30+ Social Media Business Ideas (List & Examples)
Interested in starting a social media business but not quite sure what to start?
The good news is, with a little experience + knowledge in this space, there are so many opportunities to build an innovative product/service in this industry.
We put together a list of 31 profitable social media business ideas (with examples) you can start today!
Here they are:
1. Start an online video editing business ($72K/year)
Sabba Keynejad from London, England, United Kingdom started VEED over 4 years ago, a online video editing business.
- Revenue: $6,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 1
- Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Tim and I met during an online hackathon. During the hackathon participants were encouraged to meetup for real. We actually got on really well, and stayed friends and kept spitballing ideas for a startup for years.
At this time, I was a design student at Central Saint Martins and I had recently won a competition for Sony Music creating an interactive music video for the band Hurts with my friend Virgil. Then soon after graduation, I started working as a creative technologist in London for a bunch of different advertising & branding agencies and a few startups too.
2. Become an author ($240K/year)
Nick Thacker from Colorado, USA started Conundrum Publishing about 6 years ago, a author.
- Revenue: $20,000/ month
- Founders: 1
- Employees: 2
- Location: Colorado, USA
I’ve always been a fanatic reader, specifically in the thriller genre. I discovered Dan Brown as a kid, then James Rollins, and I’ve always love action movies that combine adrenaline and history (think National Treasure, Indiana Jones, etc.).
I decided to write a book (my first was called The Golden Crystal, and it has been re-launched as The Atlantis Stone) when my grandfather passed away. He had always been a strong positive influence in my life, and he, my dad, and I often swapped paperbacks we liked. That first book was intended as a gift for my dad for Christmas, and it was going to be the only one I ever wrote -- just to see if I could do it.
I had no idea what I was doing (arguably, I still don’t…). I just thought it would be fun to combine technology with the discovery of Atlantis… in some way. When I got started, I was naive enough to think that books simply happen, but the book very quickly got the best of me. I took a six-month break and consumed as much as I could on the subject of the craft of writing fiction. I’d never really written anything before, so it was an eye-opening experience to learn about structure, plot tropes, character development, and everything else that goes into a good, cohesive story.
3. Start a recruiting agency ($3.48M/year)
Sharon Koifman from Montreal, Quebec, Canada started DistantJob about 15 years ago, a recruiting agency.
- Revenue: $290,000/ month
- Founders: 1
- Employees: 26
- Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
I started off by running and owning a hosting company called Empire Host. We had about 3K clients at the time support was run from two offices in India with nearly 30 employees.
We were also providing an outsourcing package. Our business solutions were really cheap and to be frank, our results were mediocre at best. Although the service was fine for any mom and pop shop or even an “any results will do” kind of company, we noticed that too often, people who run tech companies actually outsourced to companies such as ourselves even work that went into their core offering - because it was cheap.
At the time, what outsourcing really was, was an arbitrage business. But the concept that people would outsource big chunks of their business to a company that does not provide the same level of communication, process, quality control, and culture just because they’ll save a lot of money, that idea really stuck with me.
4. Start a social media marketing service ($600K/year)
David Schlais from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA started Vital Traffic Labs over 6 years ago, a social media marketing service.
- Revenue: $50,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 0
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
My personal background is in B2B enterprise sales, and at my previous employer, things were going great for the first 2.5 years that I was an employee there. I moved up quickly, was promoted twice, and actually had the opportunity to build out a team. Unfortunately, one day that all changed and I realized that I was deeply unhappy, and after years of trying and failing to start businesses online I thought that maybe it was time for one more go.
Your pot of gold and freedom is out there somewhere, but you will never find it until you start looking for it.
The company I was working for announced that it was being acquired, so I decided to give my old friend Derek a call. Initially, I pitched him on starting a recruitment agency together (both of us had started our careers at an executive search office together). He said that he would think about it, and actually came to me with the idea for an SMMA (Social Media Marketing Agency).
