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Instagram is one of the most popular social media apps globally. Last year, it crossed 1 billion users, and Statista predicts the numbers will just keep on growing. This massive and ever-growing user base means that the opportunity to make money on Instagram is considerable.
These days, you can do many more things on Instagram than just sharing pictures as you can:
Furthermore, some users can also make money on Instagram by posting photos of themselves and a product they’re collaborating with (sponsored posts). These people are called Instagram influencers.
However, there are many more ways to make money on Instagram. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best ones. And if you read to the end, you’ll find out some of the best success stories on Instagram.
Without further ado, let’s dig in.
Yes, you should make money on Instagram, and there are three main reasons you should do this.
Firstly, Instagram is a visual-focused app — enabling you to sell anything and everything that looks visually appealing.
Secondly, you can also make money on Instagram if you are a creator. Mark Zuckerberg in 2021 Creator week said that “Our goal is to be the best platform for creators like you to make a living,” So, creators have massive potential for growth on Instagram.
Thirdly, it doesn’t matter if you have 1 million followers or a few thousand; you can still make money on Instagram. Huge influencers, as well as micro-influencers, have the chance to make a living through Instagram.
You can make money on Instagram with as little as a few thousand followers. But you need to be realistic. There are different types of Instagram creators based on their followers.
To make money on Instagram, you need to grow your following. You can start with a few hundred followers, but keep posting and stay consistent. You’ll need a minimum of 5k followers to make money.
You can build a strong following on Instagram with consistency and quality content. Many influencers buy followers, which is not the right way to grow your following. Here are some simple ways to increase your following on Instagram.
If you keep following these practices, you can quickly increase your following organically.
Learn more: Simple Hacks On How To Get More Followers On Instagram
You can make money on Instagram in many ways. You can be an influencer who publishes sponsored posts or sell your physical products.
There are no such requirements to make money on Instagram. However, if you are an influencer, you need to have at least 5k followers to make money or charge fees to brands.
You must have seen many Instagram Influencers who started from scratch but now have a considerable following. Now, you might be thinking, How did they grow their Instagram account?
Although we have listed a few of the points above, we will mention them in detail in this section to help you try them out on your account.
There is no shortcut to increasing your growth on Instagram. You have to be disciplined and post regularly. Above all, interact with your followers because that’s how you retain your existing followers.
Once you have grown your following on Instagram, you can only go onwards and upwards from there. Here are a few examples:
If you are opening a business online, you should have multiple online assets. A website is a must-have for any business. It is like your online estate, which people can visit to learn about your business.
Another way of earning money on Instagram is to drive Instagram traffic to your business website. Do you have an e-commerce website? You can create content on Instagram and guide viewers to your website to purchase.
This is the most common way to make money on Instagram, but it's not viable for people with a few hundred followers. You need a minimum following of around 5,000 followers and a high engagement rate.
Learn more: How to Increase Engagement on Instagram
Many brands partner with influencers to do sponsored posts to spread the word about their products. This is also called Instagram influencer marketing. To get to this point, you need to grow your Instagram following and regularly post content that generates strong engagement from your followers.
Influencers need to know their audience. You need to understand who those people are – their interests, values, needs, and wants. Always be authentic with your posts and stories. Audiences love genuineness.
After creating a respectable following, you can become an Instagram influencer. It means you have the power to influence your audience. Brands will want to work with you because you have the power to convince your followers to buy their products. You can make money as an Influencer by Posting a sponsored Instagram post (photo or video). Remember to include a branded hashtag, mention, or link to promote a brand and before sharing it with your audience.
The main difference between an affiliate and an influencer is that affiliates are rewarded for sales generated through their marketing. Meanwhile, Influencers typically get free products or experiences as compensation in exchange for promoting a product or service.
Affiliate marketing means you partner with brands and gets a cut of the sales of profit whenever you manage to sell their products. Affiliates can make money through products links and promo codes.
Brands keep track of how much sales you have made through affiliate marketing. You receive a percentage of the sales you make.
Dropshipping is the easiest way to open an online business — you don’t even need to open an Instagram shop to dropship on Instagram.
In the dropshipping business model, you do not need to have the items in stock. Your followers can place the order, and your supplier can directly ship it to their addresses. You act as a platform for the transaction, and the supplier manages the inventory, shipping, and delivery.
While it is not necessary to set up an Instagram shop to sell on Instagram, it is beneficial to have an Instagram shop for your business. Moreover, launching an Instagram shop is free.
You do not need to spend extra money on setting up a shop. Here is how you can launch an Instagram shop.
It takes a few days for account reviews. Sometimes Instagram may ask for further verification. Once your account is approved, you can turn on Shopping.
Once you set up your Instagram shop, users can see the “View Shop”, button on the profile. You can showcase your product catalog. Viewers can directly buy from Instagram Checkout, or you can direct them to your website.
You are one step closer to making money on Instagram if you already own a business. Many successful companies have exploited Instagram to promote their business in the best possible way. More on this a bit further down the article.
Instagram is a visual content-based social media platform. “What looks good sells faster”. That’s the rule of Instagram. You can make exciting video content of your business and share it on this platform as video marketing on Instagram can boost your sales.
Below we have shared some ways to promote your business on Instagram.
