Instagram is a popular online meeting place for thousands of users every day who share content with their followers. They use it to browse photos, chat with friends, or to promote their business and brand. Speaking of using Instagram as an income source, the stats reveal a shocking truth: Instagram is quickly catching up with the growth of its other tremendously popular sibling – Facebook. Can You Get Money From Instagram?
Indeed, Instagram counts over one billion users every month since its launch in 2010. This is three times the population of the entire United States! No wonder over 70% of US businesses use Instagram to claim their share from the market pie, out of the 500 million active daily Instagram users.
It should also be noted that the time spent on Instagram is steadily increasing every year by a staggering 80%. Finally, let’s not forget that almost 93% of Instagram users belong in the 18-49 age group, representing the largest portion of the buying/target audience for every business. So if you’re wondering whether you should (or could) get money from Instagram, the answer is plain and simple — yes.
Here are some ways to actually see money coming into your pockets from Instagram, provided that you already have a significant number of followers:
1. Sponsored posts
You can become the perfect medium for brands that wish to reach your audience. You’ve probably heard the term “influencer”. It refers to an individual with a big Instagram network of followers and reach of their account, usually in a specific niche such as health, travel, beauty, etc. They also have a good reputation and a trust-based relationship with their loyal following, which allows them to be able to convince their audiences to buy certain products and jump onto trends.
Influencers generate strong engagement from their followers by posting regularly on their social accounts. This means that you can promote everything from all kinds of brands and make from hundreds to even thousands of dollars per sponsored post.
In a nutshell, being an influencer means that all your efforts are focused on making money by creating awareness, instead of partnering with brands to drive sales for them, which is what an affiliate does (more on that below).
Bear in mind, however, that becoming an influencer entails a lot of hard work, time, and talent. You also need to understand your audience (their needs, values, and wants) so you can join hands with the right brands. But if you’re up to it, then go for it!
2. Become an affiliate
Becoming an affiliate means that you sell products belonging to other companies in exchange for commission (%) when someone that follows you buys the product. Just how much that commission would be depends on the deal each brand offers, so do your research before closing a deal.
Although becoming an affiliate is quite tough at first, it has a lot of potential if you plan on getting a cut from selling other people’s products. To achieve this, you give out a promo code or add a trackable link on your posts so your followers can purchase items directly from them.
Keep in mind, however, that you don’t need to be cheese or pushy to make sales. Just create engaging posts! You may also need to connect your affiliate link to a landing page as you will be able to include only one link on your Instagram bio. Then add captions in each post informing your followers that they can purchase the product via the link you have in your bio.
3. Sell your stuff
Whether you’re a skilled photographer or have a physical or digital product/service you want to promote, Instagram is a great place to start spreading the word about your services and/or products. Just ensure that whatever it is that you’re selling photographs well – that includes yourself, of course. So if you’re photogenic, you can bring some sparkle to your pictures!
After all, Instagram is all about how beautiful something appears; the visual aspect of things. Eye-pleasing video or image-based products (virtual or physical) will get you sales. So if you think you can snap some great ones, go ahead. And don’t forget to use relevant hashtags when promoting your photography portfolio.
Our final tip: If you’re selling physical products, you can set up an Instagram Shop, which is a new function launched in July 2020.
