge into income. This is your sign to switch from consumer to creator. 

Hope you love this episode!

@miarose_mcgrath is the account I mentioned check out her page! & if you want to follow me on instagram for more
@samanthagreen.tgh @alignedanduntileredpod

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to Aligned and Unfiltered. This is the podcast where we speak honestly about what it really takes to build a life and a business that aligns with a future version of you, the one that you keep saying that you're going to be. Expect self-help hacks and tools to be able to help you bridge the gap from where you are now to where you want to be. Let's get started. Hello and welcome back to Aligned and Unfiltered. Thank you so much for being here, for watching and for listening, and just for showing up. I am really excited about this episode. We're going to be talking all about social media. Now it was tricky to be honest to come up with a topic to talk about when there is obviously so much still going on, specifically obviously in Dubai. But social media I feel like is going to be and has always been for a long time now a massive, massive topic. But I actually think right now, more than ever, if you are living in Dubai, if you are in a service industry, it's way more important than ever before. And I just think that more people need to start using it for their benefit and not just for scrolling and looking for inspiration for what they're going to eat for dinner or what they want to wear at the weekend. There is actually so much more that you can be doing with it, and you can really generate a massive income if you use it wisely. Build up a clientele to then for a salon as well, and then for my team on top of that. And then now, as you'll probably notice, I'm starting to pivot that into creating a personal brand and obviously my own podcast as well. So social media really can be moved and shaped into any way that you want. So you can use it for whether you have a fitness brand or a clothing brand, or maybe you just have some information that you really know so much about and you want to get out there. You can really use it in any way, and literally you can use it from anywhere, from your phone, wherever you are in the world. And I just think that right now we're in such an amazing time that you can really leverage that to the best of your abilities. And I think that a lot of people think that they are in certain jobs that they can't use it, and they aren't able to create a stream of income from it when actually that is not true and absolutely not the case. Anyone can be using this. There are faceless brands out there that generate like thousands each month, probably even more than that. So you don't have to always have your face behind a page either. Ways that I have made social media work for me. When COVID happened, I had just started in a salon at that time. I'd only been there for like a few months. I had a few clients, but I wasn't particularly busy. I can even remember being sat in this salon working from like nine till nine with not one client in, and I would just sit there for the whole day. So I definitely wasn't like really busy by any means. But then the world went into lockdown, as we all know, and all we had to do was, you know, home workouts and sit on our phones and watch TV and Tiger King. And I really started showing up on social media. I would take videos doing my hair every day and post them on Instagram. I would get Andy to take videos and pictures of my plaque from the back because that would be what I would then be posting. I was even doing live videos, and I'm somebody who had done nothing like that before, but I was just keen and I had to basically create a business for myself when I came out of lockdown. I knew that I hadn't been paid for six weeks, so the drive and the hunger was there more than ever to create this brand for myself and to be able to try and build a huge clientele from my phone. And honestly, that is exactly what I did. I started showing up every day. I would post anything, to be honest, that was related to myself or related to her. I was very conscious of who was viewing my content, and I really wanted to make sure that my content spoke to a client. I think that that's something to really take on board is think about who is your target audience and what is it that they need and what is it that they want to gain from you. So I would post hair videos every day, I would post talking videos, I would do lives. I did a live, I think, like a joint live, if I remember rightly, with a PT, and she was doing it, and then I did her workout, and then I was talking about my hair and how it stayed in. I can't remember, it's pretty embarrassing to be honest, thinking back to it now, but it worked. I came out of lockdown fully booked. Like my diary was full. I was to the point where I couldn't take on any new clients. I had literally built a whole clientele from my phone through lockdown. And that is something that I will never take for granted again, and I think it really made me realise the power of social media and how I did that. It wasn't very long after that, like maybe a year and a half, that I then opened up my salon. And when I opened up the salon, I only had myself working here. I didn't have any other hairdressers to begin with. So again, I knew the power of social media and how I had to be so strategic with it and so on it and consistent to be able to then build a following for a whole separate page, which was then a brand and a salon, to be able to generate clients. Now, over the time, speaking of like the salon in specifically, over time with the salon social media, I have definitely pivoted it. And I feel like I'm gonna keep saying the word pivot, but that's because that's what you have to do with social media. You have to keep up with the trends and keep up with what is relevant and what's not, and by doing that, you have to pivot. And when I started with the salon social media, it started out as just me doing it, posting pictures of hair, trying different hashtags to see what would work, following as many people and interacting with different people on there, and then eventually I got a social media manager on the page, and she wasn't someone who even lived in the same country as me, but she would post all the content that I'd taken and do it that way, and that worked for us for a little bit, but then eventually it just stopped working, and I felt like we needed somebody actually more in-house, and then over time, I think it's