Reels have become one of the most popular ways for creators to make money on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. As reels continue to gain popularity, more and more creators are looking to monetize their content through this format. However, it can be difficult to know if your reels are actually generating revenue or not. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the key metrics and insights you need to track to determine if your reels are making money.
Metrics to Track
Here are the main metrics you should be tracking for your reels:
Views
One of the most basic metrics is views. This tells you how many times your reel has been viewed. A high number of views signals that your content is resonating with users and being shown to a wide audience. As you build up views over time, your discoverability improves and Instagram will recommend your reels to more users.
However, keep in mind that views alone don’t equal money. You need your audience to take actions like follows, shares, comments, and driving traffic to a money-making link in your bio or pinned comment. We’ll cover these other metrics next.
Follows
If your reels are gaining you new followers, that’s a strong sign they are providing value. More followers means more potential customers and a larger reach for future content.
Analyze follower growth before and after posting certain reels to see which content is attracting the most new followers. This content is worth replicating in the future.
Shares
When users share your reel, they are essentially promoting your content for free by passing it along to more users. More shares equals greater visibility.
See which reels generate the most shares and aim to recreate that successful style and formatting for future content.
Comments
A high comment count demonstrates engagement. Do your best to reply to comments and foster two-way conversation. This helps build community and loyalty.
Pay attention to what users are saying in comments. This provides valuable insight into what resonates most with your audience and what they want to see more of.
Link clicks
If you have a money-making link in your Instagram bio or as a pinned comment on your reels, check how many users are actually clicking it after viewing your reels. This shows whether your content is driving traffic to products, services, or other monetization opportunities.
Tools like Linktree or LinkinProfile can help track link clicks. Strive to create reels that drive conversion through your link.
Collaborations
Track opportunities to collaborate with brands or other creators that come about as a result of your reels. Paid partnerships, affiliate promotions, and sponsorship deals are tangible ways reels can monetize.
Leverage your top performing reels as evidence of your influence when pitching to brands.
Creator Funds
Platforms like Instagram and TikTok offer creator funds that pay users directly for posting engaging reels. However, eligibility and payment criteria is opaque.
Post consistently, analyze typical monthly earnings, and aim to increase views, engagement, and time spent watching to potentially earn more.
Connecting Reels to Revenue Streams
Simply getting views on reels is not enough to make money – you need to connect them to real monetization streams. Here are some of the best ways to monetize your reels content:
Affiliate Links
The most direct way to generate income from reels is by promoting affiliate links to products and services. Add affiliate links to your bio and pin a comment with relevant affiliate links on each reel.
When viewers see your reel featuring a product, a percentage will click through your affiliate link and you’ll earn commission on any purchases.
Brand Partnerships
Once you’ve built a sizable, engaged audience with your reels, approach brands and sponsors for paid partnership deals.
Pitch yourself as an influencer who can create branded content and promotional reels tailored to their target audience. Negotiate a rate based on your follower count and engagement metrics.
Sell Products or Merchandise
You can also directly sell your own products, services, online courses, merchandise, and more through links shared on your reels.
Promote your offerings through demo reels and behind-the-scenes content. The sales come from driving traffic to your website, store, or sales channels.
Paid Subscriptions
Some creators offer exclusive content, tools, resources, and more through paid subscriptions. Promote your subscriptions through your free reels.
For example, a cooking creator could post recipe reels for free but charge for access to premium recipe collections. Subscriptions provide ongoing revenue.
Donations
Loyal audiences who get a lot of value from your content may be willing to directly support you through donations. Platforms like Patreon allow fans to donate monthly amounts.
Tastefully promote your Patreon through reels updates and behind-the-scenes content that shows how donations help you create content.
Licensing Content
Media companies or advertisers may license your reels for their own use. You can charge licensing fees for them to essentially “rent” your content.
Make it easy to contact you for licensing through your bio link or contact email. Your highest performing reels have the most licensing value.
Reels Insights and Analytics
Manually tracking all the metrics mentioned above can be time consuming. Fortunately, social platforms provide content creators with analytics and insights to evaluate performance. Here are the key platforms to leverage:
Instagram Insights
Dive into the Instagram Insights section of your profile to analyze metrics like:
– Reach
– Impressions
– Engagement rate
– Followers growth
– Interactions on posts
– Link clicks
– Audience demographics
Regularly analyze this data for your reels to identify high performers and learn what content resonates most with your audience.
