Creating fresh and fun content on Instagram takes time and as some say, “time is money.” To support creators and businesses, Instagram provides them with multiple ways to monetize their accounts.
Social media network makers are investing heavily in the economy. Meta announced that it plans to invest $1 billion in the maker economy by the end of 2022. For influencers and content creators, this means you can get paid for your creative work.
On the business side, the tools these networks provide to you allow you to facilitate partnerships with brand makers. In this mutually beneficial relationship, everyone wins in the producer economy.
In this article, we will discuss eight ways to make money on Instagram. As a business, it is important to be familiar with these methods so that you can use them in your own marketing campaigns.
- Sponsored Posts and Branded Content
- brand ambassador program
- Instagram Shopping
- Affiliate and Creator Shops
- badge
- Membership
- reel bonus
- Instagram Ads
But first set up your Instagram Professional account
Before getting started on any of the monetization opportunities listed here, you’ll need to turn your account into a professional one. Business accounts are either business or manufacturer accounts. Switching your account this way gives you access to features like professional dashboards and insights. Both provide data on how your content and account are performing.
Keep in mind that some of the methods listed here are still in operation.
To see what tools are available to you, use Instagram’s mobile app and navigate to the “See all tools” menu item on your professional dashboard to get a list of all the tools available. You will also be updated with release and update information as you start using them.
1. Sponsored Posts and Branded Content
Businesses pay influencers to create brand-focused posts or content. On Instagram, branded content is set aside with the label “Paid Partnership”. It gives post-performance data to both the label manufacturer and the tagged business partners.
Influencer marketing is one of the most common and familiar methods that businesses use to make money on Instagram. It is the platform of choice for 72% of creators, making it a great place for a brand to join the creator economy. 75% of brand marketers plan to dedicate a budget to influencer marketing, which is also a strategy you don’t want to leave behind.
Instagram’s new branded content features include the ability for creators to list the favorite brands they want to partner with. And in return, brands can discover new allies. Finding the right influencer for your brand can be a daunting step, which makes this searchability a valuable tool.
How much do Instagram influencers earn?
Influencer rates vary based on a number of factors, including number of followers and industry expertise. According to a report, the breakdown on Instagram is as follows:
- nano-effector (1k-10k followers) earn $10-$100 per post
- subtle influencers (10k-50k followers) earn $100-$500 per post
- mid-level influencer (50k-500k followers) earn $500-$5k per post
- macro-influencer (500k-1m followers) earn $5k-10k per post
- mega-influencer (1m+ followers) earn $10k+ per post
- celebrities Can earn over $1 million per post
advice
- If a creator’s post is doing well, a business can turn it into a branded content ad. It has been shown that combining it with a brand is more than 90% more likely to lead to a cost-effective action than either strategy individually.
- Use the analytics reports offered by Sprout to measure campaign performance. Tag scheduled campaign posts and incoming messages. After doing this, the performance tag of the messages is compiled into the performance report.
2. Brand Ambassador Program
Influencer marketing and brand ambassador programs are not the same. Influencer marketing relies on one-time posts or a few posts of someone whereas a brand ambassador program calls for regular promotions. Ambassador programs often have other benefits such as product previews and affiliate links.
The business advantage of a brand ambassador program is that you get content from a trusted source on a regular basis. The contracts are long, so the brand ambassador also has a steady flow of income.
FUJIFILM uses brand ambassadors to promote its X-series cameras and Chenille Rojas is one of them. Apart from a dedicated profile page in the ex-photographer realm, she has a role in her Instagram profile. Posts that are part of their brand ambassador responsibilities are tagged with #fujifilmx_creator.
advice
- Use our brand ambassador guide to create your own program.
- To identify accounts that might be good brand ambassadors, think about who your brand promoters are.
3. Instagram Shopping
Social commerce is expected to reach over 100 million people in the US by 2023.
If you have digital or physical products to sell, setting up Instagram Shopping opens up many opportunities. With this feature enabled, you can tag your products on your posts, in your captions, and in stories and ads.