been just over a year now that we have had a um freelance social media manager working for the salon. So, what I now do as full transparency for the salon, and even for this right now, is I have an amazing company called Milk Socials, and they come in and they shoot all the content for the salon for the month, and they post it, they make all the amazing reels that you see on our page and they get it out there. They're also filming this right now for me, and she's actually sat over there in the background while we're filming this. But the reason why I want to be so transparent with you about this is because the boom in my business came from when I started doing that. We were busy before that, but we are so much busier now, and it really, really has shown me the power of social media and just how important it is. I was taking the reels that we were making and sticking them on TikTok, and I'll be honest, there is absolute absolutely no method behind that. It has just been a case of just getting them on there and making ourselves visible, and that has blown up the business as well. By diversifying our content and getting it across different platforms has made such a difference in our clientele, it has made such a difference in our revenue, in the busyness of the salon. So, something that I really want to make you aware of is how important that is. It's not just to stick with one platform, it's to diversify across a few different ones. I mean, look, here's me now recording a podcast and I'm filming it for YouTube as well. So I'm making sure that you can kind of find me and my personal brand in all different areas of social media, not just on short form content on a reel, for example. Where my journey with social media has become, it was very organic, it was very slow, it hasn't been something that's been an overnight success, it has just been consistent over time. I think that now so many people have tried and tested so many things that actually there already is a blueprint now out there for you to follow. There are so many blueprints. There are so many people who have now created businesses from social media, who have created followings, who've created an audience or a community. The options really are endless. It doesn't matter on your age, it doesn't matter on your gender, on your job, you really can create a business and an income now from social media. So the whole point behind this is to kind of make you realise that it is possible and it should excite you and it should make you realise that you really can be in control of your finances and doubling your income or more this year using social media alone. Most people, when they are making the shift from consumer to creator, they are starting off with their scrolling, they're comparing themselves, they're doubting themselves, but actually few people, and what you really need to be doing is just get posting, start sharing something valuable. So all of us have something that we know a lot about, that we're passionate about, that we love doing. That is your superpower. What you are good at and what you know a lot about is what your superpower is, and that is what your value is and what you can share to other people. Because although that might not feel like it's exciting, or it might not feel like a lot of people in your immediate circle need to know about that, there is going to be a lot of people in the world that do want to learn about that. So, whether that's how to move to Dubai, how to be a teacher in the best way, or how to start an online business, you could literally be the person showing from zero to how where you want to get and how you're gonna do that. But you need to build visibility from being consistent. I saw something really amazing that said if you're just consistent, you're gonna plateau, but actually, if 20% of it is experimental, then that is the I that is how you're gonna grow. That is how you're gonna grow an audience and that is how you are going to become bigger, is showing that not only are you consistent but you're also experimenting. So look at the area that you want to go into and what are they doing, what is working for them, what isn't working for them. So, again, for example, if you're looking at becoming a fitness instructor online, there of course is going to be millions of them already. But what is your niche? What is your story that's different to other people's and share that because you need to create trust from your consumers, so from your customers or from your followers, even. They need to trust you and they need to know you. And by doing that, you have to be transparent, you have to give value, and you need to give some credibility to what it is that you're saying and what it is that you're doing. Once you've started to build that trust with your consumer, is where they then start to show up daily in watching your content, they want to see what you're producing, and then eventually, over time, when you then have a product that you're going to sell or you're then going to put out there, whether it be an event, it doesn't even have to be a product. People are going to want to show up to that, they're going to want to buy into that because they trust you and they trust what it is that you're doing and what you're selling because they've seen your journey. And that really is the power behind the social media is that you can show the whole thing. I wish, really, for me, in the process of setting up the salon, that I had something like a social media team at that point, because it just would have been so incredible to have really shown that whole process from start to finish. And even when I got the second side to the salon that I've got, and that was only in like a year and a half ago. Again, I wish really back then I'd have had somebody documenting it because that is what is so interesting, and that is what people love to see, and it really does make you relatable. It just makes you seem more human and it makes people really love seeing the journey. People love seeing the story from start to wherever it is that you are now. I think that for me, showing up and doing that as much as I could then without an actual team is what has also led to, you know, a really good following now as well. The other thing that I really want to touch on is when you are starting out on social media, everybody has started from zero. So don't think that somebody has just started with a thousand followers or 500 followers or 5,000 or 500,000 followers. Everyone has started from zero and has started from