5. Create an online course ($60K/year)
Lidiya Kesarovska from The Netherlands started Let's Reach Success about 10 years ago, a online course.
- Revenue: $5,000/ month
- Founders: 1
- Employees: 0
- Location: The Netherlands
Back in 2013, I had already discovered my passion - personal development - and had realized writing is the best way to express myself. So I combined these and started a self-improvement blog.
Starting the blog was the best decision and not giving up on it over the years (even when no traffic or money was coming in) was what helped me move forward.
It was first just a hobby and I knew nothing about blogging. Over the years, after publishing a ton of content, gaining traffic, learning about SEO, email marketing, social media, and all the ways to monetize a blog, it became a real business.
6. Start an influencer platform ($0/year)
Arielle Frank from Los Angeles, California, USA started Clout Collective over 4 years ago, a influencer platform.
- Revenue: $0/ month
- Founders: 1
- Employees: 1
- Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
I spent the majority of my upbringing in the SF Bay Area a few towns over from Palo Alto. It was an exciting time to live in Silicon Valley-- I distinctly remember the line of people camping out for the release of the very first iPhone as Steve Wozniak rolled up on his Segway to say hi. With an adversarial stubbornness unique to teenagers, I set my sights on the furthest thing I could think of from Silicon Valley and startup culture; working in the music industry.
I spent the first half of my twenties vying for a job in music, and the second half living out my aspirations, spearheading marketing efforts for indie and major labels. Working in music certainly delivered on my original plan to avoid innovation and technology at all costs. Eventually, the limitations of such an environment caught up with me and after two years at Sony Music, I was deeply frustrated by the company’s inflexible and outdated culture.
In an effort to feel professionally fulfilled, I was desperately seeking new challenges outside of work. Around the same time within Sony, we were starting to heavily utilize influencers to market our artists. Through this direct exposure, I was introduced to the world of influencer marketing. At the time, it was late 2015 and I was overcome with excitement for the potential of this new type of marketing. It had all the makings of the perfect storm of opportunity-- no clear best practices, few regulations, & little to no standardization.
7. ($48K/year)
Brock McGoff from Tucson, Arizona, USA started The Modest Man almost 11 years ago, a business.
- Revenue: $4,000/ month
- Founders: 1
- Employees: 8
- Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after college. My dad was an entrepreneur, and I had the spirit, but with no direction. I got a job in marketing/communications and ran a music production side hustle for a while.
I tried my hand at music full time and basically broke even after a year. I read The 4-Hour Work Week and started learning about online business, passive income, WordPress and SEO.
8. Create a social media scheduling tool ($120K/year)
Davis Baer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA started OneUp about 7 years ago, a social media scheduling tool.
- Revenue: $10,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 2
- Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
In 2012, I graduated from a small school in Pennsylvania called Grove City College, where I got my degree in finance. After graduating, I worked a few jobs in corporate finance and absolutely hated it. The sad part was that almost everyone I worked with also hated their jobs, and would trudge through their misery week after week, motivated only by the promise of a weekend off, or those glorious 2–3 weeks of vacation each year. The golden handcuffs are a very real thing.
I wanted to take advantage of us being small and, as Paul Graham has famously said, “do things that don’t scale” by really wow-ing the users during the onboarding experience.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to leave the corporate finance world and join a startup that a former classmate from college was starting. I came on board to help with marketing, but took a pretty substantial pay cut from what I was making before, as the founder of that company had only raised a small friends-and-family seed round to get things up and running.
9. Start a podcast ($2.42M/year)
John Lee Dumas from Puerto Rico, USA started Entrepreneurs on Fire over 10 years ago, a podcast.
- Revenue: $201,900/ month
- Founders: 1
- Employees: 4
- Location: Puerto Rico, USA
Before I launched Entrepreneurs On Fire I was working in Commercial Real Estate, which meant I was spending a lot of time in the car driving to show properties and meet with clients.
