Meta Platforms is testing a new method of paying content creators based on views in an effort to draw more influencers away from TikTok.
Key Details
- Facebook and Instagram content creators may have the opportunity to earn revenue based on how many views their videos gain.
- Meta announced Tuesday that it would test this new payment system on its Reels videos, which resemble the TikTok format.
- Previously creators could only earn money from content based on advertising and endorsement deals.
- The move should incentivize creators to post more entertaining content on Facebook and Instagram and potentially draw users to the platforms.
Why it’s news
Meta has been locked in heated competition with ByteDance’s TikTok since the short-form video-sharing app arrived on the market. While Meta still has a $117 billion annual revenue compared to TikTok’s $9.4 billion, TikTok is rapidly becoming one of the most popular social-media platforms available.
TikTok has also pulled ahead of competitors by attracting more in-app purchases than all of the other social-media platforms combined. In 2023, TikTok’s in-app purchases earned $205 million more than Facebook, Instagram, Snap, and Twitter, Forbes reports.
Meta’s decision to pay its creators based on views is its latest attempt to win more screen time than TikTok. Though Facebook and Instagram Reels are similar in format to TikTok, Reels do not generate as much revenue as Meta’s other social-media offerings, Bloomberg reports.
With Reels making less money for Meta, there is less available revenue to share with creators. Sharing revenue with creators cost Meta around $500 million in the third quarter last year, according to an October earnings call.
If the company wants to meet its goal of closing the monetization app by the end of this year, it needs to attract more viewers and advertisers to Reels. By making popular Reels more valuable to creators, Meta may be able to draw more users to the platform.
