We’re All Working for Instagram, for Free
Why do you share content on Instagram? Have you asked yourself that question sincerely recently?
I believe it’s time more of us do.
Think about it…
How does Instagram make money? They charge advertisers millions of dollars to reach the eyes of people, like you and I, that are spending time looking at content on the app. Who creates the content on the app that others want to look at? You and I do every time we post a new photo, video or story. Is Instagram paying you for that?
Advertising is an old model many businesses have relied on for a long time, but in Instagram’s case, there’s one big difference: They’re not paying you for the content they’re profiting from.
Let’s look at other businesses running on the same model.
How does YouTube make money? They charge advertisers millions of dollars to reach the eyes of people that are spending time watching their video content. Who creates the content that others want to look at? Individuals, like you and I, who share videos on the platform. So, does YouTube pay individual content creators for the videos they create? Yup, they sure do.
How do magazines make money? They charge advertisers millions of dollars to reach the eyes of people that are spending time reading their article content. Who creates the content that others want to look at? Writers & editors work hard to write articles that other’s will find interesting. Do magazines pay writers and editors for that? Definitely.
Although not the same, even Netflix’s model relates. How do they make money? They charge individuals $10 a month to access video content they are interested in. Who creates the content that we want to look at? Writers, directors, producers, actors etc, who create TV shows and films that we’ll want to watch. Does Netflix pay filmmakers for that? Yes, a lot.
So my question is why isn’t Instagram paying us for the content that we’re creating when that is what they’re profiting from?
Wherever you land on that question, the more important thing to ask is why we choose to share content on Instagram.
Is it because you run a business and it’s the platform you choose to market on? Spending several hours a week creating content for that would make sense since you might earn some income from it.
Is it because you’re a content creator and you want to get paid to create content? Fair enough, you could earn money for your effort.
Is it because you think it’s part of your job or it’ll help you get a job in the future? First off, ask yourself if that’s actually true. If it is, then there’s a case for you to spend time creating content, because you’ll get something from it.
But, for those of us who don’t run a business on Instagram, it’s not part of our jobs and we’re not content creators…why do we decide to spend our valuable time and energy posting photos and videos for Instagram?
Seriously though, why do we?
We’re not getting anything from it. In fact, we’re giving away our most valuable resource, time, to do it.
Do we do it because everyone else does?
Do we do it because we want to get approval from others?
Do we do it because it makes us feel as though we’re “doing something”?
If you’re posting at least a few times a week or more, you’re likely spending several hours a month/year creating content that Instagram makes money from. What are you getting in return?
What other entity do you choose to give your time to so they can make money? Your employer. And in that case, you’re getting paid for your time.
But in Instagram’s case, we’re working for them for free.
Is that something that we feel comfortable with?
Would we still feel comfortable with that while knowing that Instagram might be listening to our conversations to serve us better ads?
Posting on Instagram or sharing on Facebook isn’t a necessary part of life. Many people don’t do it and live perfectly happy lives. In fact, even some of the people who created the “like” button for Facebook are now weening themselves off the platforms they created.
So…next time you share on Instagram, ask yourself Why. There’s nothing wrong with doing least then you’ll be choosing to be conscious actor in system profiting from your behavior, instead of doing it “just because”.