That’s when I had my own ah-ha moment: why isn’t someone creating a daily podcast for people like me, who have to drive to and from work every day and want to consume inspiring content? … Be the change.
Because I was not a huge fan of the radio, I started listening to podcasts. They were like a breath of fresh air: on-demand, valuable content that gave me advice, tips and tactics about any topic I was interested in for free.
10. Start a mobile photography ($1.32M/year)
Kyle Nelson from Chico, California, USA started Results Imagery almost 6 years ago, a mobile photography .
- Revenue: $110,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 8
- Location: Chico, California, USA
We both had previous experience in another start-up called Soul id which was a social media platform for action sports. We ran the marketing and media at that company which was a blast. After we left that company, we split directions. Eli got involved in the eCommerce industry by starting a brand called Winterial which he grew to hundreds of SKUs. Kyle headed in the media direction and started a commercial photography company where he worked with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.
At this time Kyle wanted to be able to get back in the start-up world, grow a large brand and a team of like-minded creatives and innovators. So like any entrepreneur, he jumped on Google and started to search for media companies that were also technology-based companies as well. That is where the inspiration of starting a digital agency that solely focused on the media portion for brands and product companies came to life.
Culture is the centerpiece of a successful company. Creating a place for employees to come to work and enjoy what they do, the environment and who they work with will pay long term dividends.
11. Start a graphic design business ($180K/year)
Junaid Ansari from Mumbai started Draftss almost 5 years ago, a graphic design business.
- Revenue: $15,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 25
- Location: Mumbai
We have been running a design agency for the past 10 years as a side business. After gaining inspiration from some of our competitors in this domain providing a productized service, we came up with an idea for an even better process that is more optimal and efficient bringing out better results at a more affordable cost comparatively.
The most effective method we tried for our validation was initiating a conversation with every person who visited our website to understand more about what they were looking for and what would make Draftss an ideal provider for their needs.
We wanted to productize the design and code service domain, where a design team is like a product subscription. You buy a Design or Code subscription and equip yourself with a design or/and development team that can get everything done for you. Subscribe when you require projects to be completed, unsubscribe once you are done.
12. Become a youtube personality
Examples of a successful youtube personality:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a youtube personality:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- How To Become A Youtube Superstar: Quick Start Guide
- Crushing Youtube: How To Start A Youtube Channel, Launch Your Youtube Business And Make Money: Joseph Hogue
Learn more about starting a youtube personality ➜
- Zoella has a total net worth of more than $5 million as of January 2021.
- She earned this fortune by uploading her YouTube videos and has almost a billion views.
- She has 10.8 millions of subscribers on YouTube.
- Her popularity made her appear in several advertisements and has also appeared on television.
Read the full story on influencermatchmaker.co.uk ➜
13. Become a social media consultant ($140K/year)
Examples of a successful social media consultant:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a social media consultant:
- How I Got Into Social Media Consulting
- How To Start A Social Media Agency In 2019: Vaynermentors Consultation
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Social Media Marketing Workbook (2021): How to Use Social Media for Business (2021 Social Media Marketing 1): Jason McDonald
- Social Media Management: Persuasion In Networked Culture
Learn more about starting a social media consultant ➜
Hi, I’m Laura Roeder, the CEO and founder of MeetEdgar, a social media automation tool.
Here’s a recent team photo at one of our biannual company retreats. This was taken in Phoenix, Arizona.
14. Become a social media merchant
Examples of a successful social media merchant:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a social media merchant:
- Using Social Media And Blogs To Sell Merchant Services
- Teens, Social Media, And Technology (Full Film)
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Social Media Marketing Workbook (2021): How to Use Social Media for Business (2021 Social Media Marketing 1): Jason McDonald
- How To Start A Social Media Agency: And Make Money In 30 Days Or Less: Ross Jeffries
Learn more about starting a social media merchant ➜
15. Become a social media influencer
Examples of a successful social media influencer:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a social media influencer:
- How To Become An Influencer In 2020
- How To Become A Social Media Influencer? How To Work With Brands
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Social Media Marketing Workbook (2021): How to Use Social Media for Business (2021 Social Media Marketing 1): Jason McDonald
- Social Media Marketing 2020: Build Your Brand and Become the Best Influencer Using Social Media Marketing. Top Personal Branding & Digital Networking Strategies (Online Business)
Learn more about starting a social media influencer ➜
My name is Asia Crawford and I am a Motherhood, Life, and Travel blogger that resides in Vancouver, Canada. I am a wife and mother to two sweet little girls aged 4 and 2!