Source: Instagram
To increase the reach of your store, use the Shopping Partner feature. It allows accounts to be linked to your shop, tag its products, and provide seller post insights.
Additionally, if you join the livestream shopping trend, you’ll be able to tag products and sell directly to customers while doing Instagram Live. Creator @NikitaDragun hosted a live shopping event that attracted 43k fans to watch and added 5k products to shopping bags.
advice
- Don’t know where or how to start? Use our Instagram Shopping Guide to learn how to set up a shop and attract new customers.
- Review the benefits of shoppable content and read expert predictions for what’s next for social shopping.
4. Affiliate and Creator Shops
In the affiliate program, creators are able to tag products in their posts and can also set up a shop of recommended products. Brands can also set custom commission rates, create affiliate campaigns, and view performance insights. On top of brand commissions, Meta will do an estimated commission match and pay $40 for each new piece of affiliate content.
Creator shops appear in a similar format to the brand’s own shop, with a few key differences. There can be multiple brands in the Creator Shop. Its products are indicated with the label “Eligible for commission”.
Brandi Gueri is a digital creator and designer who features a “view shop” CTA button on her profile that leads to two stores: her recommended products and her clothing brand. When a person buys a product through his shop link, he will receive a commission.
The Affiliate Program and Creator Shop are both being tested on Instagram and may not be available to you right now. Learn more about affiliate programs for creators and check if your business qualifies.
5. Badges
Badges are available for creators for Instagram Live videos as another way for fans to show support for their favorite streamers. The heart(s) of supporters who purchased the badge are displayed next to their username. In addition, they unlock special features such as being added to the list of manufacturer’s badge holders.
Since this is still a relatively new feature, keep an eye out for expanded availability and updates from Instagram.
Badges are also available for some creators. Learn more about the program from Instagram.
6. Membership
Content creators who have highly engaged fans may want to take advantage of Instagram’s membership program. With this program, creators can set their own monthly rates and allow fans to sign up through their profile pages. Subscribers will have access to exclusive content and benefits like Lives, Stories and Badges.
For creators, subscriptions provide the ability to earn money by releasing exclusive content. It rewards your most engaged supporters and provides consistent income to creators.
Creator @AlanChikinChow’s profile displays a “Subscribe” button, which then leads to more information you can receive for $0.99 per month.
Subscriptions are available for select creators. Learn more about membership programs and how to enable them.
7. Reel Bonus
As part of Instagram’s effort to encourage creators to create more reels, it introduced reel bonuses for a select group of creators. The amount earned is based on the performance of the reel, but Instagram has not yet published any data to support the success of this feature, however, the earnings of this media company range from $600 to $35,000.
This feature is still being tested, so you may not have access to it yet. Read more about Instagram’s Reels Play Bonus Program.
8. Instagram Ads
Sometimes you have to pay to earn more money. Thankfully, Instagram ads offer a wide selection of customization features from placement to audience, making it very easy to make money. Some of the latest placements include WhatsApp, Reel, and boosted posts from in-stream videos.
Here you can see the clothing brand Feroldis running a sponsored reel ad.
In-stream video ads are also available for some long format video makers. These ads appear in videos that are longer than a minute and give the brand access to high-desire audiences.
If you want more control over your ad placement, consider promoting branded content posts, as mentioned earlier. Or, promote your own high-performing post.
advice
- Make sure the creative assets of your Instagram ads are of optimal size for best performance.
- Explore all the placements and formats that Instagram offers.
Time to monetize your Instagram account
Instagram is constantly updating its monetization efforts to support creators. What does this mean for brands? With new tools and features, brands have more opportunities than ever to work with influencers and content creators.
When 71% of monthly mobile Internet users strongly associate Instagram with a following of influencers and celebrities, brands harnessing this potential can reap significant benefits. Partnering with creators can expand your brand awareness and content with these new tools and give you an in-depth view of how content is performing.
Running multiple campaigns on multiple networks can quickly become complicated. Sprout Social can help you with campaign management, giving you more time to plan and engage.
The post 8 ways to make money on Instagram in 2022 first appeared on Sprout Social.
