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Have You Tried These 4 Ways of Making Money on Instagram Yet?

There are several ways to make money on Instagram like buying ads, shout outs, and a host of others in between with varying degrees of difficulty as you go from one to the next.

Instagram is no doubt a major marketing channel where social and commerce meet. What started as a photo/video sharing platform is now in the big picture boasting over 800million monthly active users and counting, according to recent reports.

Indeed if a picture is worth a thousand words then Instagram is worth more to advertisers, entrepreneurs, businesses, artists, etc who love Instagram for Business, who depend on it to grow their enterprise.

There are others however, who think Instagram is some kind of instant money transfer app, who have zero clues on how to hack Instagram. The good news; profiting from Instagram is not rocket science, however like anything worthwhile it involves a certain learning curve.

In this article I’ll take you round the curve and show you 4 proven ways to hack Instagram and make money off of it.

Perhaps you're wondering,

What is Instagram Really About?

In October 2010,  Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launched Instagram; a photo/video sharing platform.The app allows users  upload, edit, filter, organize, tag and most importantly, share pictures and videos.

Posts can be shared publicly or with pre-approved followers. Users can browse other users content by tags and locations and view trending content. Users can like posts and follow other users or add their content to feed.

And of course, users can make money from Instagram :)

The following stats show why Instagram is a potential money making machine:

  • Instagram has 800 million monthly active users and counting with 500 million daily active users
  • 26% of IG users make over $75,000 a year.
  • Worldwide, over 25 million business profiles are on IG up from 15 million last year.
  • IG has over 2 million monthly active advertisers up from 1 million in March last year.
  • More than 80% of accounts on Instagram follow a business, with over 200 million Instagrammers actively following a business profile each day.
  • The Motley Fool reports that Instagram earned $4 billion in revenue in 2017, making up approximately 20 percent of Facebook’s annual revenue.
  • In 2018, 70.7% of U.S. companies will use Instagram marketing
  • 50% of Instagram users follow at least one business.
  • 60% of users say they’ve learned about a product or service on the platform

Source: WordStream

One cool way to make money on Instagram is by marketing hot selling products like the pros.

Following are 4 more proven ways to hack Instagram now:

1) Sell Blurb Photographs

As a leading photo/video sharing platform, Instagram allows users earn money from uploading, editing and sharing photos/videos including artworks, illustrations, etc for which they're the copyright holders.

You don't need to be a professional photographer to make money from Instagram. A typical smartphone has at least two cameras that allow owners take photographs of different qualities.

With image editors and filters you can enhance picture quality thus increasing visibility, reach and acceptance. Watermarks and subtitles help to secure and sequent your posts accordingly. 

The right hashtags will get you noticed like a notice board and help drive traffic, conversation and engagement around your posts. Instaprints is a great app that allows you purchase and offer Instagram pictures as blurbs for sale.

2) Sponsored Posts

Advertisements on Instagram are labeled “sponsored” where timestamp would typically be.  Sponsored posts a.k.a influencer marketing is marketing done for you by influencers like celebrities, famous or powerful individuals with a large Instagram following.

Influencers build an online following by doing and sharing great content, ideas etc. They are seen as idols, icons, leaders, trailblazers, professionals, and trusted specialists.

IG accounts with large following can help brands spread the word about their business, it's basically a celebrity endorsing a brand, saying “hey followers, I trust this brand”.

Beyond account size and reach, influencers work hard to earn and retain followers trust. Here, a good reputation is worth a million dollars.

Hence, many influencers are selective about who they work with, they do background checks, test products or services before they ever recommend same. Are you an influencer (and didn't know it), here's your chance to cash in.

You can also

3) Promote your Business

Instagram isn't just about your favorite pictures, you get the picture? Instagram for business is the brand's way of saying “hey, you know what? We (also) mean business!”

Of course you have to post pictures but bringing a business perspective on board helps to align your goals and objectives.

Again this can include using the right hashtags, generating conversation around trending topics, corporate social responsibility; anything that projects your business in good light.

It is a good practice to post unique pictures/videos different from the ones on your website.

You can also promote your business by supporting popular causes that relate to your business, that way you'll be in front of a relevant audience.

You can also

4) Sell your Instagram Account

People delete or deactivate Instagram or other social media accounts for different reasons including cyber bullying, hacking, privacy concerns, etc.

If you own an Instagram account with a huge following and thinking of leaving IG, instead of deactivating you can discuss and deal.

Businesses are willing to buy your IG account provided it has good following, it's as good as buying a permanent ad space on Instagram.

If you're interested in listing your account for sale, services like Popularity Swap and Viral Record can help. What you make depends on what you have made of your account, the bigger the better.

Conclusion

Instagram offers tons of opportunities for individuals, businesses, organizations to promote their causes and campaigns. Bundled with these are amazing opportunities to make money. Business, individuals or groups who get a good grasp of this can make money from Instagram in more ways than one.

Lastly, always hedge. Instagram algorithms may change at any time, such changes may be unfavorable and cut you out of business if you depend solely on IG for marketing.

 Author Bio:

Amos Onwukwe is an AWAI trained Business/Ecommerce B2B/B2C Copywriter, featured in scores of blogs including Huffington Post, Dumb Little Man, Ecommerce Nation, eCommerce Insights, Understanding Ecommerce, Result First, Floship, SmallBusinessBonfire, SmallBizClub, Successful Startup 101, Business Partner Magazine, RabidOfficeMonkey, etc.

He’s available for hire.

Twitter: @amos_onwukwe