First, what is monetizing? To monetize something is
when you have the opportunity to earn money from something or convert the
product into revenue. Second, is this possible generally on social media?
Yes. There are many companies who now pay you to advertise or represent their
product through your content, although to do this generally and successfully
you should have built your profile and followers already.
Third, is this something you can progress into on
IGTV? So, we know that many influencers get paid for their ads on their
Instagram feeds and posts, you can usually tell because a certain brand will be
tagged in the caption or it will say ‘affiliated/ sponsored post’ below the
photo or on the story with a link directly next to it. But, is this achievable
on IGTV. The answer is yes, yes it is achievable. Although not as popular at
the moment. Here are some points to think about:
Monetizing you IGTV:
Having a sufficient number of organic and genuine viewers
If you are struggling to keep a high number of
viewers, you should think about your content and what you are posting. Does it
have a theme? Is there a set topic? What is the target audience you are looking
to impact? And then try to maintain it.
You need to gain the loyalty of your
viewers and do your best to turn them into followers of your account. This is
how influencers become…influencers. You want them to keep coming back. Having
followers or viewers is simply not enough, you also want them to be interactive.
If you are struggling to get the viewers initially or need some assistance
there are some websites or companies who can assist you in this, you can ‘buy’
your followers or viewers but it’s up to you to keep them. Hey, you have to
invest to earn, right?
Relevance
Keep your IGTV content relevant, if you have
already established a high number of followers on your Instagram feed it does
not necessarily mean that they will roll over onto your IGTV channel to watch
your videos, you have to gain their interest.
If your Instagram feed is all
about promoting a healthy lifestyle but your IGTV channel is all about the best
night clubs to go to and the best fast-food restaurants to eat at, it will be
hard for you to prove genuine in the products you are promoting.
Decide first,
what you want to be influenced, and continue from there. Engage your audience
so that you have a rough idea of how many of your viewers are organic and not
an automated account.
Contacting sponsors
If your content is noticeably unique you may have
brands or companies contact you for sponsorship or affiliation, although beware
as some are just trying to scam you into free advertisement/pr.
More than
likely (unless you have a really significant number of followers) you will have
to start by contacting the companies you want to sponsor or be affiliated with
first. Go to them with a plan already in thought through and how you will be
able to optimize their exposure.
Also, have in mind, a reasonable amount you
want to earn from them and see if they agree however, you should keep an open
mind and understand that they will normally negotiate the terms to suit them.
To begin with, you should accept that they do have the upper-hand, and once
proven successful you will then have a further leg to stand on in the
negotiating field.
Quality of video
This is an important step, your content is as good
as you make it. Ensuring that the quality of your video is high means you are
more likely to have viewers, engagement, and support. Brands/companies will not
want to be affiliated with you if the quality of your video is, well rubbish.
They want to be represented well. Quality of video include, lighting, sound
definition, picture quality, and content quality.
There is no point asking a
company or brand to sponsor you if you spend 8 minutes of the 10-minute IGTV
video staring at the screen smiling, you need to engage, communicate, and
promote. The higher the quality of your video, the more you can ask for in
sponsorship.
Getting paid by your followers
Depending on how big your follower or fan base is
and the type of relationship you have with them, you could always ask them to
support your career. This is not a recommended step if you do not have a
personal relationship with your fan-base already or if your fan-base consists of
school children who, more than likely, do not earn their own money. You can set
up online accounts that they can make payments through to help you build your
career.
Create your own business
If you have a business set mind and or a creative
touch you can make your own merchandise. Now, there is a misconception that
only the celebrities have merchandise and although it’s true they do have their
own merchandise it does not mean that you too can not. Creating merchandise
doesn’t have to be about you personally.
In fact, if you have a theme of your
account then your merchandise should be relevant to that. For example, if your
content revolves around animal protection rights and supporting the wildlife,
then you can create a product that correlates with that in some way, create a
logo so that it is your brand and then start to promote it. The more unique
your theme, the easier it will be to sell a product.
For example, going into
the ‘fit lifestyle’ field is more difficult now since there are already a lot
of accounts who promote this and have their own merchandise it will be more
difficult to make the impact you desire. That is not to say it can’t be done,
it just means it will be more difficult to show why your product is the best.
Find a niche market, target audience, and go from there.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are ways to monetize your
IGTV account however it is not something to consider for making quick cash, it
takes a lot of work to build your base, and then it becomes easier. Ensure that
you upload content regularly and efficiently.
Check the quality of your content
and the relevance, and only take on a theme or topic that you really feel
passionate about this will make it easier when trying to earn money from it.
Remain patient and enjoy it!
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