The digital world is full of people who make a living from their posts on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, among other platforms, and this is only possible because they know how to monetize their social media well. Therefore, whether you are a content creator who wants to build a career in the digital sector, or if you have a business with an Internet presence, you are surely wondering “how to monetize my social media”.
Although it is quite common nowadays, there are still many people who do not know or fully understand how to monetize on social media. Therefore, in this post we are going to address this topic.
To do this, we have created a complete guide in which we will explain the different ways to monetize on social media and give you some tips to be successful in the task.
Monetize Social Media: What is it and why is it Useful?
Although any famous YouTuber or Instagrammer will tell you that they do what they do for their creative drive and to offer entertainment, the truth is that if they were not paid for it, they could not dedicate themselves 100% to the networks. And, since social media began to pay for their work to those who published their content on them, many people have been interested in how to monetize social media in which they are active.
Monetizing social media is a process by which income is generated from the activity carried out on the digital platforms of social media, among which Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or Tiktok stand out. It basically consists of turning your followers, content and engagement into money.
Therefore, it is a process by which content creators, influencers and even small and medium-sized companies can obtain profits for their presence and activity on social media.
What Reasons are there to Monetize your Social Media?
It is obvious that the main function of monetizing social media is to be able to earn money, either to dedicate themselves exclusively to them or as an aid to another more traditional source of income. But this monetization is also useful for other reasons:
- Generates income: allows you to obtain economic benefits through various strategies such as the sale of digital or physical products, the promotion of services and collaborations with brands.
- Increases visibility: by monetizing social media, you can increase the visibility of your brand and reach a wider audience quickly and effectively.
- Strengthens the relationship with the audience: monetization can lead to greater interaction with your followers, which strengthens the company-customer bond and increases loyalty.
- Offers multiple opportunities: there are many profitable platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, each with its own monetization strategies, so you have plenty to choose from.
- Allows affiliate marketing: this strategy consists of generating income passively, simply by promoting third-party products in exchange for a commission.
- Enhances brand image: proper management of social media profiles for monetization can strengthen the image that the company’s brand projects.
- It is profitable: compared to other traditional marketing methods, social media offers enormous potential reach (getting more sales, visibility, engagement, etc.) at a relatively low cost.
- Facilitates direct sales: platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and, very soon, TikTok, allow the integration of product catalogs, facilitating direct sales to followers.
How to Monetize on Social Media According to the Platform
Before delving into the different tactics you can follow to monetize on social media, it is essential to know how the mechanism of each of the most common platforms works so that your strategies have the best result.
Monetize on YouTube
You can generate income on YouTube through multiple strategies:
- Partner Program: requires you to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of viewing in 12 months.
- Advertising revenue: YouTube pays 55% of net revenue from ads on public videos or YouTube Ads.
- Monetization of shorts: you can receive up to 45% of the revenue allocated by views.
- Collaborations with brands: the brand interested in collaborating will pay you directly for your content.
Monetize on Facebook
Among the monetization options on Facebook are the following ways:
- Affiliate marketing: which, as we will see later, consists of promoting products with specific links.
- Advertising with Meta Ads: based on the publication of ads on your social network profile that you can manage from Business Suite.
- Facebook Shops: direct sale of products (yours or collaborating companies) to followers.
- Sponsored content: you charge for the collaborations you do with brands to promote their products.
Monetize on Instagram
As this social network is based on visual content, the most appropriate monetization strategies for Instagram are:
- Sponsored content: through collaborations with brands to promote products in your photos and videos.
- Instagram Shopping: store in the same application that allows you to sell products through labels.
- Collaborations with brands: it is possible to establish connections through Creator Marketplace and influencer platforms.
- Live broadcasts: monetization through subscriptions and exclusive content for members.
Monetize on TikTok
The favorite app of many, TikTok, will also allow you to monetize your content thanks to monetization options such as the following:
- Collaborations with brands.
- Native advertising through TikTok Ads.
- Donations from followers in live streams.
- Creation of sponsored content.
- Through direct sales with TikTok Shop.
If you want to improve your live streams on TikTok, we recommend reading this article on how to do a live on TikTok step by step.
Learn how to Monetize on Social Media
You already know what monetizing social media consists of and why it is so useful to do so, so now the important thing is to know how to do it. And, there are different ways to generate income with your publications.
Read carefully these techniques and tips that we give you so you can start earning money soon:
1. Affiliate Marketing
One of the most common ways to monetize social media is through affiliate marketing. This consists of selling the products of the company you collaborate with using a specific affiliate link. You can earn a commission for each sale you make through this link.
To get the most out of this strategy, make sure you choose a product/service according to your audience, as otherwise you may confuse it. Find out about what you are going to recommend, because if it does not convince you, it would not be credible. It is also important that you create content that adds value and encourages the participation of your followers.
2. Sell Physical or Digital Products
Although they are totally different, the commercialization of products is a great way to monetize your networks. You can sell products related to your profile, such as clothing, accessories, jewelry, gadgets, etc., making demonstrations in your publications, resolving doubts and sharing experiences in the interactions with your audience.
If you prefer, opt for selling digital products such as ebooks, courses, guides or manuals, images, etc. The most attractive advantage of this type of monetization is that once you have the product created, you can sell it indefinitely without having to incur additional costs, thus improving your conversion funnel.
3. Gain Notoriety
Surely when you have asked yourself “how to monetize my social media”, the first thing that has come to your mind has been to become an Internet personality or, in other words, an influencer. To do this, you need to have some popularity on the platforms and, ultimately, gain notoriety and reach. In order not to miss any opportunity, you will have to pay attention to trends and create attractive content, interact regularly with your followers, make frequent publications, communicate with appropriate brands, optimize your profile and identify your target audience.
4. Use Memberships
Another technique to monetize your activity on social media is to create content that is only for certain followers, the members, who will have to pay a certain amount per month to have access to that content. Digital platforms such as YouTube and Instagram already offer this type of service.
To be successful in this strategy, make sure that the members are distinguished from the rest of the users. To do this, in the networks there are special recognitions such as specific badges, special emojis, having access to exclusive services (such as live chat or being able to see live streams), and much more.
5. Place Advertising in your Publications
One of the easiest ways to monetize your content is to place ads in it and receive payments according to the views and interactions of your followers with the advertising. Of course, not all social networks are suitable for this technique, as it is not possible to put ads on Instagram profiles, unless it is a collaboration.
It is the most used technique on Facebook and YouTube, although you have to keep in mind that in order to apply this technique you will have to meet strict requirements. For example, you need to have 10,000 followers on Facebook, while on YouTube you will need to have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and about 4,000 hours viewed.
Applying these techniques, we are sure that you will have no problems in monetizing your social media, but if you do not want to risk its implementation, in 2btube and as a social media agency, we can help you apply them so that you obtain the maximum benefits.