According to the 2021 Instagram statistics, it has 1.704 billion users worldwide. From a photo-sharing platform, it’s transformed into a business one. Millions of entrepreneurs take advantage of its selling features, from service providers to dropshipping eCommerce business owners.

Here are a few ways as a reference you can make money on Instagram:

  • Become an affiliate and make money by selling products of other brands.
  • Go for sponsored posts for brands that want to reach more audiences, making you the perfect means to do that.
  • You can be a virtual assistant for an Instagram influencer. Many brands want extra help.
  • Write captions for businesses and earn off them.
  • Sell on Instagram. You can sell either a physical or digital product or even a service.
    Sell your photography.

Instagram for Individuals vs. Business Owners

For making money as an individual on Instagram, your main goal should be to attract brands. The only reason brands will give their money to you is because you influence their target audience. Consequently, keeping your audience engaged and building relationships are the most important things to focus on.

And, if you’re a business, your goals will be somewhat different. Instead of using your account as real estate for brands, you’ll have to get as much of your audience to engage with your content as possible.

Create content that’s so creative and interesting that it transcends the competitors’ ones.

Click and share gorgeous pictures with a story in the description, or highlight some customers’ reviews and experiences with your product.

Creating interesting and engaging content that’s related to your brand’s industry is important. Be consistent and take action to build relationships with other users.

You can easily build relationships through sharing Instagram, like liking other users’ photos, commenting, and replying to their stories.

How many followers do you need to make money on Instagram?

If you’re wondering what amount of followers you need to earn money on Instagram, then you’re in the right place for your answer.

The answer depends on various factors that range from:

  • Your niche and how easily you can directly attach it to a product category.
  • Your followers’ type (not bots and fake ones) and how engaged they are.
  • Which revenue channels you explore.

Generally, the more committed followers you have, the better.
While top users, or we can say influencers make thousands per post on this visual platform, even those with a smaller but engaged following of 1k have the potential to start earning money.

  1. Become an Influencer:

    Social media influencers influence users with their lifestyle, recommendations, etc. They recommend products or services on their profiles to their audiences in exchange for compensation. Instagram is a perfect place to build an influencer business on B2C products because its format emphasizes images. Any product that makes a good image will do well on Instagram. The biggest categories popular in influencing the world are:

    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Health/fitness
    • Cooking

    Moreover, users are incredibly responsive to influencer marketing. If you have a sizable following and can take compelling pictures, you can work valuable partnerships with brands.

    You have two main options for featuring brands in your posts as an Instagram influencer: affiliate marketing and sponsorships.

    In affiliate marketing, you receive a commission for every purchase; this means you get a little part of every sale that funnels through your Instagram post or profile; this can work well if a product suits your audience perfectly.
    Instagram influencers are sorted into four categories:

    • Mega-Influencers:

      Mega-influencers usually charge brands 5k to $20k for a single post. With millions of followers, the price can be higher for some celebrities and superstars.

    • Macro-Influencers:

      They can earn 1k to $5k for every sponsored post on Instagram with less than 1 million followers.

    • Micro-Influencers:

      They’re highly engaged in a specific niche with a following of around 100K and can earn 100 to $500 per post.

    • Nano-Influencers:

      They usually have around 5k followers and can earn up to $20 for each post.

  2. Running a Social Media Marketing Agency:

    In 2021, social media marketing is so important. Many brands prefer to give and assign the task to agencies. These social media agencies control the brand’s social presence on all social media platforms, particularly Instagram.
    They usually create a powerful Instagram marketing strategy for brands, including the below items:

    • Defining SMART goals
    • Promoting
    • Competition research
    • Generating content
    • Analyzing and reporting the performance
    • Finding target audiences
    • Engaging with community

    You can earn thousands per year if you run a social media marketing agency for Instagram campaigns.

    Also, you’ll need a professional team to take care of the Instagram accounts 24/7.
    If you cannot afford to run an agency, becoming a social media manager of brands is also a good option. Managing Instagram accounts of brands is a job that requires skills.

  3. Become an affiliate marketer:

    You can sell other users’ products and get a commission. Many users make money from Instagram through affiliate programs.

    There is a difference between a social media influencer and an affiliate. An affiliate work towards getting sales for the collaborating brand in exchange for a commission. In contrast, the influencer is mainly aiming to create awareness for that brand or business.

    Affiliates make money through a promo code or link to ensure that they know which sales came directly from your posts.

    Create appealing and engaging posts so you can promote the products without being sketchy. You can connect a landing page to your affiliate link since you can only have one link on your Instagram bio. Tell your followers to buy the product via the link or promo code in your post or bio.

    It may sound tough work, but affiliate marketing has many potentials if you plan on growing. You can grow your online presence by including a website or other marketing or social media channels.

  4. Become a Brand Ambassador:

    After becoming a successful influencer, you can become a brand ambassador; this happens when a business wants to partner or collaborate with you and create specific posts over time and maybe even indefinitely.

    And for that type of deal with brands, you probably need a large following to become a brand ambassador. After all, businesses want many attractions on their products, and they won’t get that if they partner with someone who has not that many followers to influence.

    If you have a well-planned niche, you’re also likely to be more successful. Take the example from the accounts you follow; you’ll be most likely to find one that shares your interest.

  5. Selling Your Products/Services:

    As Instagram has expanded into a strong advertising tool over the last decade, particularly, the Shopping feature on Instagram has changed with many social users search for products.

    So you can boost your brand sales using this Shop Now feature by easily tagging your products in:

    • Posts
    • Stories

    You need to switch to a business profile and start promoting, selling, and advertising your products and services. Adding a link to your bio’s shopping web pages is another effective way of using Instagram to make money.

    Writing an engaging and attractive Instagram bio with a call-to-action can significantly increase your online sales.

    You can still trade on Instagram and earn money even if you don’t have a company. Trading other businesses’ products or services on the platform is also another way of making money.

    It would help if you were a good dealer with strong community links to act as a middleman.

  6. Create Visual Content for Sale:

    Instagram is a visual platform, and around 100+ million photos & videos daily get uploaded by users. However, it’s not sufficient for businesses to upload overly elegant professional photos of their product to stand out from the crowd.

    Current customers crave authenticity, so they pay close attention to user-generated content.
    For the travel industry, companies of all extents invite real travelers to take photos showing their experiences while staying at brand properties in exchange for free accommodation and payment.

  7. Write Captions for Businesses:

    In 2021, brands of all sizes want to use Instagram to promote their products and services, and 90% of small businesses invest more time and effort in social media marketing.

    Small businesses often seek freelance expertise to reduce social media marketing costs, while big brands have a great in-house content creation staff. So, they often find creative experts who write captions for their businesses.

    For a full-time job offer, you need to prove that your skill stands out from others, and the best way is to show your social media marketing writing portfolio. The more creative and engaging your captions are, the more potential clients you can attract. Also, you need to manage your Instagram page creatively so that interested accounts can see samples of captions you write.

Final Words:

There are many possibilities out there as an Instagrammer with a large audience who engages in your content and re-share.

Earning money on Instagram isn’t hard. You have to pick a niche and work on some successful strategies to work like a champ. Choose your favorite way and give your 100%!!