Creators are finally getting the love and recognition they deserve as Meta is increasing focus on attracting and retaining them instead of losing them to rival platforms such as TikTok. With creators, more users are likely to visit their platforms to view their content, which, in turn, generates more revenue for the platforms.
With the metaverse in the works, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the Facebook parent was rolling out new methods for creators to earn on Instagram and Facebook, tools that will help them “build for the metaverse.”
“We’re heading towards a feature where more people can do creative work they enjoy, and I want platforms like ours to play a role in making that happen,” he wrote in a Facebook post. Meta is also expanding some of its current monetization tools to more creators.
Going forward, creators on Facebook and Instagram (two of the leading social media platforms in the world and both owned by Meta) will not have to pay a share of their revenue to the platforms until 2024, and they will continue to have access to paid online events, fan subscriptions, badges and Meta’s upcoming independent news products for free for the same period.
Meta had earlier said that it was going to do this and not take a share of creators’ revenue until 2023. This will ensure that more money goes directly to creators.
Meta’s next monetization tool for creators is Interoperable Subscriptions, which will let creators on Facebook and Instagram offer their paying subscribers on other platforms access to Facebook Groups that are exclusively for subscribers. This is the company’s first bet on interoperable monetization tools for creators, which will let them earn revenue and receive payments from fans on other platforms.
Next comes the monetization of Reels, which is Facebook and Instagram’s product to rival TikTok. Going forward, Meta will be opening up the Facebook Reels Play Bonus program to more creators on Facebook and let them cross-post their Instagram Reels to Facebook so that they can monetize them there as well.
Creators in the US, from next week, can apply for the Facebook Reels Play bonus program if they have created more than five Reels and have a total of at least 100,000 views in the last 30 days.
Another monetization update is the opening up of Facebook Stars, a feature that lets creators monetize their streams – fans can buy Stars and send them to creators while the streaming is done.
From this week, Facebook Stars will be opening up to all eligible creators (who have at least 1,000 followers over the last 60 days, must be in a region where Stars are available, and meet Meta’s Partner Monetization Policies and Content Monetization Policies). This will let them earn from Reels, live, or VOD videos.
Meta is also working on a Creator Marketplace, and testing a set place on Instagram where creators can get discovered and paid for their content, and brands can share new partnership opportunities. Creators and brands can team up, and Meta said that there will be a partnership messaging folder within Instagram DMs where creators and brands can filter through their offers and projects.
This is similar to TikTok’s Creator Marketplace, highlighting yet another feature that Western social media platforms seem to be copying from the Chinese upstart to prevent losing creators to the short-form video hosting service.
Last but not the least, Meta is expanding the test of NFTs on Instagram with more creators across the globe. This will also come to Facebook, starting with a small group of U.S.-based creators, which will let creators cross-post on Instagram and Facebook. The company will also test NFTs in Instagram Stories with SparkAR soon.