I started with no community, 0 followers on any media page I had and in just two years have grown to 18.5K followers on Instagram, 1.2 MILLION monthly viewers on my Pinterest, 12.5K Pageviews a month on my blog website and have been nominated for 3 blogging awards.
16. Start a social media analytics business ($3M/year)
Juan Pablo Tejela from Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain started Metricool about 7 years ago, a social media analytics business.
- Revenue: $250,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 24
- Location: Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain
Both my wife and I are software developers. We decided to start building software that helps bloggers understand the results of their content and its impact on social media. My wife had experience as a blogger and for me, digital marketing is one of my passions, as well as Internet businesses. At the time, I had 14 years of experience in software development with different companies and I felt confident that it was time to build our own project.
My way of managing the business is quite conservative and prudent, I often question whether or not I should have taken a more aggressive path when it came to investments and funding.
It all started as a side project because we both had our respective jobs. Metricool was initially offered at no cost as an experiment. However, in a short time, between 4,000 and 5,000 people had signed up, which encouraged us to make the jump and test a new business model based on a Premium subscription. We included some professional features focused on social media managers and the results were promising. Six months later, we reached a monthly recurring revenue of $3,000 which was the final push to help us decide that it was the right moment to dedicate more time to the project, quit my day job, and start building a team to boost the growth.
The business started with $10,000 that we had earned during the first few months of Metricool. We contributed an additional $10,000 from our family savings and $30,000 that my mother lent us. We wanted to avoid external financing (such as Venture Capital or Business Angels) because with 50k and some recurring revenue we could proceed even if it was a little slower at first.
17. Start an influencer reporting tool business ($156K/year)
Bruno Bornsztein from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA started InfluenceKit about 5 years ago, a influencer reporting tool business.
- Revenue: $13,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 0
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
I started building web applications in Ruby on Rails in 2005, after several years of hacking together things in PHP, HTML, and Wordpress. In 2006, I launched Curbly.com, which was meant to become a social network for people interested in interior design and DIY (sort of what Houzz is today).
Over time, Curbly evolved into a pure blogging business - we hired writers, created content, and sold advertising and sponsored posts. InfluenceKit was really the result of an internal tool I developed to manage our entire blogging process at Curbly. It worked so well for us that eventually, I decided to turn it into a product.
My background in running a blogging business for more than ten years gave me a deep understanding of many of the needs of our potential customers. I knew most of their pain points and could speak about them in terms that resonated right away.
18. Start a social network
Examples of a successful social network:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a social network:
- Ask Jay - Starting A Social Network
- Question: How Do Build A Social Network If I'm Not A Programmer?
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Social Media Marketing Workbook (2021): How to Use Social Media for Business (2021 Social Media Marketing 1): Jason McDonald
- The Complete Idiot's Guide To Creating A Social Network: Angela Crocker
Learn more about starting a social network ➜
Hello folks, my name is Kervin Aucoin and I am the founder of Aucoin Analytics, LLC, a private intelligence company that focuses on security trends by using data and predictive analysis to protect customers. Aucoin Analytics delivers highly specialized risk assessments and intelligence reports specially tailored to our customer's needs.
