Which social media platforms pay influencers the most?
One of the things we’ve long set out to do with these insights is to try an address some of the more common questions we get from people on this industry. One of them, as you can imagine, is the curiosity behind which social media platforms pay influencers the post.
We think we can answer this one for you.
Understanding influencer earnings
Before we continue, we have to clarify the perspective from which we’re coming. When we discuss influencer earnings in this post, we are not referring to income generated from the platforms themselves. That is to say, we are not referring to YouTube’s native ad platform, nor TikTok’s creator fund.
Rather, we reference brand deals that are organized outside of these social media platforms, which just so happens to be our bread and butter.
Influencers can make money in a lot of different ways; a topic we’ve written about previously. From brand deals to merch sales, there are many ways they can earn a successful living, and there are a number of factors that determine how successful they will be. Things like follower count, niche, platform, and engagement are all going to play a major role.
But in our experience, some platforms are better than others. So we’re going to rank them from lowest to highest, based on the deals we’ve helped orchestrate over the years.
Rankings
Position 5: Snapchat
Snapchat has an interesting story. It was very popular in the 2010s, but lost popularity. It has, over the past couple of years, come back with a vengeance, and no surprise, advertisers are starting want a piece of the pie.
We know of many creators working with major brands on this platform, but it may be a while before even more advertisers take notice of Snapchat’s resurgence in the social media space.
Deals volume is rising, and with that comes rising deal value.
Position 4: Twitch
Twitch has been around for quite a while. While the platform is incredibly popular with gamers, it’s no surprise that many brand deals are taking place even outside of the Twitch partner program. Interest in the platform has waned among the advertisers we’ve spoken with, especially as they see many creators move to other platforms like YouTube and Kick.
Still, though, many Twitch creators are doing just fine for themselves on the platform, and it will be interesting to revisit this in the next year or two to see what — if anything — has changed.
Position 3: TikTok
Are you surprised to see TikTok in position 3? While TikTok is huge around the world, we don’t see the most deal value come from this platform. However! We do see a lot of volume come from this platform and rising rapidly. But still, the title of this article is about which platforms are earning creators the most.
When we’re talking TikTok, we’re talking short form content. With short form content generally comes smaller price tags, of course depending on the size of the audience and other factors.
But given the trajectory TikTok is on right now, we wouldn’t be surprised to see deal values increase as time progress and longer-form content continues to get posted to the social network.
But of course, there is the question about the app getting banned in the United States. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens here.
Position 2: Instagram
Believe it or not, a lot of creators are making a whole lot of money on Instagram these days, even with the advent of other platforms like TikTok and Snapchat. We attribute this to how dynamic the platform is, allowing users to post pictures and stories — making the experience much more personal. That’s something brands love. And with the millennial audience still very strongly using the platform, we don’t see deal value shrinking anytime soon.
The demand is still very much here for Instagram brand deals, and creators on this platform with a strong following are doing just fine.
This is, of course, an everchanging industry, however. So it’s up to Meta (Instagram’s owner) to keep the platform fresh to prevent users from getting bored and moving on to another platform.
Position 1: YouTube
Well, we’ve probably written about YouTube enough that you’ve determined that this would come in the number 1 position. The platform is dynamic, it’s growing, and it’s filled with some of the most compelling creators on the internet today.
Couple that with the fact that it’s primarily a long-form platform, and you have something that advertisers and brands are very attracted to.
On this platform, we see the highest concentrations of deal volume and value on a regular basis. Brands can’t get enough of getting their messages through to consumers on content posted on YouTube, and we can’t see that changing anytime soon. That’s why we devote much of our energy to this platform.
Final thoughts
The above is based on our own personal observations, and depending on the agency you speak with, you may get a completely different ranking. But with that in mind, it’s not necessarily written in stone which platform is the “best”. Really, it depends on who you are, what do you do, and how many people follow your content.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in this business, it’s that there’s a place for every creator who’s willing to put the time in and create compelling content for the masses. Leveraging social media platforms is only part of the equation. A lot of what makes a content creator successful is how they carry themselves and the quality of their work.
