Monetizing Social Media

Because signing up for the various social media outlets is often free, we sometimes forget that social media outlets are moneymaking endeavors for their creators.

Many social media outlets rely on the same form of revenue creation that has been associated with other forms of media for some time: advertisements. In particular, these social media employ the interruption-disruption model of advertising. This model of advertising is employed by television marketers (those 30-to-60-second commercials we watch during our favorite television shows), as well as by print marketers (those one- or two-page ads we see in magazines, and those ads of all shapes and sizes in newspapers and other print publications).

Some social media (such as Facebook) use the same kind of advertising, displaying ads both on the side of your news feed and interspersed with the other content on your social media page.

Other social media outlets rely on psychic income. Users who regularly curate information on a wiki may receive a high rating for their work. Someone who contributes regularly on an app that rates restaurants may similarly be rewarded with advanced status. These kinds of “psychic rewards” add satisfaction to a user’s experience and often adequately replace any kind of potential monetary compensation.