19. Become a community manager
Examples of a successful community manager:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a community manager:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Online Community Management For Dummies: Deborah Ng
- The Community Manager's Playbook: How To Build Brand Awareness And Customer Engagement
Learn more about starting a community manager ➜
- Jason Yormark is the founder and Chief Social Officer of Socialistics. He started this advertising agency as a side project, but it has since expanded to manage social media marketing campaigns for 15 clients, ranging in price from $2 to $5K.
- Jason began his career with Microsoft before switching to blogging during a year of unemployment before being rehired.
- This company provides content marketing, social media marketing, blogging, copywriting, Facebook advertising, and social media advertising services to their customers.
Read the full story on upflip.com ➜
20. Become a social media customer support representative
Examples of a successful social media customer support representative:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a social media customer support representative:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Social Media Marketing Workbook (2021): How to Use Social Media for Business (2021 Social Media Marketing 1): Jason McDonald
- How To Start A Social Media Breakfast Club: Sara Broers
Learn more about starting a social media customer support representative ➜
21. Become a social media copywriter ($120K/year)
Examples of a successful social media copywriter:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a social media copywriter:
- Social Media Copywriting Tips - Write Social Media Posts That Sell Without Sounding Spammy
- Social Media Copywriting Course: 7 Habits Of Effective Writers
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Social Media Success for Every Brand: The Five StoryBrand Pillars That Turn Posts Into Profits: Claire Diaz-Ortiz
- One Million Followers, Updated Edition: How I Built A Massive Social Following in 30 Days
Learn more about starting a social media copywriter ➜
Hello! My Name is Mahamud Hasan. I am a graphic designer, entrepreneur, startup business consultant, and one of the founders and CEO of Zovo Team Ltd. In My career, I have worked as a freelance graphic designer at Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer and our Bangladeshi based Kajkey platform since 2016. We (Zovo Team Ltd.) provide full-stack digital marketing solutions, web development, search engine optimization, graphic contents (image+ video), app development, content writing, copywriting, and full brand identity solutions. We have six subsidiary brands to provide A to Z solutions for entrepreneurs. The estimated revenue is 12.5k$/month and yearly 150k$+. The sub-brands of Zovo team Ltd. are;
So, you can say that our teams are focused only on the development of new entrepreneurs by our effective solutions.
22. Become a content strategist
Examples of a successful content strategist:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a content strategist:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Epic Content Marketing: How To Tell A Different Story, Break Through The Clutter, And Win More Customers By Marketing Less
- How To Start A Start-Up: How To Start A Business And Profit On A Shoestring Budget
Learn more about starting a content strategist ➜
My name is Karl, and I’m the founder of Draft. After almost a decade leading engineering teams at venture-funded startups, I decided it was time to leap into entrepreneurship. Draft is a productized service that provides technical content to software engineering blogs on a subscription basis.
August is my third month running the business and first month full-time, and I’m on track to bring in $10,000 in (mostly) recurring revenue this month. The business isn’t going to replace my salary as a CTO right away, but the freedom of running my own business has given me a lot of freedom to stretch my creative muscles and spend time with my family.
23. Become a tik tok personality
Examples of a successful tik tok personality:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a tik tok personality:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Tik Tok No (Friend Zone Book 1) - Kindle Edition By Ravens
- The Tiktok Challenge: Eagle, Will: 9781786279224: Amazon
Learn more about starting a tik tok personality ➜
Riyaz Ali is a popular Indian Tiktok star and social media influencer.
- Over 45.2M followers on Tik Tok and 27M+ Instagram followers.
- On TikTok, his videos have about 2.1B likes.
- Videos consist of comedy, dances, and collaborations with fellow TikTokers and Indian actors or stars. - Riyaz is just 19 and making around ₹70 lakh per anum from TikTok, Instagram, and paid promotions.

