Are you an influencer? Do you post your photos on Instagram or Upload videos on YouTube?
If your answer is yes then do read this article. It will tell you how as a beginner you can leverage the power of social media and make money with it.
Social media are not just for fun but they are also serious business and marketing platforms.
As an influencer, you must know how to make the best use of them.
So let’s begin.
Understanding Types of Social Media Platforms
To be honest social media is not a monolith. There is a great variety and each platform differs from one another.
If you want to make money and be successful then you have to appreciate different types of social media platforms.
Social Networks
Examples are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter where you find like-minded people.
Media Sharing Platforms
You disseminate information like sharing videos and images. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube are some of them.
Discussion Boards
You ask questions and get answers on platforms like Quora, Reddit, etc.
Content Curation and Bookmarking
You bookmark and curate content. Pinterest, Yelp, etc.
Blogging and Micro-Blogging
Blogging means you write 800 – 12000 words posts for platforms like Blogger, Medium, Typepad, etc. Micro Blogging is where you write short posts like Twitter.
Discovering Your Persona
Once you have understood different types of social media platforms you can now discover your personality that will suit a particular platform most.
What does it mean?
A platform like TikTok or Instagram is completely different from a platform like Facebook.
If you are young and likely to create more video content targeting teenagers then go with TikTok or YouTube.
But if you want more nuanced content like writing 300 words long wall post then go with Facebook or Twitter.
Each social media platform is meant for influencers with a particular kind of persona. And every influencer has to choose a platform accordingly.
Whether you are creating more refined content or just want to catch people’s eyeballs, choose a platform rightly.
Top Social Media Platform to Choose From
As we discussed you have to choose a platform according to your audience. Ideally you should go with a platform that has the most active users and is also very user-friendly to businesses and marketers.
Because in the end, your sole purpose is to make money.
Facebook has the most active users.
YouTube is the most popular video-centric platform.
Instagram is the best image-sharing platform.
TikTok is also a video-sharing platform.
Others are Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc.
If your focus is Ecommerce then don’t ignore niche platforms like Etsy, Amazon, Pinterest, etc.
The more you understand your audience the better it is.
Creating High-Quality Content
Once you are through with understanding your audience and choosing a platform you need to focus squarely on creating high-quality content.
Whether you want to make money by becoming a brand ambassador or affiliate marketer, high-quality content is going to determine your success as an influencer.
Metrics like engagement rate, reach and influencer relevance depends upon the quality of content.
For producing videos invest in high-quality cameras and editing tasks. Similarly for improving text content use tools to correct grammar and suggest style changes.
High-quality content always engages your audience. Your content must include a back and forth conversation with your audience.
Best Ways to Make Money on Social Media
Now you know the basics. You can start making money by implementing the following techniques.
Sponsored Posts
Sponsored social media post is the most popular way for influencers to make money. Brands will pay you to promote their products through your posts.
Your social media post will feature a product or a list of products. You could create content like a product review, how-to guide, a product manual, or simply feature products.
Instagram and other platforms pay their influencers depending upon their followers. Instagram influencers can charge between $100 and $1500 per post.
Your rate as an influencer will depend upon factors like the number of followers, engagement rate, and the niche you are operating in.
Get followers by creating engaging content and hosting giveaway contests in your posts.
Brand Ambassador
You partner with one of your favorite brand names. This partnership is a contract that is at least a couple of months-long or even several years.
As a brand ambassador, you will promote products on the brand’s behalf and get paid either a fixed amount or a percentage of commission on each conversion you drive.
You can look for top brands and see if they are offering ambassador programs and join them.
Brand ambassador programs are really great for influencers with fewer followers because many brands don’t look for followers but rather consumers who can relate to their products.
Affiliate Marketing
If you want to make money on Social Media, you should know in-depth knowledge about Affiliate Marketing. To become an effective affiliate marketer you need to active on Social media platforms especially youtube and Pinterest. Influencers can join any affiliate marketing network and start promoting products that reflect their content.
You will be provided with an affiliate link that will track your conversion. For each sale, you get a commission.
An affiliate link should not distract your audience and turn them away. It should be gelled in inside your content and does not appear link bait.
YouTube videos and Instagram are best suited for affiliate marketing.
Sell Your Own Product
If you have your own product line like T-Shirts, Mugs, Photographs, Wallpapers, eBooks, etc then you can sell directly to your audiences.
One of the best products to sell his photographs. If you are a model or love photography then you can sell your art directly to people.
However, beginners have to rely upon affiliate marketing because having a product is not easy and it takes time.
Patreon
You can appeal to your followers to pay you directly through Patreon.
You can offer exclusive content to your fans for a small fee. The content that you are going to offer is not in the public domain.
To get access they need to join your Patreon account.
Conclusion
These were some of the ways to make money on social media. If you are a serious influencer then you can monetize your content with these ideas and make money.
It is up to you whatever way you choose as an influence, but what matters the most is the quality of content and how engaging it is.
