Social media is an incredibly huge business. It is expanding and evolving on a regular basis. Its usage increased by 13.5 new users per second on average in 2021. According to Sprout Social, 3.96 billion people use social media networks, and adults are glued to these platforms for more than an hour and a half every day.
Social media, now, is more than just friendships and amusing videos. It can actually be very profitable, and you will be surprised to learn how to make money on social media websites.
Social media is now used by more than half the world’s population (58.4 %). So making money on social media is absolutely possible, whether you have a physical storefront, an online store, a blog, or you’re just trying to take advantage of the numerous opportunities presented by different social media platforms.
But remember, if you only have fewer than 1000 followers, waiting just for sponsored post requests to appear will not be a reasonable strategy for you to monetize social media. However, employing some of the strategies mentioned in this article can prove to be very effective in making money on social media when you have a modest following (even less than a thousand followers).
Yes, we said it. You can make money with less than 1000 followers on social media. And we are discussing just that today.
Here are some of the ways you can make money on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, or any other channel.
1. Focus on providing value as a micro-influencer
The key to earning money on social media is working with brands. But you already knew that. What you don’t know is that you don’t need hundreds of followers to make a pitch.
Brands are prepared to spend money for the right kind of influence. And influence cannot be determined solely by a high number of followers. You must demonstrate your value even if you have fewer than 1,000 followers.
Many people believe that you need tens of thousands of followers in order to be able to earn any money on social media, just because they have seen the most popular influencers on Instagram and TikTok. This is factually incorrect, period.
Brands are increasingly valuing quality over quantity, which indicates that they would rather spend money on a more specialized or niche audience. They are purposefully looking for regular people and “micro-influencers” to sell their products rather than just pricey celeb influencers.
So how can you provide value?
Offer a blog review along with the sponsored Instagram post as opposed to just the sponsored post. You can include your own photos taken with the brand’s products to make your offerings even more enticing. You might also offer to perform a YouTube vlog review if you have the necessary time and knowledge. This is just one example of how you can offer extraordinary value to brands as a micro-influencer.
Before you begin pitching, make sure to produce an engaging and aesthetically pleasing media kit. Your media kit can serve as an illustration of the benefits you can offer. You can create eye-catching media kits using tools like Canva.
If you are uncertain about the best way to contact brands that may be interested in working with you, platforms like BuzzSumo and Crowdtap can help you locate and connect with brands in your niche.
2. Promote brands through affiliate programs
Making money on Instagram using affiliate marketing is a brilliant idea. Affiliate marketing is a type of marketing in which an individual, website, or company advertises goods from another company in exchange for a cut of the proceeds from each transaction.
When you create an affiliate marketing profile with a business, you can advertise their products and earn a specified percentage of sales whenever someone clicks on your link or applies your product code to make a purchase. Affiliate programs are offered by a wide range of companies, including Amazon, and can be tailored to a wide range of sectors.
If you believe you can convince people to buy something, affiliate marketing might be a simple way to generate money. Since affiliate marketing is flexible, there are many ways to profit from affiliate links. A lot of people in the fashion sector, as well as travel bloggers, beauty bloggers, and others, use this type of social media marketing.
Remember that not all affiliate networks and programs are created equal. Each has unique rules, including a cost and payout schedule. Healthy pay rates and regular or immediate payouts are features of the top affiliate programs. Always do your research to figure out the best choice as per your needs and include these in your social media marketing proposal.
3. Sell and market your own products
You can promote and sell your own goods via social media. These could be accessories for fashion, gadgets, startup books, or even your own photos. As a small creator, this will require a lot more of your active time, but it is an excellent method to monetize your account.
Regardless of the number of followers you have, it is highly probable that some of them will be interested in purchasing the products you have to sell. You can publish images and descriptions of the goods you’re trying to sell along with contact information that will let potential customers reach out to you right away and buy them.
Sell your artwork
You can post creative artwork on Tumblr and Instagram, particularly Tumblr, and get lots of comments and shares. By offering prints and other products through an online marketplace like Etsy, you can transform the interest in your art into money if it begins to go viral.
Sell photos
Individuals will reimburse you for using your images if you take good-quality ones! This wikiHow shows how to market the images you’ve uploaded on Flickr, a prominent website where anyone can browse photos. Additionally, you can grant them a Creative Commons license, which won’t bring in any cash but will make more people aware of your photos.
4. Brand deals for content
Few individuals are aware of this method of social media monetization. In reality, you can get into two different kinds of brand agreements:
One of them involves essentially selling the influence you have on social media. As discussed above, it is the typical influencer sponsorship program in which you produce content for a business and share it on your feed so that your followers may see it and interact with it.
