Do you want to start a business on Instagram but you lack ideas? If YES, here are 50 best Instagram related business ideas to help you make money online.
If you have always dreamed of starting your own business but do not want to go for the brick and mortar type of business, then Instagram is an option you should explore. Instagram is a free mobile photo and video sharing app with over 80 million users.
A lot of people do not know or they underrate the power of Instagram. With a monthly usage in the excess of 700 million, Instagram is a very powerful tool if well harnessed. In fact, according to a research that was carried out, 89 percent of creators used the platform in 2016. Here are 50 unique and innovative ways you can earn an income from Instagram:
Best Instagram Business ideas
1. Build Up and Sell Instagram Accounts
You can sell Instagram accounts that have a lot of followers. Many brands are looking to buy already established Instagram accounts thereby allowing them to get a lot of followers without having to go through the process of starting and building up a new instagram account.
You can head over to Viralaccounts, Fameswap or any other such website where you can sell any of your social media accounts including Facebook, twitter and of course Instagram. Usually, accounts with 40,000 followers and with a lot of engaging content are preferred. Also accounts that don’t have a history of suspensions or any shady content are a big plus.
2. Product Placement and Sponsored Posts
If you are able to build up an instagram account with lots of followers who like and comment on your content, you can start selling sponsored posts. A sponsored post involves making posts for brands and services with the intention of promoting the brand or service. This is just like an advert.
A lot of companies are willing to pay so that posts that promote their image can be posted by you. Websites like Fohrcard are available to provide links to companies that will provide them with sponsored posts or product placements. So, if you are an influencer or someone who wants to do a campaign, then Fohrcard can be an essential tool.
3. Sell your Photography
Irrespective of if you are a professional or an amateur photographer, you can still sell your photographs. If you have a lot of pictures on your phone, you can sell the photos on apps or you can promote them on your Instagram account. You can sell your photos on applications like Phope or Glashot.
The applications can be downloaded over Play store or Apple store. The apps allow you to upload your images from your smartphone directly to the apps and sell it there. With these applications you even get $5 for every photograph you sell. So basically, you can use Instagram to promote the photos you will sell on Phope or Glashpt.
4. Showcase and Sell Art or Handcrafted Items
A lot of people have started selling things they normally did as a hobby. Why not do the same? It could be art, prints, photography, sculptures, handcrafted jewelry among others. You can sell these items on etsy, ebay, amazon handmade etc.
You can list your products there and then make use of your Instagram page to publicize, promote and market your craft to the world. You can have images of the products you have created on your profile, post reviews from satisfied customers, do unboxing videos of your products etc.
5. Affiliate Marketing
If you are into affiliate marketing, you would come to realize that its basic essence is to drive as much traffic as possible to your site through as many channels as possible. Instagram has over 700 million monthly active users and as such, it provides a great opportunity for making sales of your product.
You can go to sites like Clickbank or amazon where you can become an affiliate marketer. You will be given a link which you will have to promote to get sales. You can get from 10 to 76 percent commission on any sale that is made through your link and you can promote the product through your Instagram page.
Feel free to have pictures of the products you are promoting, experiences from happy customers who have used the products, and reviews posted on your page. Insert your affiliate link to your page so that people can easily get the product that you are marketing
6. Showcase and Sell your Services
Whatever services you provide; be you a freelancer that provides proofreading, editing, graphics design, video animations, digital marketing etc., you can use your Instagram page to draw more customers to your service that you are offering.
If you are an interior decorator or designer, you can use your page to display your previous works so as to convince new customers on your ability to deliver.
7. Real Estate
Real estate is obviously a multi-million dollar industry that employs thousands of Americans. However, people tend to not recognize the power that social media can have when properly harnessed.
You can use your page to promote the properties that are under your portfolio for better outreach and publicity by displaying them on your page. Post images of the rooms and houses you have sold and the one you have up for sales, and of course your contact.
