How to Make Money in Social Media
Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube make huge sums of money for their owners.
For those of us who use these platforms, success is usually measured in likes, follows and retweets, all of which can feel fleeting.
As much time as we invest in apps like Instagram, at the end of the day it can seem like we have little to show for it, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, a carefully crafted online presence could bring in more money than you might expect.
In today’s job market, many people end up having to take on more than one position to make ends meet. When money gets tight, they might have to consider other options such as cutting costs on everyday essential items or turning to a payday loan provider to fill that financial gap, but tightening your belt and payday loans are just a few methods of getting yourself out of the red and back into the black.
Side hustles to bring in some additional income are becoming more and more popular – and social media provides several avenues to make extra money.
Make YouTube videos, make money
YouTube’s Partner Program pays users who upload video content to the site for allowing advertisements to run before or during their videos. When users click on ads associated with your video, a portion of the revenue is shared with you.
Though the amounts of money paid out per click are small, these can add up for channels with sufficiently large audiences.
It’s worth keeping in mind that in recent times, YouTube’s restrictions for the types and sizes of channels that can apply to join the Partner Program have tightened.
Qualifying channels must now have at least 1,000 subscribers and have had at least 4,000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months.
YouTube has also tightened restrictions on the type of content considered eligible for the program, as family-friendly content is more appealing to advertisers.
Today even many large YouTube channels can’t be sustained via ad revenue alone, but if you can build up a large following it can still act as one revenue stream as part of your wider social media strategy.
Sponsorships
One avenue that many creators of content on social media have turned to as advertising revenue has decreased is including sponsorships in their videos or posts.
YouTubers and podcasters will often include referral links for companies such as Audible, Skillshare or Dollar Shave Club. When viewers sign up to these services using custom affiliate links, the creator gets paid for bringing in a new customer.
Services such as Grapevine allow content creators to find potential sponsors. When seeking possible partners, look for companies whose products align with your own content and audience. Ads for short term loans might work well if your channel is about financial planning, but are less likely to attract click-throughs if you make toy unboxing videos.
Reward your audience
As your following on social media increases, you can encourage them to pay for additional content. Platforms such as Patreon and Ko-Fi allow users to make monthly or one-off donations to their favorite creators.
A well-thought-out Patreon offering will usually have a number of different tiers. Starting with low-cost bonus and easy to produce material that gives patrons additional content for only a few dollars, and increasing in quality and value at the more expensive tiers.
Create paid digital content
If you have a subject you can demonstrate your expertise in, create an eBook and encourage your audience to purchase it.
A health and fitness podcaster could write a book containing recipes and a 90-day workout plan and sell it via a platform such as Gumroad, or via Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service.
As these products have no manufacturing costs, they can continue to make money for you all year long without the need for further investment.
These are just a few methods of using social media to bring in extra money. Think about your audience – or the audience you’d like to have – and what kind of services or value you can provide to them for the best possible results!