Instagram is a social media platform that allows users to share their own content. The app also has an algorithm that helps users to discover new content as well as learn about trends and interests.
The app was founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, who were both students at Stanford University. They initially wanted to create a tool for sharing photos with friends, but eventually realized the potential of the app’s popularity for advertising purposes. Since then, Instagram has become one of the most popular platforms in the world and is used by more than 1 billion people worldwide, mainly by young and middle-aged people.
Instagram is a platform that provides its users with creative freedom and allows them to express themselves freely without any restraints on what they can do or say. It also allows for people to connect with like-minded individuals through likes,
Here are some statistics that show Instagram is still not dead and can encourage Instagram marketers or Instagram influencers to have some ideas on how to make money on Instagram and start marketing with Instagram.
Instagram is the 15th most visited website in the US, with an estimated 0.9 billion monthly visits in August 2021. (Source)
Instagram is the 10th most searched query globally, with a 338 m monthly search volume. (Source)
In 2020, Instagram was the fifth most popular download on the Apple App Store. (Source)
Table of Contents
How Instagram Changed Social Media Theory & Culture
Instagram has changed the social media culture and theory. It is now where people post their lives to share with others. While it’s a place for self-expression, it’s also a place for businesses to advertise themselves and sell products.
The development of Instagram has led to a shift in how businesses view social media marketing, including the rise of influencer marketing which relies on micro-influencers rather than celebrities or mainstream brands.
Can You Make Money from Instagram?
The answer to this question is Yes. Facebook and Instagram owner Mark Zuckerberg said at the company’s first-ever Creator Week in June 2021, “Our goal is to be the best platform for creators like you to make a living,” This became a top priority for Instagram, especially as competition increased from TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Building followers and then making a strategy for running ads on Instagram is a great way to earn money. People who work on Instagram make between $2,000 to $10,000 per month. But again, it depends on how active and the quality of the followers are.
Instagram has become a powerful tool for businesses to increase their revenue and reach. In order to make the most of Instagram, businesses need to create compelling content that will engage with their target audience.
A study found that over 70% of brands are already using Instagram for marketing purposes and that number is expected to grow in the future.
The platform offers a variety of options to generate revenue from it. You can make money from affiliate marketing, sell digital product, dropshipping, selling shout out, sponsored posts, and even freebies.
Make Money on Instagram from Affiliate Marketing
One of the popular ways to make money on Instagram is by selling other people’s products and earning commissions from them. This marketing technique is called affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning money (commissions) every time you promote a company’s product or service and drive sales.
Simply find a product you like, then promote that product and earn a portion of the profit from every sale you make. You are only paid each time you make a sale. Every sale is tracked through affiliate links from one website.
You can put your affiliate URL in the caption or in the bio or in your Instagram story.
In addition, you can also customize your affiliate URLs to make them shorter or more user-friendly URL to drive more sales and earn more money.
How to start affiliate marketing on Instagram?
To start with affiliate programs that fit your Instagram niche, start doing some research. The easiest way is to register to an affiliate marketing network like below :
- Amazon Associates Affiliate Program.
- CJ (Commission Junction) Affiliate Program.
- ShareASale Affiliate Program.
- ClickBank Affiliate Program.
- ShopStyle Collective Affiliate Program.
After registration, wait for confirmation whether your registration is approved or otherwise. Once approved, start creating content; add special links provided by the affiliate program network. The affiliate link will be used by the Affiliate network to track when one of your referrals makes a purchase, and you get a commission.
The affiliate marketing network will send you a payment when you have reached the minimum payment level. Payment methods options include PayPal, bank transfer, and check.
These two tips can help increase sales on your Instagram,
a) Research Product Demand
To ensure that the product is easy to sell, it is important that you analyze or “understand the needs of the market” at the beginning. If you have good numbers of followers, study which type of post they like to interact with and which the previous post engaged more.
b) Choose the Right product or service
Generally in any business, the quality of the end product and customer service are very important. If your visitors become unhappy and dissatisfied after buying the product that you recommend through an affiliate marketing link, they will never listen to your advice again. This will damage your instagram page credibility and affects your marketing in the future. Therefore, focus on choosing one product that will provide good customer service.
Make Money on Instagram from Sell Digital Products and Service.
Buying goods and services online has become a common practice among many people around the world. Some choose to make purchases online for convenience, others because of the competitive prices offered by some eCommerce platforms.
Digital shoppers can also be influenced by various digital sources when shopping, such as brand emails and product reviews from consumers who have purchased these digital products and services. Moreover, since covid19 hit the world, the number of digital buyers has been increasing.
Because of this, businesses and freelancers are starting to sell more digital products and services for good reason. In addition to having access to a very large market, they can sell with unlimited numbers of digital products or services, without refilling inventory. Unlike physical goods, digital products or services can be sold online in unlimited quantities.
Examples of digital product ideas are Ebooks – online documents such as downloadable pdfs, audiobooks, online video courses, Photos, Digital Art, web applications, and premium WordPress or Shopify themes. As a product, it is delivered to the customer and that is the end of the transaction.
Meanwhile, digital service is where the service delivery to the customer is utilizing the online channel and it requires ongoing implementation work such as social media management, copywriting, website design, coaching, SEO consultancy service, digital marketing service, and so on.
Make Money on Instagram from Dropshipping
One of the popular ways to make money on Instagram is through dropshipping by having your own online store.
Dropshipping is basically a business model that allows you to sell your products almost without any inventory. Once someone brings a product from you, your supplier will ship the product to your customer’s home. You don’t have to worry about renting a warehouse, managing inventory, packaging, or shipping products by dropshipping.
In simpler terms, dropshipping works like this:
- A customer sees your ad on Instagram and buys items from your Shopify store,
- You place an order and pay the wholesale price, taking the difference between the price on your shopify store and the wholesale price as a profit.
- The supplier ship out the product directly to your customer with your online store name.
This means that you don’t have to buy and keep bulk stock. It saves you from investing a lot of money in the beginning of your business.
This can also eliminate the risk of buying in bulk and not being able to sell all products. This will definitely cause losses.
This is why dropshipping is so popular – it requires minimal investment but gets benefits similar to a traditional retail store.
You can set up a dropshipping online store easily through Shopify and your marketing is on Instagram. However, you need to do the following steps before getting started.
- Choose a niche.
- Perform competition research.
- Find a reputable dropshipping supplier.
- Build your eCommerce website.
- Market your dropshipping business melalui instagram
- Analyze and optimize
Make Money on Instagram from Instagram Shout Out
Instagram is one of the fastest growing online social networks with many new users every day. Among the effective methods of making money with Instagram is Instagram shoutout.
Instagram shout out can be very effective in creating strong branding. Ongoing collaboration between brands and Instagram marketers can bring awareness to the public about the brand in the long run.
It will not only increase the visibility of the product and the brand but will increase the number of followers.
A shout out from an influencer can be worth a lot of money, but it is not always easy to find the right person for the job. That’s where shoutcart come in with their platform. We match brand with influencers and help them get paid for the shout outs, while also curating the best shout outs and making sure they are authentic.
It is important to choose influencers who are relevant to the brand and have a large following. Brand want people who will truly appreciate what they do, not just someone who wants free products and services.
Conclusion
Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms and if you are not using it for your business then you are probably leaving money on the table.
The above strategies are the most common ways to make money on Instagram. Ultimately, spending time and effort on Instagram is a great investment that builds over time. And it’s still not too late to follow the trend and start monetizing your Instagram account.
Focusing on too many strategies at once usually requires a larger team and budget. If you are just an individual or small team, focus on specific strategies and methods first.