How Content Creators Make Money on Social Media

Social media has become one of the ways to generate revenue for its users. So, beyond the regular posting, commenting and liking which are the regular forms of engagement in the media, it has a vast purpose.

Following the pandemic in 2020, the internet picked a fast pace, as many people turned to social media for information, entertainment and educational purposes. This has deepened the internet penetration to 64.4% of the global population, while 4.76 billion people or 59.4% of the global population use social media, as of January 2023, according to Statista.

As a result of the deep internet penetration, it has produced a lot of content creators of various forms on social media. These creators are responsible for quite several consumables and are often referenced as a result of the value they produce. Despite their visibility, not many of these creators are aware of the ways they can make money on social media.

If your question revolves around the easiest ways to monetize your content and get paid for what you do, then this article is for you. We carefully itemize five ways to make money on social media.

1. Brand Partnerships and Sponsorships

Brand partnerships and sponsorships are the easiest ways to get paid from social media. This is a collaborative effort between brands and creators, having these creators as the “face” of the brand, and subtly using their brands for their content and context.

The brand approach can be in two ways: brands can approach creators to help them push a particular product or service that they push or creators can also approach these brands to partner with them, tapping into their wide audience reach. Typical examples of these can be visibly noted in advert intros on podcasts, skits on Instagram and also, in newsletters on blogs.

It is important to note that when seeking brand partnerships, they should be in sync with your content and audience because it is a two-way business transaction and both parties should be able to gain from one another at the close of the day.

2. Merchandising

One easy way to get paid as a creator is through merchandising. This is a way to generate revenue for yourself and also, push your brand to your audience. Simple merch like a t-shirt, face cap, tote bags, hoodie, etc can be of great use.

You can employ this after identifying what your brand is about, what needs your content would salvage and how best you can push it.

Note that your merchandise should be of high quality and value. This is because your merch would speak a great deal about your personality.

3. Use Platform-Specific Monetization Programs

Not every social media platform offers the option of monetization for its users, and many that offer are region specific. For instance, TikTok’s Creator Fund is not available for Nigerian creators. Now, this can be a challenge but it also can be handled if some of the videos can be made available to other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube that offer payments for its users.

Most of these platforms have certain requirements/guidelines towards their monetization options. For example, a platform like YouTube provides the YouTube Partner Program for its first step concerning monetization and this program requires that you [as a creator] have more than 4,000 public watch hours in a year. The program adds that a creator is expected to have more than 1,000 subscribers and a linked and approved AdSense account.

Some other platforms like Facebook provide the monetization option of In-Stream ads, and Stars while digital streaming platforms like Spotify and Audiomack offer the option of “support” with provided approved monetary accounts.

4. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the most successful means of money-making for creators. Its channel provides 20% or more for brand marketers. That means creators can be brand marketers, sell a particular product on their platform and get a commission off the sold item.

It is important to bring to mind that when promoting a product, it is in line with your content niche, audience and content you constantly promote on social media.

5. Live Streaming

Unknown to quite several creators, live streaming is one of the ways for creators to get paid. For instance, on the live streaming platform Twitch, the top 1,000 channels get 53% of all viewing time. This translates to making between $3,000 and $6,000 per month while minority channels [with less than 100 viewers] earn between $50 to $1,500.

Also, there can be donations or tips from fans, ads and paid subscriptions from viewers. This can be done on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

All these make live streaming fun and exciting.

Conclusion

Building a successful social media account takes time, and along the way, not everybody can be able to monetize their content. However, if you consistently create engaging content, grow your following and build a notable and easily identified social presence, you can earn money on social media.

It is important to bear in mind that social media is primarily for content creation, which is for your followers to enjoy and engage on [pending on your social media calendar]. This should first be in mind before thinking about making money because that’d frustrate you when the expected monies don’t come in.

While thinking of ways to make money, remember to follow all guidelines and rules carefully because they are policies that guide monetization strategies.

In summary, making money on social media is possible. There are a lot of creators, both local and international, who live off the money made from social media, but it requires extra effort, commitment, creativity, perseverance and consciousness towards what you create and promote as content.