nothing. When you are starting from zero, you do just have to remember to just show up every day. Be a little bit embarrassing, put yourself out there, diversify on where you're posting as well, don't just stick to one platform. I think that, don't get me wrong, I don't think that you should necessarily go across like five different ones, but maybe stick to two or three and slightly pivot and change the content that you're doing across those three platforms because you're going to have a different audience on all of those platforms. For example, for me, for the salon, so on Instagram, I would say that is our bread and butter, that is our loyal clientele that has been with us for a really long time, and we have obviously the people that follow us who aren't our clients who just love to see our content as well. I think on TikTok we have more people who are just interested. They're probably not actually even really our loyal like followers necessarily, they're probably not watching everything that we put on, but they are enjoying the buzz of seeing the videos that we maybe get on there. They are more there for the trending content than they probably are for the long form content. And for me, for the podcast, and the reason why I'm doing this on YouTube is because the long form content I believe is probably going to will be the most revenue long term. It takes, I would say, a longer time to build up, in my opinion, but I believe that this is where the real growth will end up being. But for me, right now, I just have to continue being consistent, even being at the beginning. And I think what people need to start realizing is that if you do have a business and you are in the service industry especially, it really is a non-negotiable for your business. The attention that you're going to drive is going to bring people to your business, and you need to make sure exactly who your target audience is, and that makes it really easy to know exactly what content to produce. I can't tell you how many times I go to think about going somewhere and I search for it on Instagram and I go on their page and there's nothing on there that even says where they are, who they are, what their deals are, or you know, if I'm looking at a restaurant, for example, and I want to know what their business lunch is, and there's nowhere, no, no, no, no visibility of it on their page, and I just think that is crazy. Like it's so simple to just get it on your page and make sure whoever it is that you're targeting, when they land on your page, their frequently asked questions are on there. And I don't mean that you need to have a highlight that says frequently asked questions, but what I mean is have it really visible what it is that you do, where you do it, how you do it, and who you are. And make those things so clear from the minute somebody sets on your page that they're then not scrolling around looking for answers and then losing interest and going somewhere else. I think that's something that really, really works is showing your work behind the scenes as well. Um, speaking from a personal brand aspect, I think that a lot of people love that. When I look at my content on my page, the reels that I do that are day in the life and the ones that show the messy behind the scenes, they always do the best because people are nosy and people love to see what you're doing behind the scenes. And I find it sometimes I'm watching people's pages, and people's what content that I love is so simple. I have a girl that I follow on Instagram who I love her page, and it's just cleaning. Now I'm not somebody who's like a complete neat freak, but I do love watching cleaning, I find it very therapeutic, and I find myself at home emptying my dishwasher, and I think I'm watching people do this. Like this is weird. I would never think to film myself emptying my dishwasher, but yet I watch somebody else do it, and I think that it's just shows that actually anything can be content, whatever it is that you like doing, but really show what you're doing behind the scenes because as much as you think it's boring or people aren't going to want to see it, you will be very surprised. Think about the content that you love seeing and actually how simple that might be, and then it makes you realise how simple your own content can be and how someone else will enjoy watching that. If you have a mindset block when it comes to social media, so if you have a fear of judgment and you're thinking, what will people think, and you're thinking, Well, I'm just not ready, then please don't worry because everybody has those feelings, those fears when they first start out. You do just need to do it anyway. Because the thing is, somebody having an opinion on it or somebody criticizing you doesn't actually matter. It doesn't change whether or not the bit of content that you did did well or did made you money, it's just somebody's opinion. And I think really just breaking that down and making yourself so aware of how irrelevant someone's opinion is of you, someone that you went to school with who doesn't even really know you anymore, or someone who is a friend of a friend who might have an opinion on you, it does not matter. It doesn't pay your bills and it really, really doesn't matter. Being really clear on whose opinions do matter to you and listening to those and not the other ones is so important when you're starting out, especially on your social media because it just doesn't matter. People's opinions don't matter, and I think the more that you keep telling yourself that, the more you shower yourself with love and confidence, the easier it will be. People who are judging you are probably just jealous and wish that they could do it as well, and they are the people who aren't going to be building anything, they are the people who are just sat doom scrolling and not actually doing something with their time. So remind yourself of that when you're thinking about setting something up and try and have that be the overriding thought and not the fear. Don't let the fear creep in. So we've got the stay consistent, we've got the showing what's going on behind the scenes, don't worry too much about it being too aesthetically pleasing. I think sometimes we can get so caught up in that that we actually just don't do the thing. And believe me, I have been there, and even with this podcast, I started out by wanting to always do the video content, but I just couldn't do it at the beginning in the way that I wanted it to be and the way that I wanted it to look, so I just