8. Cars for Sale
In addition to ebay motors, craigslist and dealerships where you can put your cars up for sale, you can also use Instagram well. You can get into your customers feed and show them the latest cars you have for sale. You can also post the pictures of cars you have sold in the past to increase your credibility.
9. Blog/YouTube Advertising from AdSense
Google AdSense is the means by which Google pays bloggers and YouTube channel owners for displaying adverts on their page. You can post images and videos from your blog or YouTube channel on your Instagram profile as a tease to get people to click on your link and also add a link to get to your blog or YouTube channel so as to improve the clicks you get.
10. Network Marketing
This is somewhat similar to affiliate marketing. There are many network marketing companies out there like Avon, Beachbody, Herbal life, Marykay to just mention but a few.
These businesses do not just allow you to sell their products and to get a commission, they also allow you to recruit people and make money off their commission. This allows you to build a kind of small organization within an organization with network marketing.
Unlike affiliate marketing though, you may have to make some payments in order to start with these companies because they are business and as such they try to make sure that the people who intend to sell their products are serious minded individuals. You can make use of Instagram to promote your network.
11. Instagram Manager
A lot of brands need to stay in contact with their customers through social media; however, not everyone has the ability or to come up with engaging posts. This is where the service of an Instagram manager comes in. He or she specializes in making posts on Instagram for a brand, page or service.
12. Instagram Influencer
One of the very lucrative business options that are available on Instagram is to be an Instagram influencer. Instagram influencers are fellow users who due to the virtue of their fame, popularity, trustworthiness and originality are able to persuade other user to take an action.
To be able to achieve this, they take their time and effort to become “gurus” in a particular niche. As an Instagram influence you may be working with a brand, service or political candidate to promote it to the general public.
13. Product Review
You can build up your popularity and become a force to be reckoned with in online reviews. If you are good at offering video reviews and you have a large number of followers, companies will like to offer you their products to unbox and review so as to gain more popularity.
14. Social Commerce Seller
You can use Instagram as an online store thereby selling directly from the platform using the “buy” button. Alternatively, when customers indicate interest in a product, you can send them an invoice through which they can make payments.
15. Event Photographer
The whole idea of Instagram was built around pictures and as such it is a great work place for photographers. If you cover events as a photographer, you can upload the events that you have covered and then add a means of contacting you in your profile.
16. Product Photographer
You can offer this service which entails taking pictures of products that will be used in ecommerce websites to promote them.
17. Printed Products Seller
If you are skilled in designing patterns for products, then this is for you. You can crest mugs, tea shirts etc. with unique designs then promote them on Instagram.
18. Content Marketing
Due to the uniqueness of Instagram, content marketing on the platform is slightly different. Since Instagram is a picture based, you will have to market content mainly as pictures or videos as opposed to a 300 to 500 word text. You can provide content marketing services to businesses using this method.
19. Content Strategist
This is a lot similar to content marketing. The only difference is that it requires less work. As a content strategist, you work will be to provide your clients with tips, advice and value information about social media as a whole and specifically Instagram and its contents.
20. Graphics Designer
Graphics designer is very much needed in social media circles especially on a picture and video based platform such as Instagram. You can make money by helping businesses design graphics for their business on Instagram as part of their social media campaign.
21. E-book Author
If you have amassed knowledge about social media and Instagram, you can write a book about it and then promote it on Instagram.
22. Stylists
Instagram is also a lovely place to display your gift as stylist for the world to see. You can get a friend or a model, organize a photo shoot and then upload the images to your account and then tell people that you are available for hiring for events.
23. Food Channels
If you are a food enthusiast, then you will love this. You can post pictures of the dishes and snacks that you have made, and also give information on the latest and best places to eat out.
24. Fashion blog
You can start this by uploading your works of fashion in order to get sells from your follower and by also becoming an influencer for cloth brands and fashion houses.
25. Personal Stylist
Like a fashion blog, this is also in the fashion niche. This involves using your Instagram timeline to show off your style while at the same time letting your potential customer know about your availability as a personal stylist.
