Have you ever wondered what it’s like to make money off social media? One influencer now lifted the lid on this intriguing industry – and his wisdom may just surprise you
Is there a job that screams ‘Gen-Z’ more than a TikTok influencer?
From vlogging travels around the world, to sharing opinions from the comfort of your bedroom – there are now countless ways to make content online. Yet, just 4% of creators earn more than $100,000 per year (£79,000), despite predictions the industry will reach a staggering $480billion value by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs.
And it doesn’t end there. A report by Kajabi highlights just how volatile this really is – with influencers chasing brand deals against the backdrop of constantly changing social media algorithms.
So, how can you possibly start to make a career from this? ‘Bran Flakes’, a US-based influencer, now opened up about transforming his content into a full-time job – and it took just over a year.
“I started posting on TikTok in January 2021,” he said to his 652,000 followers (@bran__flakezz). “These videos are still up to this day, they have a thousand views now because they’ve been up for three-and-a-half years. But when I would post these I was stuck in 200 view jail.
“I think where I messed up in the beginning is I only really used trending sounds, I rarely talked to the camera. Once I started making videos where I talked to the camera, my s*** started to take off.”
Fast forward six months and each of his videos were garnering between 100,000 and 300,000 views. In June 2021, Bran had amassed 25,000 followers and bagged his first-ever brand deal, pocketing $100 (£79).
He continued: “During this time I was also working a 9-to-5 job, so it was a stressful time trying to make content on top of already commuting to work, working all day and then coming home and making videos… I kept going.
“And then November 2021 came around so now we’re 10 months past the first month that I ever started posting, which was in January. And I got a brand deal from Amazon that paid me over $1,000 – I was freaking out.”
By April 2022, Bran said these brand deals garnered more money than his weekly nine-to-five pay check. So, he took the plunge and made TikTok content full-time across the summer – he’s never looked back since.
He explained: “The one thing that worked in my favour was [that] I was consistent. I did not quit, I continuously posted every single day. The more you post, the more you have a chance of reaching a bigger audience.”
Aside from brand deals, creators aged 18 and above can also make money through TikTok’s Creator Fund. To do so, they must live in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain or Italy, while boasting at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 monthly video views.
While funds are calculated using a ‘combination of factors’, there is no limit to how much money you can earn through the fund. In 2021, TikTok even committed to £231million to this cause.
A spokesperson for the platform explains: “We want to show our appreciation to our brilliant creator community by rewarding them for their incredible TikTok videos and creativity. We want all creators to have the opportunity to earn money doing what they love and turn their passion into a livelihood.”
Bran also added: “I’m not going to bulls*** you guys, I think it was significantly easier back then than it [is] now because it wasn’t as saturated as it [is] today… If this is something you want to do, if you dream about making money by posting on social media, just rip the band aid off. Just start posting.”
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