Risk is real for creators in today’s social commerce landscape. Relying solely on one platform or income stream can result in tough challenges due to ever-changing algorithms and fluctuating market trends. As a result, diversification has become not just a strategy but a necessity for creators aiming to enhance their visibility and financial stability.
Risk is real for creators in today’s social commerce landscape. Relying solely on one platform or income stream can result in tough challenges due to ever-changing algorithms and fluctuating market trends. As a result, diversification has become not just a strategy but a necessity for creators aiming to enhance their visibility and financial stability.
This article delves into four crucial areas of diversification: social media platforms, monetization methods, retailer and brand selection, and content monetization platforms. By considering each of these avenues to diversify, creators can discover new earning opportunities, find ways to grow audience reach, and build more resilient business models.
Blending the Right Social Media Platform Strategy
The volatility of social media algorithms and unpredictability of policy updates can directly impact the bottom line, so creators must understand the importance of not relying solely on any one single platform for content distribution. For instance, an unfavorable algorithm update could lead to substantial losses in audience reach or story views, potentially impacting a creator's business by 30% or more. Extreme scenarios, such as a platform being banned (such as the TikTok ban), or sudden account suspensions, underscore the vulnerabilities of depending too heavily on a single platform.
While managing content distribution and audience engagement on multiple platforms is more work, it can be worth the investment. For instance, creators who primarily use TikTok should consider expanding their presence to Instagram and YouTube (if they haven’t already). Facebook content creators should think about integrating Instagram into their strategy.
There are also opportunities for creators to “own” a portion of their audience via a personal blog or newsletter distribution. While both of these take time to establish and require a creator to promote in order to grow, blogs and newsletters can engage followers in a more risk-free environment compared to major social platforms. In many cases, blogs and newsletters may not be the majority of a creator’s audience, but they can be the most loyal and highest converting. Conversion rates can be double or triple on a blog versus social media posts. So, 5% of clicks on a creator’s personal blog can bring in 15% of revenue. Also, blog posts can live on and pick up SEO value, unlike most social content which disappears after 24 hours.
Why Monetization Types Matter
Blending performance-based (affiliate marketing) and flat rate (brand sponsorship) monetization strategies can fortify a creator's financial stability. Here’s why: relying solely on brand sponsorships can be risky, especially during economic downturns or budget cuts in marketing. Economies are not always flush, and when times get tougher, top of the funnel dollars in brand sponsorships can dry up or shift to lower funnel performance dollars quickly.
Creators that haven’t tapped into the power of affiliate marketing are leaving earnings on the table. Affiliate marketing offers a sustainable, performance-based revenue stream that diversifies revenue, boosts authenticity and helps fuel flat rate opportunities. It requires hard work and performance to earn (because creators only generate revenue when they drive sales), but affiliate marketing allows creators the freedom to pick what they want to post and produce content that is authentic and driven by their own style and voice. Followers can often fatigue from seeing too many sponsorships that come off as “salesy”, so affiliate driven content can change things up. Sales data driven by affiliate marketing can also help creators increase their campaign win rates as they pitch for more flat rate deals. Ultimately, a blend of affiliate monetization with sponsorships is a great business move.
Choosing the Right Retailers & Brands
Selecting content from a variety of retailers can enhance a creator’s offering and earnings. This type of diversification helps keep content fresh and prevents audience fatigue, and also capitalizes on earning windows from category specific merchants. What is beauty without Ulta, kids’ clothing without The Children’s Place and Carter’s, or footwear without Nike or New Balance? Sticking with just one or two retailers may not be the best long term play.
Diversity in retailer choice allows creators to tap into unique promotions and product lines that followers will love and that aren’t always matched at Amazon. Creators that don’t branch out will miss opportunities to promote some of the best sales for their audiences and large earnings drivers for themselves. This diversification can drive both short term revenue wins as well as longer term sustainability.
Versatility Across Creator Monetization Platforms
It’s vital for a creator to tap into more than just one multi-retailer monetization platform. Relying on just one partner can limit access to services, retailer rates and coverage, and other earning opportunities. For instance, one platform could have rates for a top retailer at 10%, while another has the same retailer at 15%. Or a creator may not land a sponsorship opportunity on one platform but could on a different one. Also, service varies widely across platforms, where with one partner you may just have an email alias or ticketing system to submit a question, while on another platform you could gain access to a dedicated account manager to help grow your business. Working across multiple monetization platforms may take a bit of extra effort, but the payoff can be very large.
The advantages of diversifying social channels, monetization methods, retailer partnerships, and creator monetization platforms are clear. Putting too many eggs in one or two baskets – especially for creators where social commerce earnings are their sole income – means their business carries a high-risk profile. Diversification takes work, and creators should experiment with what works best for the time they have available and for what their audience wants to see. Those who are open to diversifying their approach to content and earnings stand the best chance of seeing sustainable success.
Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.
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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.