Facebook commits $1 billion to pay creators

The creator talent wars are on. As platforms like Snapchat and TikTok have ramped up efforts to pay creators for continuing to share content on their apps, Facebook and its Instagram app have fallen behind in the eyes of creators, especially those fearful that dwindling engagement and Instagram’s video pivot will put strains on their small businesses. Today, Facebook and Instagram are hoping to alleviate creators’ gripes with the announcement of extra ways creators can earn a little more money on the platforms. It’s doing so with a hefty monetary commitment, aiming to convey just how much creators mean to the platform. With so much competition, it’s another effort by the social media giant to keep creators funded, satisfied and less likely to jump ship. On Wednesday afternoon, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook post that the platform is investing more than $1 billion globally in creators through the end of 2022. “We want to build the best platforms for millions of creators to make a living, so we're creating new programs to invest over $1 billion to reward creators for great content they create on Facebook and Instagram through 2022,” reads the post. “Investing in creators isn't new for us, but I'm excited to expand this work over time.” Following his announcement, Instagram shared just how the platforms plans on allocating the funds through new “bonus” programs for creators, created to reward creators for hitting specific milestones with their content, fund new content and help them understand what content performs best. There will also be a dedicated place in the Instagram and Facebook apps where creators can learn about the bonuses that they can take part in, rolling out to Instagram this summer and Facebook in the fall. Bonus programs will roll out through the end of the year, and at this point, are only available to creators by invitation. Facebook and Instagram are promoting the new bonuses at the top of feeds. One of the major bonus efforts is through Instagram Reels, a TikTok-like feature that the company has been pushing creators to adopt. In the coming weeks, Instagram will launch its Reels Summer bonus to creators in the U.S. Creators can earn up to $500 by the end of July be creating Reels that are played up to 200,000 times. Other programs are available now. On Instagram, there’s an IGTV ads bonus where creators can earn a one-time bonus for signing up for IGTV ads, which gives creators 55% share of the ad revenue per view when ads run against their videos. There is also an additional bonus for badges in Live. On Facebook, select creators using in-stream ads are being paid bonuses over the next four months. Facebook is also expanding its previously announced Stars bonus challenge, in which creators earn money by connecting with fans during live videos, to include gaming creators. For every Star creators receive from a fan tuning in, they earn one cent, but over the next three months, those who hit specific milestones can earn even more. For creators who earn 5,000 Stars, they get a $150 bonus. This follows Instagram’s first Creator Week in June, when Instagram and Facebook shared new ways for creators to earn money, such as from an affiliate program, the ability to connect their own shops to their profiles and badges on Instagram Live and Stars on Facebook, where creators can earn money from their live programming. In order to stay entertaining and relevant, platforms need content creators to share content and engage with followers. But creators have more choices than ever. Opportunities to make money and see higher engagement rates elsewhere has spurred more multi-platform creators. Last year, Snapchat began paying creators up to $1 million a day for content, and TikTok launched its own Creator Fund. The ability to tip creators is now widespread on TikTok, Twitch and recently, Twitter. While Facebook's new bonus programs might spur more excitement among creators, it doesn't address the main issue creators have with Facebook and Instagram: The inability to be discovered with the algorithm.

Facebook commits $1 billion to pay creators

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