Facebook plans to pay creators $ 1 billion to use its products.

Facebook is setting up a program to pay creators $ 1 billion through the end of 2022, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday as part of an effort to attract influencers to its platforms.

The billion dollars will be distributed among creators of all types, prompting influencers to create and post original content on Facebook, the social network said. Influencers can earn money by using specific features of Facebook and Instagram or by reaching certain milestones. If a creator broadcasts live regularly, for example, they can make money.

Over the past year or so, an arms race has emerged among tech companies looking to woo online content creators who can generate huge engagement and bring their young fans and cultural relevance to a platform. TikTok and YouTube have cultivated close relationships within the creator community by helping creators earn money and building features to meet their needs.

As part of Facebook’s new program, invitation-only for now, eligible creators will see alerts encouraging them to join the effort when they open the app. Facebook has announced plans to create a space dedicated to creators to track their bonuses on Instagram and Facebook by the end of the year.

This is not the first time that Facebook has given money to creators in exchange for using its products. The company has previously paid TikTok influencers and YouTubers to use Instagram features like IGTV, a long video feature similar to YouTube, and Reels, a feature that works similarly to TikTok. In December, Facebook pledged to invest $ 10 million over the next two years in the black gaming community, offering some creators guaranteed monthly payments for using Facebook Gaming, a streaming platform similar to Twitch. .

Direct payments are becoming an increasingly common way of trying to keep creators away from TikTok. In November, Snapchat began donating $ 1 million per day to content creators who posted to the app’s “Spotlight” feature, which works similarly to TikTok. These payments have recently dried up, making Facebook’s bonus program potentially attractive.

At least 50 million people around the world now see themselves as content creators, and it’s one of the fastest growing segments of small businesses, according to a report by venture capital firm SignalFire.

Mobile analytics company Sensor Tower said on Wednesday that TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app in the first half of 2021. TikTok also surpassed 3 billion installs globally, SensorTower said, making it the first non-Facebook app to exceed this number.