Being a content creator or social media influencer continues to be a highly sought after profession, with over half of Gen Z reporting the desire to pursue the career. With platforms like TikTok facing potential bans in the U.S. this month, creators may need to shift their top-earning platforms to stay afloat.
Why It Matters
A 2023 creator earnings and insights report found that the global influencer market was worth about $21 billion in 2023, and that value is set blow up to over $480 billion by 2027. The desire to work with influencers and leverage influencer marketing is booming, with a quarter or marketers planning to use influencers in 2025 to promote products.
Despite the success of influencer marketing, a 2023 NEOREACH Industry Report on creator earnings found that “Over 48% of our surveyed creators earn $15,000 or less.” This finding could indicate that more than just a payout from the social media platform itself goes into creating a living for aspiring social media influencers.
In this photo illustration, social media networking apps are displayed on a phone screen on December 01, 2024 in Newcastle, Australia. Creators may wonder what social media platforms could earn them the most money
Roni Bintang/Getty Images
What To Know
YouTube takes the top spot for the most lucrative platform for creators on social media, paying out over $70 billion USD through their partner program according to Forbes Australia. Trends that indicate people are more likely to use subscriptions and watch videos on their TVs help inform some of YouTube’s success. Creators are most often paid from things like ad revenue, the YouTube partner program and brand deals. A creator’s niche audience also has one of the biggest impacts on the amount of money the creator can make.
TikTok comes in as another of the most lucrative social media platforms for creators, utilizing similar revenue streams to YouTube, including a Creator Fund, ads and brand deals. It’s important to note that to earn with many of these platforms, creators must meet certain standard of viewership or engagement. TikTok‘s parameters are 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in a 30-day period to gain access to the creator fund, according to Business Insider.
Meta-based social media networks like Facebook and Instagram are the largest apps in terms of revenue generated, but they fall short on payouts to creators. Still, creators earn in the same fashion as many of the other, more lucrative social networks, YouTube and TikTok.
What People Are Saying
Andrew Monasterio, DNP, PMHNP-BC, APN, a psychiatric nurse practitioner from Mindpath College Health, Isla Vista told Parents.com: “While the influencer path may seem like a ticket to financial independence, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, especially if you’re entangled in deals with brands that operate on tight budgets and have their own agendas.”
Claudia Page, director of product and strategy for Metaverse Development told business.com: “Brands are increasingly doling out dollars to content creators due to their unique ability to produce relevant, authentic stories that resonate with consumers’ evolving media consumption habits. Most everyday brands find it difficult to naturally enter lifestyle conversations because they lack credibility in those spaces.”
Ariana Nathani, founder of the podcast-and-events company Drinks First, told Business Insider: “Brands are not just paying for my social-media presence, they’re getting access to my community of thousands of people. I’ve gotten to the point where it’s now financially viable for me to turn down opportunities that don’t align with the brand.”
What Happens Next
The Supreme Court is due to hear the case on banning TikTok January 10, 2025. The court’s final judgement will be instrumental in determining the fate of one of the most lucrative social media platforms for creators in the U.S.