Read the full story on biooverview.com →
24. Become an infoproduct marketer
Examples of a successful infoproduct marketer:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a infoproduct marketer:
- How To Create & Sell A Digital Info Product - Easy Way To Profit Online With Information
- How To Create & Sell Info Products In 2020
For further info, check out these books and products:
- How To Start A Profitable Authority Blog In Under One Hour: Write About What You Love, Create A Website, And Make Money
- The 2021 Beginner's Affiliate Marketing Blueprint: How to Get Started For Free And Earn Your First $10,000 In Commissions Fast! (Make Money Online With Affiliate Marketing in 2021 Beginners Edition)
Learn more about starting an infoproduct marketer ➜
25. Become a live streamer
Examples of a successful live streamer:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a live streamer:
- 6 Things Every New Streamer Needs Before You Start Streaming!!
- Pokimane's Top 5 Tips For Small Streamers!
For further info, check out these books and products:
- The Live-Streaming Handbook: How To Create Live Video For Social Media On Your Phone And Desktop
- Live Streaming Kit: How to Live Stream Online for Beginners & Gamers (Live Streaming Tech Book 1)
Learn more about starting a live streamer ➜
26. Become an event promoter
Examples of a successful event promoter:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a event promoter:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Event Marketing: How To Successfully Promote Events, Festivals, Conventions, And Expositions
- Event Planning: Management & Marketing For Successful Events: Become An Event Planning Pro & Create A Successful Event Series
Learn more about starting an event promoter ➜
Hello! I am Mark Thomas, the managing director of the Thomas Hemingway Group of companies and CEO of EventBookings, which I founded in 2017.
Fast forward to today, we are now running the business with 25 employees and are currently on track to reach our next revenue target of $1M.
27. Start a meme marketing business
Examples of a successful meme marketing business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a meme marketing business:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Social Media Marketing Workbook (2021): How to Use Social Media for Business (2021 Social Media Marketing 1): Jason McDonald
- The Meme Machine (Popular Science)
Learn more about starting a meme marketing business ➜
28. Become a social media tutor
Examples of a successful social media tutor:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a social media tutor:
- How To Start Social Media Marketing (4 Essential Tips For Beginners)
- Facebook Marketing For Tutors - How To Find Students Without Paying For Ads!
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Social Media Marketing Workbook (2021): How to Use Social Media for Business (2021 Social Media Marketing 1): Jason McDonald
- How To Start A Social Media Breakfast Club: Sara Broers
Learn more about starting a social media tutor ➜
Founders Jennie and Davis together own a furniture business and also run a YouTube channel where they share woodworking business tips & tricks.
They started this YouTube channel in 2018 for teaching audiences through their woodworking tutorial videos. Plus they also share knowledge, market trends, and money managing tips to help small businesses grow.
Jennie and Davis also offer paid programs and private coaching sessions for people interested in building a career in woodworking.

Listen to the full podcast on makeorbreakshop.com ➜
29. Become a virtual assistant ($4.8M/year)
Examples of a successful virtual assistant:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a virtual assistant:
- The Ultimate Guide Starting A Virtual Assistant Business
- How To Become A Virtual Assistant In 2 Weeks!
For further info, check out these books and products:
- How To Become A Virtual Assistant: Start Your Own Business From Home
- Virtual Assistant - The Series 4th Edition
Learn more about starting a virtual assistant ➜
Hi, I am Julmar Grace Locsin, and I am the owner and co-founder of Filipino Virtual Assistance by FVA Business Consultancy. FVA offers online and offline training, coaching, consulting, workshops, services, franchising-related virtual assistance, offshoring, outsourcing, and remote work for brands and businesses, here and abroad.
Our very mission is to equip freelancers, empower marketers, and enable businesses. We envision FVA for global digital leadership that will impact the world through digitalization, one life at a time. FVA has three arms, namely FVA Online Academy- have trained 25,000 students from our 31 courses, FVA Services- from training to hiring programs, and FVA Franchising with 16 Coaches assigned from different territories. And we are fifteen in the FVA team, including FVA co-founder Jay Locsin and me.
30. Become a public relations rep
Examples of a successful public relations rep:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a public relations rep:
For further info, check out these books and products:
Learn more about starting a public relations rep ➜
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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