Many influencers make money by serving as brand ambassadors. Instead of simply promoting a brand through a single sponsored post, the influencer will regularly discuss the products and services offered by the company in order to generate overall brand awareness.
Locally, companies that have enlisted the services incluide Bomaid, Engen, First National Bank and ABSA, among a list of many other corporate companies, as well as smaller companies that look for social mileage and impact by associating with popular and recognisable faces.
Some of our local influencers are making a name for themselves and cashing in also. For example, for the latest trends in fashion and beauty, give blogger and fashion stylist Tumie Nthutang a follow.
She has 63,9K Instagram followers. In return, you'll get a daily dose of her unique style and fashion choices along with a peek into her everyday life.
Mjamaica is an actor, comedian, musician and MC known for his comic videos on social media, especially his "Magnum" video on Facebook. With over 114K followers on Instagram and a growing YouTube audience, he's definitely one to follow.
Maxine Magwape is a makeup artist and rising social media influencer that offers makeup, hair styling, and wig retail at her retail store, Maxine Hair and Makeup.
Subscribe to her YouTube channel for beauty and hair how-to videos, her 214K Mfollowership on Instagram allows you to peel into both her personal and professional life. Khumo Kgwaadira, better known on social media as MissGeeKays, is a TV and radio personality and founder of Who Am I, a non-profit organization that strives to empower youth and help them realize their individual capabilities.
Her Instagram account boasts of 104K followers who check out her latest fashion and beauty collaborations and are in the know about her upcoming speaking events.
TecsionBW is a funny guy who keeps his legions of fans in stitches with his memes. He works with local brands and is also an entrepreneur. He has about 420, 00 social media followers. All these people have something that is unique about them and they capitalise off this. Branding is important in this regard.
So, how do influencers make money?
According to social media expert, Shane Barker, there are several ways that one can make money from being an influencer, as indicated below.
1. Social Media Sponsored Posts
Sponsored social media posts are one of the most popular ways for influencers to make money from social media. It's when brands or marketers pay you to promote a certain brand or product in a social media post. The post can either be entirely about the product or it could feature several products at a time. You could create review posts, informational posts, or simply feature and tag the products. You can also make money on social media by becoming a brand representative or brand ambassador. According to Barker, "this would normally be an extended contract lasting for at least a couple of months instead of just a one-off partnership. In some cases, the contract may last for several years as well."
2. Being a brand ambassador
When you're a brand representative or a brand ambassador, you will get free products from the brand. In exchange, you'll have to promote these products on social media. Some brands may pay an additional fee for every piece of content their ambassadors create. Or there may also be a compensation clause in which you earn a percentage or a fixed sum for every conversion you drive.
3. Leveraging affiliate marketing.
In this type of arrangement, you can approach brands or retailers that offer affiliate programs. And once you've been accepted as an affiliate marketer for the brand, you will be provided with a unique affiliate link or code that will be used for tracking your conversions.
The quality of your content can determine the kind of impression you'll make on potential partners. And of course, high-quality content is crucial if you want to make a good first impression.
When brands look for potential social media influencers to work with, they'll look at the influencer's relevance, reach, and engagement rate. But they'll also go through the influencer's content just to see how good of a content creator they are. Whatever content you post on social media should be of high quality if you want to make money with social media.
Invest in a decent camera if possible so you can produce better images. Brands also look for engagement rate when searching for influencers to work with. That's why it's crucial that you build an engaged and loyal audience if you want to make money on social media.
