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This is an excerpt from Please love me, the BuzzFeed News newsletter on how influencers fight for your attention. You can register here.
On Wednesday, Facebook took a big step forward in its commitment to support the thousands of influencers who have made its photo and video sharing platform, Instagram, one of the most popular on the internet for content creation.
In a blog post, the company announced plans to invest $ 1 billion by the end of 2022 in programs specifically designed to support the ecosystem of creators on its platforms. It is a question of directly remunerating the creators.
Facebook has been pretty straightforward about its intentions with these programs. The company hopes that these initiatives “will support the community of creators and allow them to earn a sustainable income from our applications.”
“Our goal is to help as many creators as possible find lasting, long-term success with our apps,” the blog read.
This development should come as no surprise to anyone who has paid attention to the creator economy on Instagram. Over the past six months or so, it has become clear that Facebook has made a huge change. After years of a laissez-faire approach to the influencers that power its apps, the company is now desperately trying to show influencers that it cares about their success.
The change has been quite brutal. As I noted last month, Instagram has spent most of its life not investing in its local talent.
This is notable compared to other platforms like YouTube, which has actively cultivated its talent for many years, showcasing creators on billboards and running programs with perks and a dedicated support team. YouTube also gives awards to creators who reach certain milestones, like 1 million subscribers – a simple gesture that has earned the company a lot of goodwill (as evidenced by YouTubers’ enthusiasm for the awards).
No Instagram influencer has ever been awarded a similar honor. Over time, influencers began to regret the little support they received from Facebook, and others topped up. For example, monetization platforms like RewardStyle were started by influencers who noticed a gap in the market, and an entire economy has emerged from their efforts.
Recently, as I reported in June, a sort of mini revolt has arisen among Instagram influencers, many of whom have expressed frustration with the difficulty of running their business on the app and the lack of support from Instagram. Instagram. Influencers have diversified their activities, by creating Patreons or Substacks or by reinvesting in their blogs. So, I don’t think Facebook’s sudden and frantic commitment to making sure influencers invest their time primarily on Instagram is a coincidence.
The question now is: will Instagram openings actually work?
A few parts of the Facebook ad give me pause. One sentiment I’ve seen floating around Instagram since the announcement by longtime influencers is “too little, too late.” Many influencers seem skeptical about the authenticity of Instagram’s ad. Instead, it looks like Facebook is trying to avoid competition from TikTok, which has launched its own exciting pool of fresh-faced creators. In particular, TikTok has a creation fund, which the platform launched to “show [its] appreciation to [its] brilliant community of creators by rewarding them for their amazing TikTok videos and creativity.
I can fully understand why Instagram influencers are skeptical of the platform’s new programs. Where was that commitment when influencers first launched their brands? Why did it take a trendy new platform and a new generation of Gen Z talent for Instagram to achieve what it had?
I could also see two other elements of the ad annoying them. On the one hand, all the early bonus programs revolve around video, for the use of IGTV, live video or reels. The Reels program in particular caught my attention. The program will “pay creators for creating great reels on Instagram,” and influencers will make money “based on the performance of their reels.”
Coupled with comments from Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri a few weeks ago that Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app, it seems clear that Instagram’s focus on Reels, its competitor TikTok, is not ending. anytime soon. But I have a hard time understanding this strategy, because … no one seems to really like Reels! I’ve seen complaints on the platform constantly that influencers and followers don’t like the platform’s focus on reels because it just forces people who are good at one thing to do. something else, and generally not very well. Influencers aren’t video content creators most of the time, and that’s okay! We don’t follow them for that, and creating viral TikToks and great Instagram content are very different skills. Influencers have been complaining for months that the obsession with Instagram reels has made their real, authentic content worse performance, and this has been a major factor for some to research different platforms.
The last aspect of the ad that annoys influencers is an apparent emphasis on attracting new talent rather than recognizing and honoring the talent they already have. In the blog, Instagram says one of its main goals is to “reward creators, especially those just starting out, for creating content their communities love.”
As an influencer with over 200,000 followers commented on Instagram’s post on @creators announcing the program, “How about also the creators who have been doing this for you for years and have yet to succeed!”
But others seemed excited. “Thank God, finally a little support as a creator! One person wrote.
The focus on both new talent and video content gives me the impression that Instagram is specifically targeting short, promising video creators with these programs, and not Instagram influencers.
Instagram has promised to launch other features that could help more traditional influencers, such as tools that would allow influencers to sell products directly through their personal profiles and create new stores through the app. But for now, I’m not sure how much these programs will help allay the dissatisfaction of influencers on the platform.
Ultimately, influencers deserve to have Instagram’s support to grow their business on the platform and make it what it is. It’s time for Instagram to rise to the challenge rather than focusing on the bright new creators in front of them.
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