Instagram Announces New Creator Monetization Tools For IGTV & Instagram Live, Allowing Influencers To Monetize Content For The First Time

Instagram is rolling out new ways for creators to monetize their IGTV and Instagram Live content in the form of IGTV ads and Badges, respectively. 

The Facebook-owned app shared the exciting news in a blog post earlier today, stating the following: 

“We have always been committed to supporting creators as they turn their passion into livelihoods - because every creator is unique, that means providing a mix of monetization tools to help creators of all sizes, from the emerging to the more established. Given the uncertain circumstances many are facing today, that commitment is more important than ever. Today we’re announcing new ways for creators to make money through Instagram Live and IGTV”

IGTV Ads:

Source: Instagram

After confirming it was exploring creator monetization for IGTV back in March, Instagram is now introducing IGTV ads to help creators earn money on their IGTV content via a 55 percent revenue share program.

IGTV ads will be mobile-friendly and up to 15 seconds long. They will appear when a user clicks to watch an IGTV video from the preview in a creator's feed. Instagram will experiment with different IGTV ads experiences, such as the ability for a user to skip an ad, in hopes of delivering a final ad product that works well for all those involved — viewers, creators, and advertisers. 

Instagram will start testing IGTV ads with a group of about 200 U.S. based creators and a handful of advertisers, including Ikea, Puma, and Sephora, with plans to expand over time.

Badges:

Source: Instagram

With a boost in the usage of live streaming, creators will have the ability to generate money when they use Instagram Live through a new Badges feature.

"In recent months, we’ve seen creators embrace Live in new ways, leading to a 70% increase in views from February to March. From fitness instructors to dancers, artists to chefs, Live has helped creators and businesses stay connected to their followers and bring people together. With badges, creators can generate income from the content they’re already creating," the app said. 

Badges will appear next to a creator's name when they are live streaming. Viewers will have the option to choose from one of three different Badges priced at $0.99, $1.99, and $4.99. When viewers purchase a Badge, the Badge will show up next to their name whenever they comment during the live stream. They also will unlock additional features such as being included on a creator's list of Badge holders. 

As of right now, Instagram won't take a cut of revenue generated via Badges, but it plans to introduce a revenue share down the road. Like IGTV ads, Instagram will start testing Badges with a small group of creators and businesses. It will then expand across the U.S., Brazil, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, and Mexico. 

Besides IGTV ads and Badges, Instagram shared that it will continue to support creators in the future with other monetization options such as expanding access to shopping features and the Brands Collab Manager, which connects creators and brands for paid partnerships and collaborations across Facebook and Instagram.

Insights & Analysis: 

The testing of IGTV ads and Badges marks the first time that Instagram has provided a direct way for creators to monetize their content on the platform. Up until now, creators had to solely rely on creating their own revenue streams such as brand partnerships and selling merchandise.

While these creator monetization tools are new to Instagram, they aren’t necessarily new to social media platforms. IGTV ads are reminiscent of YouTube’s current revenue share program with creators while Badges are similar to YouTube’s Super Stickers and Twitch’s Bits features. Regardless, it's exciting to see Instagram finally taking significant steps towards creator monetization. This is especially true given that many influencers have had brand partnerships canceled or postponed due to the pandemic. Being able to monetize through IGTV ads and Badges provide them with another revenue stream.

The addition of these creator monetization tools also yields benefits for Instagram. They will encourage creators to invest deeper in these content formats especially IGTV. Since the launch of IGTV, Instagram has struggled with convincing creators to consistently create and share content to its video destination. Now that there is an incentive to do so, there likely will be an increase in the amount of video content being shared on the platform. An increase in video content has the potential drive up the amount of time users are spending on the Instagram app, which is a win for any social media platform.

With the recent announcement of Facebook Shops, there should be even more creator monetization options in the near future. Creator monetization has been a buzzing topic over the last few months so don’t expect it to die down anytime.

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Source: Instagram