We all know the power of Instagram these days, figuratively speaking, over 4.2 billion ‘likes’ happen on Instagram every day. The world is simply- ‘excessively engaged’ here.
Started as a minimal ‘photo-sharing app’, Instagram has now extended to become a ‘product sharing platform’. This transition has given rise to multiple business opportunities. The interesting part of the story is that this opportunity to earn monetary value is not just for business owners or brands, but extends to each and every user on Instagram.
Watching a plethora of users making money on Instagram, have you ever wondered if you could do it too? What is required to make money on this platform? How do people go about it? How much money can be made? If these are the questions that pop up in your mind then simply keep the reading going on.
The answer is anyone with a decent amount of followers. It is generally believed that the tool to earn money on Instagram is an ‘enormous number of followers’. If you have the same belief, then you may unlearn it, because while an enormous following is a robust asset to making money on this platform, there are other assets that are imbued with the potential to do the same.
When we want to showcase a product or service in our posts or stories, we need people to actually engage with it, because a better engagement rate increases the chances for conversion of your audience to potential buyers.
Are you interested in beauty and fashion? Or are you a food lover? There can be ample niches, but are you interested in any niche that can connect you to its products? If yes, you can definitely enter into the world of the Instagram business.
If you can figure out brands that have the monetary potential for you, you can reach out to them either on Instagram or on their website. Good research can take you to the right places meant for you.
Getting engagement on a few posts doesn’t make your online presence stable. A stable presence develops with a creative effort to surprise and enrich your audience with something valuable or entertaining for them.
Presenting content in new ways If you have realized by now that you have the potential to make money using this platform, you must have already started thinking about how to go about it. To answer this question, we will talk about some business models that are being adapted to earn monetary value on Instagram.
If you are an active user on Instagram, you would not have missed out on the term – Influencer because they are absolutely trending. An influencer is a person who creates content and shares opinions that the audience respects and trusts. They create trends and are the ones that the audience looks up to. The power that an influencer has on social media is precisely what brands are looking for these days. They serve as a bridge between the brand’s products and the audience. Brands need them to ‘spread the word’ and in return give them monetary value and other benefits such as gift vouchers, products, discounts, and much more.
What do you need to become an influencer? The simple answer is an engaged audience that listens and trusts you. Even if you start small, you can grow higher from time to time. What is more important, is clarity of thought. Do you know about your audience? What is it that they admire about you? Is there anything that you can connect with a product? When you know your audience, you know the touchpoints where you can add further value. It is effective when you aim for a niche of your personality that matches the interest of your audience. Once you are able to figure that out, you can start looking for brands working around that particular niche.
Brands themselves reach out to influencers who have a strong online presence. On the other hand, if you are an aspiring influencer, just starting with your journey, you can reach out to brands in a number of ways.
One way is to reach out to them directly on Instagram, you can message them directly on their page and put your word for collaboration forward to them. You can also mail them or contact them on their official website.
The other way is by registering yourself at the influencer marketplace. There are many platforms for different niches that can connect you to the marketer that can be the best for you. Some influencer marketplaces that are doing good in India are –
When you are conversing with different marketers, do mention your strengths that they can count on. Apart from the number of followers, give them insights about their engagement on your content. It is a good idea to be transparent about your post being sponsored by brands and business owners by putting a hashtag or simply mentioning it in the caption.
Quick Tip – You can share your follower engagement statistics from the Instagram analytics report if you have a business account. This will help you objectify your potential and negotiate for a worthful value while making a deal with brands and businesses.
While sponsored posts are about brand awareness, affiliate marketing is about selling brand products. When you become an affiliate, you step into the actual business of a brand by making real sales. This can be done through trackable links and promo codes. Trackable links track the number of clicks that are converted into actual sales. Hence, they help to measure the number of sales that happened through you. Instagram allows you to put one link on your bio, which is why every time you post, you have to mention visiting your bio. On the other hand, promo codes can directly be added to the captions and stories.
Another way is to explore Affiliate platforms. It is an online marketplace where sellers can list all their products. It acts as a connector between affiliates and sellers.
If you want to become an entrepreneur then Instagram can do wonders for you. Do you manufacture your own products? Are you into dropshipping? or Do you have a DIY product range to launch? If you want to sell your own products then Instagram can serve as a boon for you.
The perks of selling your own products on Instagram are your audience’s trust is stronger as they know distinctly that what you are selling is an extension of your personality. Another perk is that you will make more money out of your business rather than collecting a part of the profit from other business owners.
You can sell the following products and services-
Quick Tip – At ANS Commerce, we manage Instagram performance marketing for leading e-commerce brands, request your free DEMO today!
If you are good at photography and desire to pursue it professionally then Instagram is the right platform for you. This photo-sharing app is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your photographs and build the interest of your audience. Once your audience gets engaged in your photographs, you can also step forward to sell them.
Your photographs can be licensed, printed, and sold in a variety of ways. They are printed on T-shirts, mugs, and a variety of other tangible products. You can print them on your products and sell them or contact certain business channels that let you print them on their products. Another idea is to list your photographs in a number of marketplaces where publishers can license them.
You can choose any business model that best suits you to earn monetary value on Instagram. It is also possible to adapt several models simultaneously. No matter which path you choose, the most crucial element to Instagram’s business is creating engagement-centric content that excites your audience and makes them invest in the value you provide them.
