Hailey Baldwin says she was once paid $150,000 for a single Instagram post, and she knows people who have been paid $1 million
- The Netflix documentary "The American Meme" shows how social media stars and influencers live their lives.
- Stars like DJ Khalid, Emily Ratajkowski, Josh Ostrovsky (The Fat Jewish), and Hailey Baldwin talk openly about how they make their money.
- As well as ad revenue, stars now rely on brand deals.
- They are told to post a picture on their social media with the product, saying how much they like it, and encouraging others to buy it.
- Hailey Baldwin said she made $150,000 from a single post.
- Some people have made millions.
When ad revenue isn't enough, social media stars look to brand deals to make the big bucks. In the new Netflix documentary "The American Meme," celebrities like DJ Khalid, Emily Ratajkowski, Josh Ostrovsky (The Fat Jewish), and Hailey Baldwin talk openly about how they make their money — and some of what they have to say is suprising.
Read more: Instagram influencers are faking sponsored content because they think it attracts real brand deals
A brand deal is when an influencer posts a picture on their social media showing a product, saying how much they like it, and encouraging others to buy it.
"I post a lot of things that I genuinely just like, and I've gotten in trouble with my agent, being like 'why would you post this? You can get paid for doing this!'" Baldwin — now called Hailey Bieber on Instagram since marrying the pop star — said in the documentary.
"The most I have made off of a single post is $150,000," she added. "I've heard of people making $1 million off of one photo."
Vine star turned internet personality Brittany Furlan said she has been approached by companies like Procter & Gamble, Benefit Cosmetics, and Pizza Hut.
Meanwhile, YouTube influencer Amanda Cerny has a flat rate for her brand deals.
"There's deals in the millions on social media," she said. "When the TV is on, usually people walk away for commercials. And then in our videos, we have millions of people who are seeing this content.
"My rate on Instagram is $50,000 currently for a post."
Matthew Felker, a model who isn't active on social media, explained how brand deals work.
"Someone like The Fat Jew, he'll get written a check from the shoe company," he said. "And then he will be told, at 11 o'clock on Thursday morning you need to post a picture of yourself sitting at this pool with your feet up, with these shoes on. You need to use these hashtags, post it at this time, and that's a quote unquote 'organic post.'"
Posing for photos with the specific intent of showing off products or a certain lifestyle can backfire.
Last year, a lifestyle blogger received death threats after posting a photo of "pancakes" that were actually tortilla wraps.