Making money on Facebook isn’t as simple as running ads and watching the dollar bills roll in. Sure, you may get some likes on your fan Page and make a few bucks off a sponsored post. But this passive approach will rarely succeed in the long run.
If you want to make money on Facebook, you need to build and scale your brand (even if it’s just you!) with intention. Only then will you have the solid foundation required to reach new audiences, win new customers, and retain existing ones.
An efficient Facebook monetization plan results from many strategic decisions — the brand you cultivate, the videos you create, the products you sell online, and more. When done right, your Facebook ecosystem won’t just accelerate your growth; it will help you build meaningful relationships at scale and generate more money online.
How to earn money from Facebook
Okay, enough beating around the bush. Let’s dive in!
1. Sell stuff on Facebook Marketplace. Facebook Marketplace is a great place for individuals and businesses to sell products online. You can use it to display your wares and run Facebook ads to connect with shoppers.
Need proof that it works? Succulents Box added 150 listings to Marketplace to sell off their rare, slower-selling products and saw a 66% average increase in monthly purchases and a 19% increase in revenue from their Marketplace listings.
2. Find a new gig. Did you know Facebook has a section for job listings? Give Facebook Jobs a quick scan to find open positions and freelance gigs for extra cash. Here’s where your personal brand becomes a true asset.
3. Create Facebook apps. Are you interested in developing and creating apps for Facebook? Register as a Facebook developer and use the platform’s app development tools to build, test, and release apps for Facebook users.
Facebook also offers events like hackathons and developer jams, and provides technical resources to help build your expertise and create awesome Facebook apps.
4. Build a Facebook Shop. Sell products online with a free storefront on Facebook and Instagram through a Facebook Shop. You can sell your own stuff or sell dropshipping products without holding any inventory. You’ll just need to use an eCommerce platform like Shopify to set up a Facebook Shop.
Read more: What Are Facebook Shops? How to Get Started + Best Practices
5. Manage a Facebook Group. Online creators and educators can build Facebook Groups to earn money from Facebook. Kelly Mirabella, founder of Baby Got Bot, connects with potential customers through her Facebook Group, the members of which she sells products and services to over time.
“Build your community and bring tons of value first,” Kelly advises. ”I give more than I take in my Facebook Group. So, when it comes time to sell, I sell out because people know and trust me.”
Kelly also mines her group members for new product ideas. She regularly asks the community what they want and limits group entry to maintain high activity levels. “Nearly every program I’ve built, from courses to full-day intensives, have been constructed in part by community input.”
How to make money on Facebook videos
6. Monetize your videos with ads. Earn money on Facebook by running in-stream ads in your video content. These are best for people who post long videos on their profile and have relevant content for advertisers. Facebook will automatically look for opportunities to place an ad before, during, or after your video, or you can choose your own placement.
Facebook determines your earnings based on the number of video views an ad receives and who the advertiser is. Before including ads in your videos, read Facebook’s Partner Monetization Policies. There are also other eligibility requirements your Page and content must meet to be approved before you can run ads.
7. Earn cash from streaming. A newer feature, Facebook Stars, provides a way to earn money when using Facebook live video. Viewers can buy stars and send them to you to show support. You get paid one cent for every star you receive.
After leveraging this opportunity for his woodworking client, Robert Johnson, founder of Sawinery, found that people went beyond giving Stars. “One of our clients is selling his woodwork via Facebook live streaming,” he explains. “People are engaging through real-time comments and even buying products from him through the live video.”
8. Run paid online events. The COVID-19 pandemic has canceled many in-person events, leaving people with gaps in their revenue streams. In response, Facebook created Paid Online Events to help creators earn money on Facebook by monetizing their live events.
You create an online event on your business Page, then charge people a one-time access fee to watch and participate. You can engage with customers, generate revenue, and find new customers for your business you may not have found offline.
Read more: How to Use Paid Online Events
How to make money through Facebook advertising
9. Build Messenger bots. A Messenger bot is a chatbot that integrates with Facebook Messenger. It helps businesses answer shoppers’ questions about products, payments, returns, etc. You can use them to automate customer service and sell more products on Facebook.
Many bot builders go on to create agencies that can achieve 1,200% ROAS for online stores. Such agencies help businesses acquire, engage, and support shoppers throughout the entire customer journey.
Read more: How to Build a Messenger Bot in 24 Minutes
10. Manage Facebook ads. Managing Facebook ads is a great complementary skill for building Messenger bots. You can create ads that click into Messenger, video ads, or various other types that generate leads for online businesses. Ad management involves setup, creation, execution, and analysis. When done well, managing Facebook ads can net you monthly revenue from clients and enable you to grow a business through performing this one activity.
If this sounds like the monetization plan for you, read How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency.
Run more efficient Facebook ads and grow your business with ManyChat. Start free today.
11. Start a dropshipping store. Dropshipping is a business model where the seller (you) doesn’t keep products in stock. When someone buys an item from your store, a third party fulfills and ships the order directly to the customer.
Dropshipping and Facebook ads go hand in hand. You can run ads to your online store or Facebook Shop and drive sales for your business. Nicole Martins Ferreira, an eCommerce and dropshipping expert, spent $191,480 on Facebook ads for one of her dropshipping stores. The result? $374,002 in revenue.
12. Boost posts. Facebook boost posts are ads you can launch from your Facebook Page. If you have a focused offer and a solid organic Facebook presence, you can reach a fair number of people and drive sales for your business with minimal effort.
How to make money with Facebook Pages
13. Add a subscription to your Page. Fan Subscriptions let your followers fund your Page through monthly payments in exchange for exclusive perks like discounts, personal interactions, and content. You can identify supporters through a special badge Facebook awards them. A Page subscription helps you create flexible, predictable income streams from your following and builds your community.
Learn how to Reward Fans and Add Revenue With Fan Subscriptions.
14. Create branded content. Another way to earn money on Facebook is by collaborating with brands your audience is interested in. You could partner with Facebook influencers, media companies, or other advertisers and marketers to publish content organically or as an ad.
Considering two out of three consumers trust branded content more than traditional advertising, promoting this type of content is an effective way to stand out and leverage paid partnerships to grow your Facebook presence.
Apply to be part of the Brand Collabs Manager to start today.
15. Become a social media manager. Are you creative? Do you enjoy talking with people online? Test your skills and become a social media manager for different brands. You’d be in charge of developing brand social media campaigns to grow their following, generate leads, and help boost sales for the company. You could offer this as a freelance service or side hustle, or get a full-time job.
16. Become an affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other company’s products or services. When you sign up for an affiliate program, you’ll receive a referral link you can include in your Facebook CTAs. Any sales that result from your promotion earns you a reward.
Typically, an affiliate program will pay a dollar amount or percentage of the sale but could also offer discounted or free products in exchange for your advertising efforts.
17. Drive traffic to your blog. Marketers can also make money on their Facebook Page by directing their followers to their blog. This can be a significant source of traffic if you have a large following on Facebook. You could place Google Adsense banners on your blog, promote affiliate links, sell your own products, build an email list, and so much more.
Making money online using social media
Gone are the days when you could spam Facebook followers and churn out dollars with ease. Today, it’s all about building meaningful relationships with people and building trust with them before selling anything. Whether your goal is to generate leads, increase brand awareness, or drive sales, you can use this guide’s tactics to make money on Facebook and create better business outcomes.
