How much are YOUR Instagram posts worth? Users with 1,000 followers could net £4,160 a year by promoting brands (and anyone with 100,000 can earn more than a lawyer)

he Social Club allows brands to pay users for sponsored posts on their accounts - essentially highly personalised ads. These posts are typically marked as sponsored, but follow a "recommendation" style.

Instagram is

 the company's strongest platform, but they're keen to help popular YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook users too.

"We get really good engagement levels on Instagram compared to the likes of Facebook or Twitter," Clark said.

The company have signed around 500 users since launching in September 2015, and are adding about 50 users a week. Most of those users are young and Kiwi, and a slight majority are women.

While many of their users have followers in the low thousands, one has 3 million.

HOW MUCH CAN YOU MAKE?

With followers in the low thousands, influencers can't expect to make much money - the company suggests just $50 to $100 per post, and only one or two a week, or followers will revolt.

But no two followers are made the same - advertisers are quite keen to reach older demographics.

"Influencers with older followings are particularly valuable, as social media is generally a young person's game."

As the followers add up, so does the cash - but not all that fast. Users with 5000 to 25,000 followers can expect up to $250 for a post. With 25,000 to 50,000 each post should bring in between $200 and $450.

Max Key likely has the most talked about Instagram account in the country. With this pricing he couldn't make more than $450 per sponsored post, as he only has 28,000 followers. Same story with Chrystal Chenery's account.

Even users with between 250,000 and 500,000 followers can't expect more than $2500, and might have to settle as low as $800.

As a blunt comparison: fewer than 600,000 Kiwis generally watch One News live every night, but an ad there will cost you over $10,000.

Clark made clear that these rates are negotiable, and could change if the user had a high profile outside of social media.

In other words, Max Key and Crystal Chenery would probably make a little more. Simple product photos cost a lot less than demonstration videos, and popular Snapchat users demand more than Instagram users.

A comparison with the mature TV market is also somewhat unfair, as social advertising is still working its kinks out.

One of biggest problems in the space is measurement. Traditional web advertising was easy to measure: advertisers could track clicks, and then "conversions" - clicks where a user eventually bought a product or signed up for a service.

Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat offer no clickable links, frustrating such efforts.

"At the moment the best way is to measure things is to really turn off other marketing efforts and see what comes just from social," Clark said.

Advertisers also employ promo codes and other trackers to see where clicks are coming from. The nascent podcast advertising industry follows a similar method.

While users without many followers might not be raking in much cash right away, Clark said the company was keen to talk to "anyone who is really interested in getting in the space".