Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has decided to put on hold its program that pays bonuses to creators for making Reels and achieving specific goals. The program, which was launched in 2021, was designed to encourage content creators to produce more short videos. The discontinuation of the program will affect all Reels creators on Facebook and U.S.-based creators on Instagram, as the Instagram program was exclusively available for creators based in the United States.
End of Reels bonuses
According to Business Insider, the termination of the program implies that social media platforms are looking to withdraw from paying creators based on the popularity of their short videos. However, Meta has assured that it will honor any commitment for bonuses made before the shutdown for a period of 30 days. The decision by Meta to stop the Reels bonuses program may affect content creation on Facebook and Instagram and change the dynamics of how creators monetize their content on these platforms.
Despite the fact that the Reels feature is currently available in over 150 countries, Meta has stated that it may bring back the program in a “targeted” manner if Reels enter a new market. This statement may seem unusual, considering the widespread availability of the short video feature.
Shifting of Implementation only?
It is unclear what Meta means by “targeted” implementation, but this move may indicate that the company is exploring different ways to incentivize content creation on its platforms. As the landscape of social media continues to evolve, it is possible that Meta may introduce new programs or features to promote content creation and monetization on Facebook and Instagram.
Under the program, content creators received substantial bonuses. Several creators received bonuses exceeding $10,000, with some even reporting up to $35,000 per month. To qualify for these bonuses, creators had to garner millions of views on their Reels, and Meta was pleased to distribute money to popularize the format.
As short videos continue to be one of the most popular formats on social media, Meta’s primary goal may be to capitalize on advertising revenue. Last year, the company extended its overlay ad experiment to creators in over 50 countries and also displayed in-stream ads. For both ad formats, Meta shares 55% of the revenue with the creators.
Although Mark Zuckerberg stated last year that Reels generated an annual revenue of $1 billion, the company hopes that the format will bring in even more revenue while it continues to invest in the metaverse. During Meta’s Q4 2022 investor call, Zuckerberg expressed that Reels is not yet generating enough revenue.
With the discontinuation of bonuses, Meta will need to find other ways to incentivize creators to post short videos on its platforms instead of TikTok or YouTube Shorts. To address this issue, Facebook has promised to provide more monetization tools to creators to earn money on Reels.
In a recent blog post, Facebook head Tom Alison stated, “This year, we’re focused on adapting and enhancing these [monetization] tools for short-form video. We’ll continue expanding our ads on Facebook Reels tests to help more creators earn ad revenue for their Reels and grow virtual gifting via Stars on Reels.”
However, Meta’s decision to end creator bonuses for short videos is not unique. Both Snapchat and YouTube Shorts have shifted to ad revenue-sharing models rather than offering funds to creators.