didn't do it, and that is not important. The most important thing is just doing it anyway and getting it out there. Find people that inspire you. So when you have thought about your niche and what it is that you want to talk about, what it is that you want to post about, or what it is that you're trying to convey, find people that are already doing that. Look at them for inspiration, look at what they're doing, what works, what trends they're using, and use that to your advantage. Because, like I said before, social media now is already so saturated. That there will be somebody else out there, probably most likely doing what it is that you want to do. But the beauty of that, rather than seeing it in a comparative way, rather than see it in competition, the beauty of that is you can use that to your advantage, and you can use that to be like, well, this works really well for them. And I actually really like this style of content. So I'm going to use that as a little bit of inspiration for what I want to create. And you best believe I'm doing that right now. I am absolutely looking at people who I am inspired by and I am motivated by, and that is how I am able to show up and do this right now and sit in front of a camera, even when I have somebody else in the room and just talking it anyway. You have to get over those hurdles of embarrassment and self-talk, negativity, anything like that. You have to get over those hurdles to be able to do it. But the more you do it, the more you will naturally come about it, the easier it will be, the better it will be. And I think just set yourself some small goals. Set yourself a goal of posting every day on your story or three days a week on your main grid or creating five bits of content a week. Just set yourself some small goals to begin with, become consistent with them, and then let them get a little bit bigger. And then eventually over time, maybe you will look at creating another stream of income from social media. So, for example, I follow a girl on social media who just came up on my Explore page and she is so inspired. I will link it down below in the show notes for you to be able to follow her as well. But she to me is fascinating and so inspiring because she says exactly what she earns every month from social media. And I don't see that as a brag, I see that as somebody who has worked really hard and has diversified their income. And I think that that is so inspiring in this day and age. She's basically got her phone and thought, I'm gonna make a business out of this wherever I am in the world. And she is coming away with big money every month, right? And she's not saying that it's particularly easy, she's not saying that it's just landed on her lap. She has worked hard for it, but she has done it, and she's showing you that if she has done it, you can do it too. And from me watching her content, she was talking about Substack, and I was then like, well, hang on a minute, what's Substack, and why do I need to, you know, look at this? And Substack is something that I spoke about at the end of the last episode. It's more about written content, it's blog form content, which used to be really popular when social media first started out. I used to love reading blogs, and I remember I used to do a girl's hair who had a really successful blog, and I used to just love reading it and seeing the pictures that she put on it and things like that. And I actually created my own blog when I went traveling when I was 19. And I am absolutely not gonna say the address of it because it's probably still out there now, but I loved creating this blog and just writing and being with my thoughts and write, you know, creating written content. Anyway, what I'm getting at here is this girl was speaking about Substack and how she'd started generating an income from written content. And I thought to myself, well, hang on a minute, I'm posting on Instagram, I'm posting on TikTok, I'm making a podcast, I'm speaking on YouTube now. I love written content. So why am I not doing that as well? And I'm gonna start from zero. I am talking about it here now, I'm being extremely vulnerable, saying, like, this is what I'm doing, come and follow it, because it's got nothing on there right now, but I am gonna try and stick to it and I am gonna make it a priority because I want to diversify my income. I'm very fortunate now that I'm in a position where I've been able to step away from doing hair, and I can now earn an income without being behind the chair, without doing physical labour of doing hair. But for me, that's not enough. I want to create another stream of income, and I want to create a stream of income that runs alongside what I am doing now, and that is what I'm doing right now. That's why I'm recording this podcast, that's why I am creating a Substack, that's why I'm taking an interest in what other people are doing and how they're doing it, and to bring it completely back to where we are today, obviously, Dubai right now is in a very vulnerable position. Businesses are in a very vulnerable position that they did not think they would be in. People in real estate who are earning thousands, millions of dirhams, are probably now thinking, well, hang on a minute, the market might be about to crash, or you know, we don't know what's going to happen right now. And having all your eggs in one basket when it comes to your income in 2026, in my opinion, is silly. And I think that if you can diversify your income, which we all can now with the power of social media, do it. Don't wait till tomorrow, don't wait for the next bad thing to happen. Just start now. Find your passion, find what you're good at, and create an income from it because absolutely everyone can do it. And I just think why not? Give it a go. So if I can do it, then so can you. So I really hope that you have liked this episode, that you have gained some knowledge from it. If you have any questions, please, please, please get in touch. If you think that you have a friend that would love this episode, please share it with them. Do all the amazing things that you can do, which are for free to support me and this podcast, which is liking it, rating it, subscribing to it, and telling people about it. If you want to get me on Instagram, I am at SamanthaGreen.tgh and at aligned and unfiltered pod. And all the other links for everything else that you need will be down below. So thank you so much for being here for this episode. I really, really appreciate it, and I will see you next week. Thank you. Bye.