That’s the best way to get your business seen on Instagram. Use trending audio, and showcase your products through images or videos. Reels are more likely to reach more people, so it is naturally the best tool to promote your business on Instagram.
As we mentioned earlier, Instagram is a treat for the eyes. It is all about visual content that pleases the viewers. If you are handy with a camera, you can sell your photos on Instagram and make money.
It will take some time to set up an account, build a following and create an impressive portfolio. But once you have established yourself as an influencer, you can sell your photos with ease.
This method of making money on Instagram is most suitable for photographers, travelers, and fashion influencers.
You can think about this step when you have created a good enough following on Instagram. However, It is risky to make money off Instagram because it may violate your user agreement with Instagram.
But if you are done with your account, you can sell it via platforms like Fame Swap and Viral accounts for the best prices.
Qantas is an Australian airline, and it was one of the first brands to use the Instagram story ads feature. Qantas used Instagram story ads to campaign for AWOL, its youth travel media brand. The focus of this Instagram ad campaign was to reach the millennial audience.
Thanks to Instagram Story ads, the campaign reached 1.95 million people on Instagram. It increased brand awareness among the target audience. Qantas leveraged Instagram stories to reach the targeted audience and boosted its business. Clarabella Burley, the Digital Communications Manager at Qantas, had this to say about Instagram's impact to AWOL.
“Instagram was the best fit to launch the first brand campaign for AWOL”
Another brand that used Instagram to reach new heights is Jelly Skateboards. Sven Alwerud wanted to make his passion his profession, so he created a unique product. However, he needed an effective way to spread the word about his product.
So, Sven used Instagram, and he said that this platform is a great way to create branding.
“It’s such an easy, awesome way to create rich branding for a company. It’s a powerful tool to display what we’re all about and how you live that lifestyle. It's invaluable—if you want to get more customers, you want more engagement, or you want more conversions.”
Sven also shared that Instagram ad campaigns were beneficial. With Instagram business tools, you can learn which posts are performing better. Instagram Analytics gives you detailed insights on what’s working and what is not. It is a powerful tool to grow your business.
Gatorade is no new name. This energy drink has been around for over 50 years. Yet their Instagram campaign is what revived the company. Their #BelikeMike campaign was a popular trend that took over Instagram a few years back.
Gatorade used The original “Be Like Mike” campaign 30 years ago. By reviving the campaign, they could utilize iconic images of Michael Jordan and encourage people to share their own photos on Instagram.
Their social media campaign increased ad recall by 20 points, which was the highest brand recall of any campaign they have had. Jeff Miller, Gatorade's Director of Digital Strategy said Instagram's visual-focused nature made it the perfect solution for their campaign.
“When we thought about introducing the campaign today, we thought about what mediums to leverage. Instagram was the perfect solution because the campaign is highly visual.”
Glossier is a beauty brand that was founded in 2014. The brand dedicated its time to Instagram growth, and now they have 2.6 million followers on Instagram. They constantly engage with their audience and frequently post user-generated content. They owe most of their success to the Instagram community.
Anish Bhatt was hurt and heartbroken when he was fired from his fashion industry job in the US. He got back home to London and started working on his idea of Watch Anish. He combined his passion for design, fashion, and photography and built the world’s foremost digital-only watch and lifestyle publications.
He built his Instagram page from scratch, and currently, his page has 1.7 Million followers. Thanks to Instagram, Anish did not have to spend a dollar on traditional marketing. Watch Anish’s growth was organic; it did not happen overnight.
Yes, you can earn money from Instagram by
You need a minimum of 5K followers to start making money as an Instagram influencer. But if you start selling your products, you can make money even with followers as less as 1K.
No, Instagram does not pay you for 1000 followers. But you can still earn money with 1,000 or fewer followers. You can do affiliate marketing, sell physical or digital products, and do sponsored posts.
You can start making money on Instagram by building a following. Post regularly and engage with your audience. Follow trends and keep up with the audience's tastes.
Once you have a loyal following, you can start partnering with brands, do sponsored posts, and even sell your products. It takes some time to start making money on Instagram, but a well-thought-out content plan and consistency can benefit you in the long term.
There is no fixed cap on how much money you can make with 10K followers. But an estimate is you can charge $10 for 1000 followers. It means, on average, a person with 10,000 followers can earn $100 per post. You can charge based on engagement and quality of content.
Instagram is the best virtual hangout place for over 1 billion users worldwide. There is a lot of scopes to make money on Instagram. You just need to know how to hustle.
It wasn’t that long ago that people laughed at Instagram businesses and Influencers. Today, companies thrive on the social media app, and a Mega Instagram influencer can earn up to $15,356 per month.
Shocking, isn’t it?
If you know how to build a following and engage your audience, Instagram can offer you many ways to make money.
Before generating serious revenues with Instagram, you first need to create unique content to reel your audience towards your brand. However, making scroll-stopping visuals from scratch can take way too long — halting your business’ growth in the process.
With Offeo, that won’t be a problem. We have 3000+ templates to help you create engaging video content for your business. From helping you make beautiful Instagram stories to creating video ads and product promos, Offeo has everything you need to wow your audience and increase sales!
Sign up for Offeo today and get a jumpstart on your money-making journey on Instagram!
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