REUTERS: Facebook Inc announced Wednesday that it will invest more than $1 billion to support content producers through the end of 2022, as it competes with platforms like TikTok and YouTube for the attention of top social media stars. The expenditures will include bonus programs for creators who reach certain milestones on Facebook’s products, such as the photo-sharing network Instagram, as well as funding for users to create content, according to the company.
On Facebook, video artists and online gamers who reach certain financial Stars milestones will receive a monthly bonus. Stars is a type of digital tipping that fans may use to tip their favorite creators during live-streamed videos.
Incentives to use Reels, Instagram’s imitation TikTok feature that highlights short-form video clips, will be part of the rewards programs. According to the startup, creators will get paid dependent on how well their Reels films perform. As rival social media platforms pursue top influencers with millions of followers, Facebook is opening its coffers to court creators. TikTok has pledged to spend $2 billion over the next three years to support creators, whereas Snap Inc’s Snapchat previously paid creators a total of $1 million per day to publish popular short-form videos on its platform. (Sheila Dang in Dallas and Elizabeth Culliford in New York contributed reporting; Richard Chang edited the piece.)/n
