Meta Gives Creators More Ways To Make Money Including A New Creator Marketplace & Interoperable Subscriptions

Source: Meta

Meta announced several updates to creator monetization for Facebook and Instagram this week, including delaying the charging of creator fees for Subscriptions, Badges, Paid Online Events, and Bulletin until 2024. Among the other announcements are new monetization options and the expansion of existing ones.

Source: Meta

Connecting Brands & Creators Through A New Creator Marketplace

Meta will start to test a Creator Marketplace where brands and creators can easily partner for branded content. Creators will be able to discover campaign opportunities and indicate brands and topics that they are interested in creating branded content for.

On the brand side, brands can find creators through the Meta Business Suite using demographics and filters for creators and their audiences. When they have identified creators they want to partner with, they can send them campaign details, including deliverables and payment information.

When creators post their branded content, permissions will automatically be granted for creators to tag the brand with the Paid Partnership label. Brands will also be granted boosting permissions automatically for deals that include paid media usage.

Source: Acast

Allowing Creators To Give Off-Platform Subscribers Access To Facebook-Exclusive Features

For the first time, Meta will allow creators to give subscribers on other platforms access to Facebook-exclusive features via Interoperable Subscriptions. Starting with Interoperable Subscriber Groups, creators can offer subscribers access to subscriber-only Facebook Groups.

The first partners for Interoperable Subscriber Groups are Acast, an independent podcast company, and MemberPress, a WordPress membership plugin. Using Acast as an example, listeners of creators who use Acast+ can join subscriber-only Groups directly from the podcast feed, where they will be able to interact with the podcast host, engage with other listeners, and receive access to exclusive benefits such as live streams and Q&As.

Expanding Access To Stars, Reels Play & Digital Collectibles

More creators are getting access to Facebook Stars, the Reels Play Bonus Program, and Digital Collectibles.

Stars, a digital good that fans can purchase to send to creators to demonstrate their support, is now available in 22 markets to all eligible creators (at least 1,000 followers over the last 60 days) across Facebook Live, on-demand video, and eventually Facebook Reels.

Eligible U.S.-based creators (who have posted five original Reels and generated at least 100,000 plays in the last 30 days) can self-apply to be part of the Reels Play Bonus Program, which rewards creators for sharing original Reels content. Along with this, Meta is testing monetization for cross-posted Reels and a Paid Partnership label for branded content Reels so brands can amplify them as Branded Content Ads.

Lastly, Digital Collectibles, Meta’s NFT feature is being rolled out to more creators on Instagram and will soon be available in Instagram Stories with SparkAR and on Facebook.

A Continued Focus On Creators & Monetization

Meta shows its continued focus on creators through its latest creator monetization updates. Combining new tools such as the Creator Marketplace and Interoperable Subscriptions and expanded access to initiatives like Stars and Reels Play will allow more creators to earn money across Facebook and Instagram.

A More Active Role In Facilitating Branded Content Deals

Since branded content is a primary source of income for most creators, the Creator Marketplace will be quite valuable in helping creators make money through brand partners, without having to leave the Instagram app. Today, influencer marketing platforms and agencies play an important role in connecting brands and creators, but social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat have launched their own Creator Marketplaces in recent years to join in on the action.

Meta's biggest competitor, TikTok, has been working hard to build out its Creator Marketplace by launching new features, building out a dedicated team to support it, and opening API access to notable influencer marketing platforms and agencies. Despite the fact that many branded content deals happen on Facebook and Instagram, Meta has played a relatively passive role in facilitating these deals. With its own Creator Marketplace in place, it can take a more active role in helping brands and creators come together.

Helping Creators Provide More Value To Their Fans

Interoperable Subscriptions are perhaps one of the most surprising, yet exciting, features that Meta is launching. More creators are turning to content formats like podcasts and newsletters that are easy to build subscriptions on top of. However, to keep fans paying, creators often need to find new ways to provide value, which Interoperable Subscriptions can help with. This is something that is often done on Twitch with streamers giving live stream channel subscribers access to exclusive Discord servers.

Not only can creators provide more value to their paying subscribers across other channels with the new feature, but subscriber-only Groups are also a great way for creators to build community amongst their subscribers. The expansion of other partners such as membership and newsletter platforms will make the feature even more attractive to creators and their audiences, who will be able to get more value for their dollar.

Will Creators Care?

Regardless of what you think about Meta, Zuckerberg and the team aren't succumbing to TikTok, YouTube, or any other social media platform vying for creators. The pace at which Meta can churn out new monetization features for creators is impressive, even when they are copycat features from other platforms.

Creators might be happy about all the new ways they can make money on Facebook and Instagram. However, a question remains — can these outweigh some of the algorithm and app layout changes that the platform continues to make to the disappointment of creators.

Only time will tell, but for the time being, Meta is still an attractive platform to make money and run their businesses.