TikTok Analytics
Similarly, TikTok has a Creator Analytics dashboard you should stay on top of. It provides info such as:
– Video views
– Shares
– Comments
– Likes & dislikes
– Audience geography
– Traffic sources
– Follower growth
Use these insights to fine-tune your content strategy and capitalize on what works.
Third-Party Analytics Tools
Additionally, third-party social media analytics tools like Iconosquare, Social Blade, and Sprout Social can provide more data around engagement and audience growth. Connect your profile to analyze deeper metrics.
Some tools even estimate potential earnings from TikTok and Instagram based on your performance. This can give you goals for how much money you could make.
Tips for Increasing Earnings from Reels
Here are some proven tips for maximizing the money you make from reels content:
Optimize Your Bio Link
Make sure your Instagram and TikTok bios have a clear, clickable link to your products, website, or sales funnel. This is prime real estate for monetization.
Use a link management tool like Linktree to organize all your affiliate programs and offerings in one place that you control.
Use Strategic Hashtags
Include a mix of popular and niche hashtags to increase discovery by new users who search those tags. Identify trending hashtags around topics relevant to your niche.
But don’t overdo the hashtags – Instagram reels currently support up to 15 but you may only need 5-10 for smaller niches.
Re-post Your Best Content
Don’t be afraid to re-post your best performing reels multiple times. Spread them out over weeks or months. This gives new users who haven’t seen it before more chances to discover the content.
Just don’t over-saturate by re-posting too often. Once or twice a month per reel is okay.
Post Consistently
The more content you put out, the more chances you have to go viral and make money. But be careful about flooding followers’ feeds.
Posting 1-2 new pieces of content per day is optimal at first. Then you can increase frequency as your following grows.
Engage With Your Audience
Reply to comments, incorporate user-generated content, and foster back-and-forth discussion to build a community around your brand. This helps convert viewers into paying customers.
Loyal followers who feel invested in your brand will promote you organically through shares, tags, and recommendations.
Promote Widely
Don’t just post your reel on Instagram or TikTok. Also share reels across YouTube Shorts, Spotify Greenroom, Facebook Reels and anywhere else that allows video content.
More platforms equal more discoverability. Drive viewers back to your main profiles through links and watermarks.
Collaborate Strategically
Look for mutually beneficial collaboration opportunities with relevant influencers, brands, or creators in your niche. Cross-promote each other to tap into new audiences.
Even micro-influencers with only 1-10k engaged followers can help broaden your reach.
Evaluating Costs and ROI
To determine if your reels strategy is truly profitable, you need to factor in costs like:
– Tools and software subscriptions
– Equipment like cameras, microphones, lighting
– Production help like writers, editors, graphics
– Paid ads or influencer promotions
Weigh the earnings generated from the reels against these expenses. Are you making more than you spend? How much does each new follower or conversion end up costing you?
These ROI calculations help you set realistic rates for brand partnerships and determine how much to invest in video production.
You can also A/B test content formats and styles to determine which perform best for your audience and provide the highest ROI. Try tweaking elements like music, visuals, captions and more to optimize profitability.
Using Data to Improve
Analyze the metrics and ROI over time to continually refine your reels strategy. Here are some ways to use the data:
Double Down on Winners
When you identify specific types of reels that gain high engagement and conversions, put more resources into making similar content. Give the audience more of what succeeds.
For example, reels with a certain style of background music or humor may stand out as high performers. Replicate and scale up those elements.
Stop Wasting Time on Losers
If some of your reels consistently underperform with low engagement and conversion rates, consider retiring those formats.
Don’t keep dumping resources into content styles and niches that clearly don’t resonate with your audience. Move on and reallocate effort more effectively.
Refine Conversion Funnels
Look for drop off points in your conversion funnel from reel views to actual sales. Then optimize each step of the process.
For example, if many people click your bio link but don’t purchase, improve your landing page experience to drive more conversions.
Set Goals for Growth
Use your metrics and earnings history to set targets month-over-month or quarter-over-quarter. Push yourself to increase views, lower cost per conversion, earn higher revenue per reel, etc.
These benchmarks help motivate you and ensure your reels strategy consistently improves. Analyze both internal data and external industry benchmarks.
Conclusion
Determining if your reels are making money requires tracking metrics like views, engagement, affiliates sales, subscriptions, and brand deals. Connect your top content to money-making links. Use analytics to optimize your strategy for profitability. Consistently post high-quality reels tailored to your audience’s interests. With the right data and monetization approach, your reels can become a lucrative channel.