The second one, which you might not be aware of, is a brand agreement that is restricted to content creation. In other words, you don’t have to share the content you make (images, videos, reels, etc.) on your own social media accounts. Instead, you provide it to the company so that they can use it in their marketing.
For users who don’t yet have a sizable following, but have a knack for producing exceptional social media content, this kind of brand agreement is a remarkably effective way of earning money.
Use your social media account as a portfolio of your photography, graphic design, and editing abilities to attract brands to collaborate with you in creating content for their marketing campaigns.
5. Provide services for social media
Offering social media marketing services is another option to earn money through social media.
This means that you can use Instagram as a portfolio to display your writing style and the kinds of content you are capable of creating. Then you can use this to attract consumers who might require help managing their social media accounts.
Nowadays, a large number of small businesses are aware of the importance of having a social media presence but lack the time to be active on those sites. They frequently seek to employ social media managers and assistants to maintain consistency on those channels and increase engagement for them. You can start making Facebook posts or Instagram photographs for them. Respond to their DMs and comments and generally serve as their social media manager.
You don’t need a sizable social media following for this. All you need is to demonstrate your professionalism, knowledge of various types of content formats that would be most effective for their niche, and the ability to publish frequently on platforms like Instagram.
Some other services that you can offer in a similar way include:
Copywriting
Twitter and Facebook copywriting are both excellent platforms for showcasing your language and grammar abilities. To land a job as a paid writer, demonstrate your fluency in the language of your choosing on your social media accounts to attract potential clients.
Create captions for brand posts
Numerous careers that are available today weren’t available ten to twenty years ago. Writing captions for brands is a skill that is in demand and won’t go out of style anytime soon. When you work as a social media manager or content developer, this skill is typically included. You can sell your skills as a person who can organize posts, create amusing yet expert captions, and examine social media metrics.
6. Dropship
Dropshipping is another way to earn money on social media while having a little following. Similar to online shopping, you may make money by advertising your drop shipped goods on social media. Dropshipping is a concept that allows the owner to sell the goods without having a physical store. This idea is popular right now and is revolutionizing the industry.
You do this by creating or customizing a product, then working with a company like Printed Mint or Printify, who will produce and deliver the products as needed. In this manner, you only incur expenses when a customer actually purchases one of your goods.
Dropshipping offers a great deal of freedom and it’s a great way to start a small business without huge overhead costs!
7. Coach other social media users
Selling your services as a product is analogous to selling physical goods in this instance. If you are knowledgeable about a subject, an expert in it, or a pioneer in it, you can volunteer to coach or counsel other social media users. Makeup can be an example.
There are no initial charges, so it’s a rather simple approach to monetizing your social media. However, you must possess greater subject-matter expertise than the average person in a particular field to do this.
What are some of the most effective social media coaching niches?
When thinking about social media monetization, some of the best categories to teach other social media users include makeup, fitness, weight loss, nutrition, business, generating money online, etc. It can be any niche, albeit some are simpler to sell and establish as an authority.
For instance, in the fitness and weight management niche, you must have a six-pack physique or significantly reduce your weight. Then you can provide coaching or consultation services over Skype.
8. Advertise your company on social media
Social media can be used to promote your company without costing much money. Why not promote your own product and increase sales when so many business owners are making the most of social media’s capacity to promote their goods?
Regardless of the type of business, social media can be used to promote it and also boost consumer interaction. Instagram‘s focus on visual content makes it easier to attract your target demographic and buyers.
The response you receive from social media will entirely depend on the quality of the content you publish. Firstly, focus on creating compelling content, such as aesthetic photos and videos, and make sure that it is appealing and captivating. The second requirement is that you must upload them frequently and include an engaging caption. It can significantly enhance sales because it will help your brand expand as a whole. Amerisleep does an excellent job of maintaining their Twitter account with high-quality content and well-tailored images. They typically post once per week and diversify their content to include reviews, tips and tricks, and product features. This helps them to maintain a strong online presence and connect with their target audience.
Final Thoughts on How to Make Money on Social Media
It’s crucial to keep in mind that earning money on social media isn’t always simple. Although there are numerous ways to earn money on social media, the most important thing to keep in mind is that diligence and perseverance are essential. Your chances of achieving success will be substantially higher if you possess an entrepreneurial mindset and are prepared to put in a lot of effort, test new ideas, and try new things, than if you simply want to “give it a go” and see what happens.
Create a plan; don’t just wing it. Make a strategy for how you will fulfill your financial objectives and be prepared to change it as needed.