Who could have believed the meteoric rise of the social network Instagram when it was launched in 2010? Today, this platform is a must-have and has more than 100 million users. Earning money with an Instagram account has not been a utopia for years.
Instagram has redefined the codes of marketing and has become in a few years, a powerful communication tool for brands. It is also at the origin of new jobs called: influencer, instagrammer, Instagram content creator.
But who says new job, also says remuneration!
How to earn money with your Instagram account and what are the means to achieve this.
1 The creation of a creative and lively Instagram account
In the small world of Instagram, you will see that some celebrities, with several thousand followers or even several million, can charge crazy amounts for a post.
Know that with a more modest account, perfectly targeted and obeying a few simple rules you can make some income.
It is above all thanks to the community you will create, which follows you, interacts and likes your photos, that you will be able to interest brands wishing to be visible to your followers.
You will be able to generate an income by monetizing the publications on your account.
Choose a relevant topic to make money with Instagram
In order to hope to make money with your Instagram account, you need to create an account by choosing a relevant topic. You will post photos related to that theme and supplement with relevant information and tips. It is important that your theme makes brands want to work with you. Some areas are overloaded like fashion, beauty or fitness. It is advantageous to position yourself on a sub-theme, more precise in order to be better visible instead of drowning in the mass.
This way, you will create a community interested in a more targeted content and that will follow your activity regularly.
Increase the number of followers
To get a brand interested and start having an account that can generate profits, you need to have at least 5000/10000 followers. The number of followers is important, but more importantly the number of likes and comments that your photos provoke. This proves that you have an active community that is really interested in what you publish.
Have quality content
When you have a presence on Instagram and are looking to get paid, you need to have quality content. Indeed, whether it is on the side of brands or your followers, you have to be rigorous and make people want to follow you by publishing visuals that stand out and catch the eye. Just like a resume in the hands of a recruiter, your account will only have a few seconds to convince the person to subscribe. The interest of your account will be judged on a few photos to scroll through that reflect your image.
Use filters
To optimize and embellish the rendering of your photos, you should know that the application is full of filters and other tips to retouch them without being a professional photographer. You can also use other applications to enhance your photos.
Take care of your followers to earn money with Instagram
Finally, it is important to gain notoriety and have a dynamic account, to regularly post quality content. The regularity of posts will keep your community on its toes and arouse its curiosity. Let your imagination run wild and interact to create a link. Reply to comments, ask your subscribers what topics they are interested in and would like you to cover. But above all, stay sincere and listen.
Be transparent
You must convey an image that corresponds to your personality or you will pay dearly for this lack of transparency. People who follow you on a daily basis become attached to you and identify with the person you are through your account. You sometimes influence their choice and divulge advice that will be welcomed as the reference for them. You are creating a real connection with your followers and a lack of authenticity is bound to be felt in the long run.
Instagram is a network of exchanges where people meet on topics they are passionate about while having the opportunity to react and communicate. The more sincere and caring the exchanges are, the more you can expand your community.
2 Partnership requests
When a brand has spotted your account and sees that you have a certain influence with your followers, it may decide to contact you to propose a partnership.
The principle is to make the brand visible through your posts in order to attract the attention of your community. This marketing technique allows you to use your account to promote brands.
Sponsored posts
The principle of sponsored posts already exists on other networks like YouTube or blogs and it is now present on Instagram. Brands have understood the interest of using influencers to advertise in order to reach more people, increase their sales and their notoriety.
Brands contact the influencer directly through Instagram. The ideal is to highlight your professional email in your description to be contacted easily.
Product placement
The most common is the product placement. The influencer competes with imagination to stage the product sent for free by the brand and post the publication once the content is validated by the brand.
As the success of a post is measured by the number of likes, the pressure is constant for instagrammers to find creative content that interests their community, otherwise they risk losing their partnership.
The only constraint imposed is to always specify in the publication, the partnership made with the brand.
Looking for partnerships to make money with Instagram
If brands don’t come to you, but your account starts to interest a good number of followers, you can approach them. Only, this strategy requires time and investment without having any guarantee of success.
For this, there are now platforms dedicated to influencers that were created to meet the needs of this new profession.
Platforms make your life easier
These platforms aim to connect brands that want to create partnerships and instagrammers who are looking for them.
The principle is simple, you apply on the platform and the brand sends you free products that you must promote on your account. You can receive money for your publications or be paid in products, trips … depending on the type of brand.
By using this type of platform, you do not carry out a canvassing campaign and you choose the collaborations you like. To be credible, your account must have a real editorial line.
3 The possibility to sell your photos
The very principle of Instagram’s existence is based on photographic content. This allows you to make your work visible whether you are a professional or an amateur. All you need is a simple camera or a smartphone to take pictures, edit them and add your personal touch.
A website dedicated to your photos
To sell your photos, nothing could be easier than adding a watermark on them and communicating the link of your website or a dedicated application where they are for sale. People who visit your site or discover your photos in the application can become future Instagram subscribers.
Photos adapted to the demand
To professionalize and hope to sell your shots, they must first be of excellent quality. High-quality photos will be sold to people who are passionate about a specific theme, while more generalized shots may interest companies or marketing agencies to be used in campaigns.
4 The use of affiliation
The principle of affiliation may seem very similar to sponsored posts, but the remuneration system is different.
Commissions on your subscribers’ purchases
Through affiliation, you will promote a site where it is possible to buy products or services. The link to this site is communicated to your subscribers in your posts or your story (mini-video of 15 seconds). You get a commission every time a buyer uses your link to make a purchase.
The same goes for promo codes. The brand gives a unique code for each influencer and the influencer gets a commission each time it is used.
To succeed in getting the brand interested and to get them to give you this type of mission, you have to be active on their account and react by posting relevant comments.
5 Gain skills and sell your expertise
Positioning yourself as an expert in a field
When you created your Instagram account, you chose, in general, your favorite theme. You gain expertise a little more every day through your involvement and research on the topic.
You begin to position yourself as a reference in your field and can even partner with other accounts, in exchange for sharing content to grow in notoriety.
At this stage, you have acquired real professional experience by having succeeded in growing your account and your community. You can offer your skills to accounts that want to grow, but don’t have all the weapons yet.
Paid advice to help other accounts grow
With your personal experience, you are quite legitimate to advise other people, brands or companies, because you know the problems they are facing having experienced them too. You will be able to find the words and solutions to solve their problems. You enter the world of digital marketing.
No need for hundreds of thousands of subscribers to start
To expect to be paid on your community management skills, you don’t need an account with thousands of followers. Even with an account of 2,000 followers, you can help an account that is just starting out; 10,000 followers, you can offer your services to an account that is stagnating at 5,000 and so on. At each level of development, you can bring your expertise.
Canvassing potential customers
You will have to be patient and courageous to approach other accounts and offer your services. You’ll also need to determine the price of your services by doing a study of what others in the business are charging.
Instagram offers real career opportunities. Only, it won’t happen overnight and you’ll need to work and prospect extensively, especially in the beginning. You need to be tenacious to get there.
