How to Make Money on Instagram

Monetizing your social media popularity is closely connected with the demographics of your audience and the number of followers you have. If you wish to become an influencer, there are a couple of things you should know about. 5-Minute Crafts has prepared a guide on ways to earn money using one of the world’s most popular social networks, Instagram.

1. Find ways to get sponsored

Turning your passion into a business is possible using Instagram as a tool. The main way to monetize your Instagram presence is by getting sponsored. Sponsored content includes promoted posts that can be either brand-sponsored posts, where sponsors pay you a fee for posting about their brand, or paid advertisements, which means you are paid to promote content that already exists. There are some rules to be followed, however:

• Make sure you are eligible to use the branded content tool and comply with the set of Instagram policies, like the Instagram Partner Monetization Policies, Community Guidelines, and Instagram Content Monetization Policies.
• Seek help from agencies that can help you find a sponsor that fits you. Potential sponsors can also contact you directly themselves.
• Do your best to be as authentic as possible. Do not promote products that you don’t really like or that you don’t believe in. Your followers will be able to tell if you are not being true to yourself and will not end up buying the products.
• Try to collaborate with brands that fit your niche, that is, your followers’ profiles. The more specific, the better.
• If your post is sponsored, mark it as branded content and tag your business partner. Marketing on your social media should follow the principles of any other type of marketing, so this means you need to tell the truth.

2. Promote your business account

Setting up a business account on Instagram can contribute to business growth. Make sure you follow these steps:

• Create a business account on Instagram. This type of account offers you access to advanced analytical tools that help you track and improve your engagement and understand your audience better.
• Share your business website or provide a link for your product in your bio.
• Make sure your account looks as professional as possible. That usually requires taking professional well-lit pictures capable of attracting followers and potential clients.
• Promote the posts that you want to have a higher reach. This basically means boosting your post in order to turn it into an ad and gain broader engagement. However, you should know this is a paid feature that allows you to choose your budget, your audience, the duration of the promotion, and your advertising goals.

• Encourage your clients to tag you in posts where they showcase your products. Create an appropriate hashtag that facilitates finding them.
• Check out what your competitors do to promote their own business so that you can up your game.
• Use the Insight feature to find out the statistics regarding your main audience.
• Add your number and e-mail to ensure your clients are able to contact you easily.

3. Make use of the shopping feature

Instagram Shopping is a series of features that allow people to purchase products displayed in your brand’s videos and photos. You’ll need to have your own website first, connect your Facebook page to it as well, and set up a Business Manager account. Take a look at what you can do with it:

• It allows you to create your own Shop and customized Collections. Product Detail Pages offer all the product information to the customer, as well as to sell in-app. This means that there is no need to re-direct the customer to another webpage. Checkout on Instagram, however, is only available in the US right now.
• Once you get your account approved for Instagram’s Shopping feature, promote your products by tagging them using The Product Tag feature in your photos and videos.
• You can also use the Ads with Product Tags feature that is enabled via Ads Manager to increase your reach.
• Users in the US can already make use of the Product Launches feature, which means that you can announce your upcoming products and let people set a reminder and preview their details.

4. Use live videos to earn badges

Live videos, which are actually real-time videos, have been an Instagram feature for a while already. There is a new Badge option that helps you get financial recognition from your followers while making a live video. Here is what you need to know about them:

• The badges basically represent tips that your followers can buy during your live video to show you support.
• They cost $0.99, $1.99, or $4.99.
• After they are purchased, you will see a heart symbol next to the comment of the follower who bought them.
• In order to boost purchases, give shoutouts to the badge purchasers and spread the news about your upcoming Live videos.

However, you should find out first whether you are eligible to turn on the Live Badges option. The access has been granted to eligible creator accounts in the US, while those in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, Australia, Turkey, Brazil, and Mexico can get access by invitation only. Other criteria are as follows:

• You need to be over 18.
• The number of your followers should be 10k+.
• You need to comply with the Instagram Partner Monetization Policy and Community Guidelines.

If you are eligible, go to Profile -> Professional Dashboard -> Set Up Badges. If not, tap Apply for monetization and check for status updates on your Professional Dashboard.

5. Run ads in your videos

Running ads in your Instagram videos is another way of making your social media lucrative. Check out how to do it:

• Before posting videos, enable the monetization option for in-stream video ads in your creator account settings.
• Make the videos at least 2 minutes long if you want to get paid. The recommended length of the video is 2-4 minutes.
• Note that the money you earn is correlated with the number of views your video gets. 55% of the revenue generated per view is equivalent to the amount you will get. You’ll receive payments monthly.