Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have millions of users, and new people are joining these websites every day. For someone who is looking to make money online, social media monetization could be one of the best methods.
Sure, it is worth noting that the market is quite competitive, but others have started from scratch and are now making money.
Attracting social media followers will be difficult. For that, you can look to collaborate with other brands, particularly influencers, organize giveaways, focus on content quality and consistent schedule, and run ad campaigns.
Once you have a decent audience, you can decide how to monetize it. Here are some great suggestions to help you with that.
Custom Merchandise
Creating and selling custom shoes, t-shirts, hoodies, or other merchandise with the help of Printify should not be an issue given the quality of their products.
Besides, there is no need to invest in your own printing equipment. You will be working as a middleman thanks to the dropshipping business model. In 2017 alone, 23% of all online sales globally were fulfilled through the dropshipping model. It is no secret that the percentage has grown since then, particularly when eCommerce has grown because of the pandemic.
Selling custom merchandise on social media is a good idea because social media content is driven by visuals. Promoting something like t-shirts should not be a problem. You post a picture of the product and include a link to your store.
The start may be slow, but if you can create interesting and unique designs or hire a graphic designer who produces excellent work, it should not take too long before you can drive traffic from social media to your online store.
Online Courses
Gathering an audience on social media also gives you an opportunity to promote online courses. The question of whether you should create your own courses or promote the work of others is a bit tricky.
If there is money to be made by advertising online courses that were created by others, you should consider it even if you only get a percentage for each sale.
On the other hand, if you were to create courses from scratch by gathering information and compiling it into a single video tutorial, all the profits would go to you.
The courses could be about social media marketing itself, though you do not have to limit yourself to this niche. If anything, the topic of online courses should be relevant to what the social media profile is about.
For example, suppose your Facebook or Instagram page is about handcraft jewelry. In that case, the online courses you want to promote should also revolve around the same niche, like basic tips to create an accessory or how to pick the right materials for the next handcraft.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing might not be a popular way to make money on the internet these days, but that does not mean you should discard it. The idea can become profitable in the right hands.
Affiliate marketers would tell you that you should develop a website with the intent to attract organic traffic. However, it is possible to make affiliate marketing work with just social media profiles.
The important thing is to have relevant traffic. If your follower demographics fall in that category, you can expect them to click on affiliate links, get redirected to the landing page, and spend their money. Each sale means a commission for you.
Similar to online courses, your affiliate program should not be something random but related to the social media account. Failing to do so will lead to a poor engagement rate and people unfollowing you.
Social Media Ecommerce
Facebook has implemented a feature that lets the platform’s users sell directly on the website rather than posting links that redirect to online store landing pages.
The convenience is quite handy. Instead of developing an online store from scratch, you can monetize your followers by posting product descriptions and details on how to purchase them straight on your Facebook profile.
Influencing
Reaching a status of an influencer is not that simple, but neither are other monetization methods. The idea is pretty simple, though. You get enough followers that other brands are willing to pay you for promotional posts.
Some of the top influencers make thousands of dollars by giving a simple shoutout. One could argue that they work without putting real effort in, but that is not the case. If anything, some influencers have struggled a lot to be where they are now.
If you believe that you have what it takes to become an influencer as well, then do not hesitate and continue working toward that goal.