What it takes to get paid by YouTube, TikTok and other social platforms

For creators, YouTube is still the top platform for making money. 

No surprise there. It’s had a head start, fine-tuning its monetization model while others scramble to keep up. And with U.S. creators expected to rake in over $15 billion from social media alone this year, according to eMarketer, the stakes have never been higher. For platforms, courting creators isn’t just a strategy, its table stakes. And more often than not, the winning move comes down to cold, hard cash. 

“If you asked 10 creators what platform they prefer for monetizing outside of brand partnerships, you’d probably get at least nine (if not all) saying YouTube,” said Keith Bendes, chief strategy officer at Linqia. “Interestingly though, if you asked 10 brands which platform they prefer for creator partnerships, you’d probably get nine (or all of them) saying Instagram or TikTok.”

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