Social Tip Review: How I Get Paid to Post About Brands I Already Use
If you've followed The Side Hustle Fund for a while, you've probably seen me mention Social Tip.
Out of all the little side hustles I've tested, this is one of the few that actually fits quite nicely into my life.
I'm not spending hours pitching brands.
I'm not applying for endless UGC jobs.
And I'm not completing a 25-minute survey for 73p.
Instead, Social Tip essentially allows me to earn money from creating content about brands and products I already use.
There are some catches though.
Social Tip has become much stricter around things like genuine engagement, receipts, advertising disclosures and what counts as eligible content.
So before you start wandering around your kitchen looking for things to post about, here's how Social Tip actually works.
What is Social Tip?
Social Tip is a platform that rewards people for creating social media content about participating brands.
You don't need to be a huge influencer.
The whole concept is based around everyday customers creating genuine content about things they've actually bought and used.
You connect your Instagram, TikTok and/or YouTube account, choose an eligible brand, create your content and submit it through Social Tip.
Your post is then assessed and, if eligible, you receive a reward based partly on how the content performs.
In very simple terms:
Buy something → create content → submit it → potentially get paid.
Social Tip works with brands across categories including food, fashion, beauty, home, fitness, technology, pets and travel.
What brands are on Social Tip?
This is one of the things that makes Social Tip interesting to me.
There are actually plenty of brands that normal people buy from anyway.
Brands that have appeared on Social Tip include names such as:
M&S
Nespresso
Caffè Nero
Grenade
DASH Water
The Body Shop
Prezzo
TALA
PerfectTed
Joseph Joseph
Charlotte Tilbury
EE
Papier
Beco Pets
Dryrobe
There are also lots of other brands too and new brands are always being added.
The available brands do change, so I wouldn't buy something purely because you've seen another creator earn money from it.
Always check that the brand is currently available in your own Social Tip app first.
How does Social Tip work?
Once you've signed up, you'll need to connect your social media account/s.
You can then browse the brands currently available to you.
Step 1: Find a brand you already use
This is how I personally think Social Tip works best.
Rather than asking:
"What can I buy so I can make money on Social Tip?"
I would start with:
"What am I already buying that happens to be on Social Tip?"
That distinction matters.
Spending £25 on something you didn't want in the hope of earning £4 back isn't really making money.
You've just spent £21.
But if you were buying it anyway, being able to make some money back by creating a piece of content is a very different proposition.
Step 2: Create your content
Once you've found an eligible brand, you create a post featuring the product.
Depending on the platform and current Social Tip rules, this could include content such as:
Instagram Reels
Instagram Stories
Instagram feed posts or carousels
TikTok videos
Youtube
The product needs to feature properly.
This isn't really about leaving a bottle of shampoo three metres behind you and hoping Social Tip notices it.
Generally, the content should clearly show the product and your genuine experience of using it.
Simple content can work perfectly well.
A POV.
A quick demonstration.
A before and after.
A problem and solution.
A product you're naturally using during your day.
It doesn't have to look like you've hired an advertising agency.
Step 3: Disclose that it's an advert
This part is important.
Social Tip requires eligible content to clearly disclose that it is advertising.
That usually means including Ad or #ad prominently in your content.
Don't hide it underneath 14 hashtags or make the text microscopic.
If you're being rewarded for creating the content, the advertising relationship needs to be clear.
Your post can potentially be rejected if the disclosure requirements aren't followed.
Step 4: Tag the relevant accounts
You'll normally need to tag or mention the brand you're posting about and follow Social Tip's instructions regarding its own account.
Your post should then appear within Social Tip so that you can submit it for review.
Always follow the instructions shown for the individual campaign because requirements can vary.
Step 5: Provide proof of purchase
Social Tip opportunities now require proof that you've actually bought the product.
That might mean uploading:
a physical receipt
an email receipt
an online order confirmation
an eligible invoice
The important thing is that it clearly shows the qualifying purchase.
A screenshot of your bank account isn't the same thing as a receipt.
Neither is putting something into an online shopping basket and taking a screenshot before you've bought it.
This is another reason I would keep your receipts if you plan to use Social Tip regularly.
Step 6: Wait for your reward
Social Tip then assesses your content and its performance.
