Facebook to Pay Creators $1 Billion

Facebook to Invest Over $1 Billion in Creator Bonuses

Facebook has recently unveiled plans to distribute more than $1 billion to content creators before the end of the following year. This substantial investment will be facilitated through newly developed bonus programs, strategically designed to maintain creator engagement within the Facebook app ecosystem.

The announcement regarding this new funding initiative was initially made by Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, on his personal Facebook page. The primary objective is to “reward creators for great content” and incentivize continued platform participation.

Bonus Program Details

These payments will be distributed via a series of bonus programs spanning both Facebook and Instagram. The programs are designed to be dynamic, evolving, and expanding over time to meet the changing needs of creators.

A dedicated hub for these bonus programs will be integrated into the Instagram app later this summer, with a similar feature becoming available within the Facebook app later in the year.

Initial bonuses will be offered to creators who utilize in-stream ads within their Facebook videos. Furthermore, Facebook is broadening its existing Stars program.

The Stars system allows viewers to provide financial tips to streamers in exchange for exclusive fan benefits. Creators producing videos or live-streaming games will qualify for monthly bonuses based on the volume of Stars received from viewers through October.

Instagram Bonuses

Instagram will also introduce its own set of bonuses, initially available by invitation only. In the coming weeks, creators based in the U.S. will have the opportunity to receive a one-time bonus for activating IGTV ads.

Additional bonuses will be awarded to creators for producing Reels – Instagram’s response to TikTok’s popular short-form video format – and for achieving specific milestones during Instagram Live broadcasts.

Competition in the Creator Economy

Facebook’s move into direct creator payments represents the latest effort to bolster competing products against TikTok through financial incentives. Snapchat currently distributes $1 million daily to the most popular videos on its Spotlight platform.

YouTube has also established a $100 million fund dedicated to YouTube Shorts, its own iteration of the short-form video concept.

TikTok itself launched a $200 million creator fund last year. However, the platform currently demonstrates strong growth, having recently surpassed 3 billion global downloads according to data from SensorTower.

Only WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram – all under the Facebook umbrella – have achieved similar download numbers.