Unless you live under a rock, you may have noticed the booming career trend that is becoming an influencer. Infact, 86% of surveyed young Americans reported that they wanted to be career influencers, and that number is steadily increasing.
Now, you may be thinking, how does posting on social media correlate to actual dollars? Well, that is why we are here. In this blog, we will discuss three ways influencers make money on social media and why this career field is here to stay.
Three Ways Influencers Are Making Money On Social Media
Brand Deals
The term “influencer”, when broken down, signifies an individual who has developed a strong following which they directly influence, whether that be in-person or online. Now, as a marketing buff myself, collaborating with someone with influence over a niche audience is an immediately attractive option for building a brand in said niche. That is where things like brand deals come in. “Brand deals” otherwise known as paid collaborations, are when a brand pays an influencer to create content that promotes their product or service. Depending on your follower size and engagement, brand deals can be very lucrative, with some YouTube creators reporting making as much as $11,000,000 per year from brand deals alone. (side note: if you are a brand looking for an influencer to partner with, sign up with Glewee here)
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Merchandising
The second income stream for successful influencers is merchandising. Merchandising can be anything from selling hats to shirts to starting an external merchandise company. Over the last few years, merchandising has become an extremely lucrative option for influencers of all sizes, as you don’t need to have a brand behind you to produce your own merchandise, and it can grow with you. It is typically a first step for influencers to start making money off of their brand, and is something that scales as an influencer’s following does. YouTuber Logan paul once made over $3,000,000 in just three days off of merchandise, and he continues to have a stable merchandise stream to date.
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External Ventures
Recently, we have seen influencers capitalize off of their social media fame and launch brand-fueled ventures that generate incredible amounts of revenue. Whether it is Mr. Beast with BeastBurger, David Dobrik with Doughbrik’s Pizza, or Emma Chamberlain with Chamberlain coffee, we have seen time and time again influencers leverage their brand to create products that intertwine with the mainstream, which takes them from influencer status to household names. These external ventures are also incredibly lucrative – with internet personalities such as Mr. Beast already generating over $100MM from BeastBurger.
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In Conclusion
Five or ten years ago, choosing to be an influencer as a career path may have been laughed at. Today, influencers of all sizes are leveraging their brands and making serious money, and the career path that seemed like a dream is now very real. If you are a brand looking to find an influencer for your company, or an influencer looking for brand deals, check out Glewee!
