Being an influencer can be enough to make a living. TECHBOOK has found out how much money can be made in this job model and what requirements the big earners in the industry meet.
What is an influencer?
An influencer is a person who has a large reach on social media through a large number of followers. The term comes from English “to influence” influence. Influencers post photos and videos from their lives or their professional sphere – they create “content”. From a certain level of awareness, their followers are interested in what the influencer does, shops, eats. This in turn can earn money.
Why do companies work with influencers?
Many companies use the reach of influencers to market one of their products or their brand. Unlike classic advertising, for which a model specifically stages the brand, working with influencers is more subtle and credible. Even if it is now increasingly marked as an ad. Influencer marketing is also a good way to target a specific target group. Followers value their idol’s opinion – they like what the influencer wears or consumes.
Example: The influencer gets a camera from brand XY, stages it in the look of his usual content – followers are made aware of the product and possibly even encouraged to buy it.
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How do influencers make money?
Depending on various factors, influencers are provided with goods and/or paid to push them. For example, a brand or its product can be like this cool be that the person stages himself with it voluntarily. Above a certain status, influencers can also demand a fee for their services.
Average amounts per post
Even micro-influencers (501 to 10,000 followers) can earn between 500 and 1000 euros per “sponsored post”. From around 100,000 followers, a post can cost as little as 5,000 euros. Depending on how often the influencer posts, a larger sum can be collected here at the end of the month.
The amounts mentioned are of course to be understood as rough guide values.
What defines the value of an influencer?
The actual value of an influencer cannot generally be defined with rough key data, as it depends on a wide variety of factors. The most obvious is probably its range. However, an interesting trend is currently emerging that is playing into the hands of the – less far-reaching – micro-influencers. With their smaller sphere of activity, they still have time to connect with their audience. More and more companies are recognizing the potential of such close relationships, and some are paying for it.
The accuracy of fit of his and the desired target group also plays a role for the price of an influencer. Ultimately, it is also a question of how elaborately the post has to be produced and which specific channel is used.
In summary, if you want to earn a lot of money as an influencer, you must meet one or at best several of the following requirements:
- Much activity. Regular postings are necessary to gain and keep followers. The content must be interesting and ideally bring added value for the consumer.
- One specialization. Influencers with a special subject area in which they are unbeatable serve the interest of their target group on a suitable platform. This also makes them useful for marketing corresponding products.
- A good network – in addition to the range – is an advantage. Influencers who interact with the right colleagues gain relevance.
Top earners among influencers
International
Admittedly, German influencers cannot keep up with international superstars such as soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo (around 440 million followers on Instagram), US actor The Rock (314 million) or entrepreneur Kylie Jenner (363 million). Here the prices per contribution are in the seven-digit (!) range. Ronaldo, for example, is said to have earned 1.35 million euros per post in the summer of 2021. Since then, however, its reach has continued to increase rapidly, and with it its market value.
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National
Soccer players are among the top influencers in Germany. National player Toni Kroos (32.8 million Instagram followers) took first place, followed by colleagues like Mesut Özil (24 million) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (12.8 million). The boys have been earning around 81,000 euros per post for years.
Otherwise, of course, this list does not come without names like Pamela Reif (8.6 million followers on Instagram), Dagmar Kazakov aka Dagi Bee (6.6 million) and Caro Daur (3.4 million). Reif is said to collect between 5,000 and 10,000 euros per post on YouTube, which results in a whopping around 65,000 euros a month. Caro Daur’s market value is estimated at around 8 million euros.