What is a challenge and why have they become so popular
Challenge videos are always similar: a person does something extraordinary on camera and offers to repeat it to the audience, throwing a harmless challenge. Videos are gaining millions of views, photos are collecting hundreds and thousands of likes, and challenges appear one after another, without losing popularity among viewers and participants for years. While some researchers believe that the reason for such popularity is self-affirmation, people not only continue to have fun and complete challenges but also earn money.
For example, the driver of Uber Eats announced a challenge for the fastest food delivery. Wellingtonian Jack Hammond has proven he can earn around $1,500 a week just delivering food to customers. The goal is to earn $100,000 a year. Last year, Google Pay announced a challenge where each participant could earn $70 if they collected 4 payment cards from this service.
So, why are people willing to participate in challenges, and what drives the “collective mind”?
Firstly, the participants note that they are simply pleased to support global initiatives, even if they consist in dousing cold water or eating strange food.
Secondly, the possibility of obtaining material profit only increases the interest in all kinds of tasks. For example, the famous make-up artist Gohar Avetisyan has repeatedly held cash prize draws for the best make-up. Such initiatives allow not only to upgrade skills but also to receive a financial reward.
Thirdly, social network users crave to be famous and recognizable, and participation in various challenges will attract an additional audience to their page.
How to make money on challenges
Even though the challenge culture itself came to us from the West, Russians actively use it and conduct their own challenges. And special platforms help to monetize various kinds of challenges.
YouTube is the most popular video hosting in the world with over 35 billion visits. The platform allows users to create original content and take part in various challenges. Top bloggers can earn tens of thousands of dollars for their videos.
Pros:
- The audience exceeds several hundred millions from 50 countries of the world. The top five countries using YouTube are the US, Russia, Brazil, India, and Japan
- Easy to add a video
- The built-in targeting system will allow users to accurately select the audience to whom their videos will be shown
Cons:
- Lack of a clear and transparent system of monetization. Only top bloggers with millions of audiences can earn
- High competition among blogs
- Blocking in sanctioned countries
NUTSon. An American platform that was launched in 2021 is actively gaining popularity. Its main advantage is a mechanism for direct monetization of challenges. The application allows users to run challenges with cash rewards. For participation in some of them, the reward reaches $2,000 and more. In addition, if other social networks help only popular bloggers to make money on challenges, everyone has a chance here: the platform’s algorithms bring to the feed each participant who posted a high-quality video and completed the task. Then the audience decides everything: marks the video they like and takes the participant to the final. The winner scoops the pool. Becoming a member is simple: just download the application from the store, go through a quick registration, select the appropriate challenge from the list, fulfill the conditions and shoot it on camera. Right now, on NUTSon people can get money for dancing in the most extraordinary places, make a selection of epic fails, recreate their childhood photos, and much more.
Pros:
- Easy registration and creation of a personal profile
- Clear system of monetization
- The possibility of earning for everyone: both for the viewer and the organizer
Cons:
- Limited geography of users. Today, only citizens of selected countries have access to the application. However, the company is scaling up its business
NUTSon also plans to support cryptocurrency payments and issue its own token, which will be used within the social network. This will allow participants to earn project tokens for participating in challenges.
TikTok is another short video platform that has quickly become popular all over the world thanks to its challenges. Today, over 1.7 billion people are regular users of this social network, and the resource itself ranks 15th in the global ranking of sites. Despite such popularity among teenagers, the social network practically does not provide any mechanic for making money on content, except for selling direct advertising. Naturally, it will be very difficult to compete with top bloggers.
Pros:
- Ease of registering and uploading videos
- Wide audience
- Availability in many countries around the world
Cons:
- There is no earning mechanism other than direct advertising
- Blocking in sanctioned countries
- Low video moderation speed, so users can often see horrific videos on the social network
Earnings on challenges can be a good source of income, especially for teenagers and representatives of generation Z. Modern platforms allow people to hold various competitions and earn real money. Some platforms, such as NUTSon, even allow users to earn money by simply watching and voting for participants. So, if you know how to put on skinny jeans hands-free, juggle glass balls, or ride a bike blindfolded, it’s time to challenge others to capitalize on your talent.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.