26. DIY
This involves making tutorials and how-to posts, pictures or videos on new techniques or easier methods of doing everyday tasks thereby helping to increase the knowledge of your followers. Then you can work with other brands that offer supply of your project to make more profit.
27. Confectionary
If you are good at baking cakes, biscuits etc, you can use Instagram to show off your baking skills. You can upload what you have baked and then offer to deliver the products in the event that they should indicate interest.
28. Travel blogger
You can work with airplanes and hotels by sharing travelling tips, advice and useful hacks that can make a trip even more successful.
29. Animator
Since videos are one of the main selling points of Instagram, you can take advantage of this by showcasing your work on Instagram.
30. Musician
You can upload videos and audio files of you singing on Instagram and then offer for your services to be booked for events and parties.
31. Comedian
You can share short videos of your comedy skits or jokes on your timeline and then offer to share your talent with anyone who may wish to hire a comedian.
32. Live workshop instructor
Using Instagram, you can teach or provide lectures on very specific niches and then make use of Instagram to promote your course and book to your potential students.
33. Online course creator
You can create online courses that will help amateurs know about the various means they can market their products using Instagram.
34. Fitness coach
If you enjoy working out and sharing knowledge that has worked for you in body building and fitness, you can offer your services as a personal trainer using the video feature that is available on Instagram. You can arrange for your client to meet with you in your personal gym at home.
35. Life coach
You can also use Instagram to offer life coaching services. You can use the posts and updates to offer quick tip and advice about life in general and then use the Instagram live option for more detailed content.
36. Business coach
You can also make use of Instagram to offer business advice and consulting services to business and entrepreneurs that are in need of it for a fee. You can use the platform to share your knowledge, gather more credibility and followership and thus more clients.
37. Instagram contest service
Running contests and competition is also a popular way of promoting a brand and ultimately making more sales. Using this knowledge, you can organize services where you manage contests and other such giveaways.
38. Photo editing service
If you are skilled in developing mobile applications, you can build an application that is molded around Instagram which includes features such as video and picture editing.
39. Meme maker
In recent times, memes have taken over the social media space, eliciting gags and also succinctly conveying messages. What a lot of people don’t not know about memes is that you can also generate money from the production of memes. Brands at times offer money to people to create memes for them as a way of creating a “buzz” about their products. Using Instagram you can take advantage of this to make and share memes.
40. Live event promoter
Instagram is a very ideal platform to publicize and call attention to live events. Therefore it only makes sense that if you want to enter the business promotion field; you should rely on the popularity of the platform for your success.
41. Sell shoutouts
This simply involves getting paid by telling your followers about someone else’s products, brand or page by simply mentioning them in a post. To make money from shout outs you will need to have a lot of followers. To sell shout outs you can use shoutcart.
42. Webinar host
You can offer webinars on a particular niche, while making use of Instagram to grow your audience and followership and also show off your ability.
43. Pet personality
This one actually sounds weird but the truth is that some people have been able to make it work; like grumpy cat. You can start up an Instagram account that revolves around a particular animal that could be your pet. Later on you can build around it.
44. Magician
If you can perform realistic magic tricks, card trick or juggling, you can show off your skills on Instagram through the video feature and also drop your contact on your profile so that potential customers can easily contact you.
45. Lettering service
If you are skilled in offering special custom lettering and calligraphy services, you can offer this service to brands and individuals that would like to beautify their letterings, and of course, you can use Instagram to showcase your work.
46. Illustrator
Instagram is a great place to offer visual arts and illustrations. As always, post images of your previous work on your page.
47. Videographer
Instagram may have become popular back in the days as a picture sharing app. Today however, Instagram is also known for its short videos. You can start a business of videography and then make use of Instagram to show off you skill.
48. Public speaker
For those looking to offer their services as a public speaker, you can use your Instagram account to share your experience.
49. Secondhand good service
If you have some secondhand goods for sale, you can list them on Instagram, effectively promote them and even let people place bids on your goods.
50. Advertising specialist
You can offer Instagram advertising services to brands looking to leverage those options in their marketing schemes.