The calculation period is typically around 48 hours.
Once the post has been approved and rewarded, the money appears in your Social Tip wallet which can be withdrawn to your bank account once you’ve reached £5.
How much money can you make with Social Tip?
There isn't a fixed amount.
You're not guaranteed £10 every time you upload a Reel.
Your reward can be influenced by the performance of your content, including things such as reach and engagement.
So one post could earn very little.
Another could perform much better.
And yes, it's also possible for content to effectively earn nothing if it doesn't generate meaningful performance or doesn't meet the requirements.
On the flip side, some content creators are earning several hundred pounds a month.
But I don't treat Social Tip as guaranteed income.
I see it as one of several small income streams.
The interesting bit for me is the amount of additional work involved.
If I'm already making breakfast and a participating product is sitting on the kitchen counter, creating a 15-second Reel might take me a few minutes.
If that earns me a few pounds, the hourly return can actually be pretty decent.
Compare that with completing survey after survey for pennies and it starts to make much more sense.
That's increasingly how I judge side hustles:
How much money am I getting in return for my time and energy?
A warning about fake engagement
This is probably the most important thing I want to include in this guide.
If you're using Social Tip, do not artificially inflate your engagement.
Because rewards are linked to the performance of your content, it's quite easy to see why somebody might think:
"More views + more likes + more shares = more money. So why don't I just boost them?"
The problem is that fake engagement undermines the entire system.
Social Tip's terms allow them to cap rewards where they suspect accounts are using artificial engagement to increase earnings.
So I would stay well away from anything designed purely to manipulate your metrics.
That includes things like:
buying followers or likes
buying comments
buying video views
buying shares or saves
using fake accounts to interact with your own content
using engagement groups specifically to artificially inflate performance
repeatedly asking people to interact solely to increase your Social Tip payment
using multiple accounts to manipulate rewards
paying for services that promise to artificially "boost" your engagement
Not every one of those examples is necessarily individually named in Social Tip's terms, but they all fall into the general category of behaviour I personally wouldn't risk.
Social Tip can access performance data from the social platforms and has a clear commercial reason to detect suspicious activity.
Brands are paying because they want genuine word-of-mouth marketing.
If somebody buys 500 shares for £3.99, those shares aren't worth anything to the brand.
And ultimately, if fake engagement becomes widespread, brands stop seeing value in the platform.
That hurts everyone using Social Tip legitimately.
So my rule is very simple:
If the engagement isn't real, don't do it.
No £8 reward is worth losing your account over.
Don't create an account just to spam Social Tip adverts
There's another rule worth knowing.
Social Tip is built around people using genuine, active social media accounts.
It's not really designed for somebody to create an empty Instagram account and then suddenly upload:
AD.
AD.
AD.
AD.
AD.
Social Tip's terms give them the ability to take action against accounts created or used primarily to generate rewards or manipulate earnings.
I wouldn't want to do that anyway.
Your Social Tip content should make sense within your normal account.
Post your usual content.
Then weave relevant brands into it.
That creates better content for your audience and much more useful content for the brand.
There are limits on how many posts can earn rewards
At the time of writing, Social Tip states that up to seven posts per platform within a rolling seven-day period can be eligible for rewards. But you may receive a lesser reward after post 5.
But it's worth knowing that submitting endless pieces of content doesn't necessarily mean you'll keep earning more.
I'd rather choose the strongest opportunities.
Can you use AI-generated content?
Another important point.
Social Tip currently states that AI-generated content isn't eligible for rewards.
That includes things such as AI-generated voiceovers.
You can obviously use tools to help you brainstorm ideas or think of hooks.
That's very different from generating the actual content you're submitting.
Social Tip wants genuine content based on your real experience with the product.
What type of Social Tip content performs well?
Social Tip's own guidance suggests that stronger content tends to do things like:
show the product clearly
show the product early in the video
include the packaging where appropriate
demonstrate the product being used
share a genuine opinion or experience
use decent lighting
give people a reason to continue watching
encourage genuine conversation
vary the brands you post about
Reels and TikToks also naturally have more potential to accumulate reach than something like an Instagram Story that disappears after 24 hours.
But I wouldn't overcomplicate it.
One of the reasons I like Social Tip is that relatively simple content can work.
