There is a massive 300 million monthly active users worldwide on Instagram so it is a great platform to make money on. Instagram has thrown behind other social media channels including SnapChat, Facebook and Twitter and businesses are taking note of this. If taking photos is a passion for you-or you wish to promote your products or services online, then there is tons of potential for you to make money using Instagram. The following is an easy guide on how to make money on the side with Instagram.
1. Make sure you have a product to sell
A lot of people who wish to make money on Instagram actually do not have anything to sell. You can’t make money unless you are selling something. This guide has been written for those who already have a product/company or business and are looking to market it. If you do not have a product, you must at least select a niche such as health and fitness, beauty, dog grooming and so on in order to promote products related to it.
2. Link your website in your bio
This is an important step to make money on Instagram. Your bio is the most important thing apart from your Instagram photos. Unless you have a link in your bio, your followers won’t know what to do or even understand what you are selling/doing. The key to making money on Instagram is to keep getting leads even while you are sleeping or on vacation. So make sure you write a killer bio with these tips:
- Highlight your name and username
- Highlight your skills
- Use keywords to target audience to your niche
- Get creative by adding proper emojis in the bio
3. Grow your Instagram followers
In order to get more followers and this you can do the following:
- Create relevant hashtags for each photo/post/video
- Like and follow people in your niche
- Post relevant pictures and videos daily
- Comment, like and share on other people’s photos
- Share one photo every few hours, instead of 3-4 photos all at one time
- Focus on engagement-comment and follow up with people who have commented on your pictures.
- Ask people to follow you on other channels like Facebook, your blog etc.
4. Host webinars
Webinars are effective ways of making money on Instagram and they are especially necessary for people who have products or services to sell. Here are some tips to promote webinars:
- Create snippet preview/videos of the webinar
- Send reminders about it from time to time using photos
- Make a collage of all the people/products relevant to the webinar
- Show picture testimonials of past webinars where you received a great response
- Show what attendees will get from attending the webinar(freebies etc)
Webinars can help you save time and money as they are a form of direct interaction with relevant audience. You can also ask your target audience questions about your product/services through Instagram webinars. Webinars are cheaper and they help you avoid cost of travelling etc.
5. Run contests
Running contests is an essential way of increasing following on Instagram and also helps your marketing efforts. Contests increase viewership which can, in turn, translate into sales. Here are some tips how to run contests on Instagram:
- Get into the habit of running weekly contests
- Make your product or service as the prize
- Keep contests simple.
- Ask your followers to share the contest-related posts/photos
- Use appropriate hashtags to target people looking for that niche.
6. Use a CTA
CTA is call to action. What do you want your followers to do? In most cases, the answer would be to click the link to your blog or your website. So ask you people to visit your site through your Instagram posts. Here is a great example of a great post which is shared often and which shows your product beautifully.
7. Focus on great photos
Instagram is all about sharing images. If you want to make money with it, then it goes without saying that you must post quality images having great captions. Entice people with those images about your products and more importantly, about your brand. For example: If you are a gym trainer or a dog groomer, show hot bodies working out or before and after images of gorgeously groomed dogs. If you are selling a product, show different ways in which that product can be used. Check out how Starbucks has promoted their new products in this great image below.
8. Get personal
Social media is all about engagement-especially personal engagement with your loyal followers. Show people all that you are about. Post a video showing your team (or yourself) doing things you love. A 15-second video or a short message can go a long way in helping people to see your personal side.
9. Get your followers to submit their photos or videos
This is a great way to engage your followers. If you are already having a good number of followers, then get them to post their videos or photos in turn for sharing information about you or your products.
10. Don’t spam
Many people who fail on social media make the common mistake of spamming their products or their company. You really don’t want that. Many entrepreneurs who have made it big on Instagram actually do not post their product photos at all- and especially not all the time.
Finally, be patient! People who feel that making money online does not work, usually fail because they quit too soon. So be patient and know that success won’t come overnight.