Earning a decent income as a social media creator is becoming increasingly challenging. Platforms are paying less for popular posts, and brands are becoming more selective about their sponsorship deals. According to NeoReach, an influencer marketing agency, 48% of creator-earners made $15,000 or less last year. Only 13% made more than $100,000.
While some influencers have shot to fame and are doing well, they are the exception rather than the rule. Even influencers with large followings, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands to millions, and hundreds of millions of views a month, can barely scrape by. The economics of the platforms are such that even with these numbers, earning a decent income is a struggle.
The article suggests that instead of trying to make money from ads and brand sponsorships, influencers should cultivate genuine expertise and use social media to promote the offsite services they provide around that. This could potentially land them a better job or help them build up a consultancy. The current model of relying on ads and brand sponsorships is a losing game, and many people are losing big.
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