You don't need cinema-quality footage.
Sometimes a straightforward POV-style video showing how you're genuinely using something is enough.
Do you need lots of followers?
No.
You don't need 100,000 followers to use Social Tip.
The model is designed around ordinary customers as well as traditional influencers.
Obviously, somebody with a very large and highly engaged audience potentially has more reach available to them.
But follower count isn't everything.
A smaller account where people genuinely engage with the content can potentially be much more valuable than a large account full of inactive or fake followers.
Again, the important word is:
genuine.
Can you earn money referring people to Social Tip?
Yes.
Social Tip also has a referral programme.
Once you've met its qualifying requirements, you can receive a referral link to share with other people.
My current Social Tip referral offer is 20% of the rewards earned by somebody I refer, up to £200 per referral.
Referral offers can change, though.
So if you're reading this article months after I published it, check the current offer shown in Social Tip rather than assuming it will still be exactly the same.
For a referral to qualify, the person joining generally needs to use the appropriate referral process and meet Social Tip's requirements, including creating qualifying content.
Social Tip can also reject referral rewards where it identifies fraudulent, duplicate or suspicious activity.
Want to try Social Tip?
You can sign up using my referral link here
If you join through my referral link and meet the qualifying requirements, I may receive a referral reward.
It doesn't reduce the amount of money you receive.
Is Social Tip worth it?
For me, yes.
But only if you use it sensibly.
I wouldn't recommend going onto the app, seeing 15 brands and immediately buying £150 worth of products so you can make content.
That's the wrong way around.
Start with what you already buy.
Look in your cupboards.
Look in your fridge.
Look at your skincare.
Look at your cleaning products.
Look at the places you already eat or shop.
Then see if any of them are currently available on Social Tip.
That way, any money you earn is genuinely additional income rather than an excuse to spend more.
For me, that's where Social Tip fits into the bigger picture of The Side Hustle Fund.
I'm becoming much less interested in side hustles that require hours and hours of additional work.
I don't want another job disguised as a side hustle.
I'm interested in things I can layer onto the life I'm already living.
And Social Tip currently passes that test.
Social Tip quick summary
What is Social Tip?
A platform that rewards people for creating authentic social media content about participating brands.
Do I need to be an influencer?
No.
Which social platforms can I use?
Primarily Instagram and TikTok, subject to Social Tip's current rules. YouTube has recently been introduced but not all brands support YouTube content.
Do I need to buy the product?
In many cases, yes, and you may need to provide proof of purchase.
Do I need to disclose the advert?
Yes. Eligible content needs to meet Social Tip's advertising disclosure requirements.
How much can I earn?
It varies depending on the campaign, your content and its performance.
How quickly is the reward calculated?
Typically around 48 hours.
Can I buy engagement to increase my reward?
Don't. Artificial engagement can put your rewards and account at risk.
Can I use AI-generated videos or AI voiceovers?
Social Tip currently states that AI-generated content is not eligible.
Is there a posting limit?
Social Tip currently states that up to seven posts per platform in a rolling seven-day period can be eligible for rewards.
Can I refer other people?
Yes, subject to Social Tip's eligibility requirements. My current referral offer is 20% of qualifying rewards, up to £200 per referral.
Final thoughts
Social Tip isn't going to replace a full time salary because you filmed yourself making a coffee.
And I think it's important to be realistic about that.
But could you use it to make an extra £50+ or more across a month from content about things you were buying anyway?
Potentially.
And that's much more interesting to me.
I'm not looking for side hustles that require me to build another entire career on the side.
I'm looking for opportunities where a relatively small amount of additional effort can generate a worthwhile return.
Social Tip is one of the better examples I've found of that.
Just don't fall into the trap of spending money purely to make money.
And definitely don't fall into the trap of trying to manipulate the engagement.
Use products you genuinely buy.
Create decent content.
Keep the engagement real.
Take the money when it comes.
Then move on with your day.
Want to try Social Tip?
Make money with your camera reel here
Referral disclosure: This article contains my Social Tip referral link. If you sign up using my link and meet the qualifying requirements, I may receive a referral reward. This does not reduce your reward. Social Tip's brands, rules, eligibility criteria and referral offers can change, so always check the current information in the Social Tip app before making a purchase or creating content.
