Facebook is dangling the promise of more fans and endless money in an effort to lure video creators away from YouTube and other social media sites.
YouTube is the first place most people think of regarding video but Facebook aims to change that. The social media site that boasts over 2 billion daily users says it will help creators make more money with direct payments from its users, coupled with advertising earnings, CNBC reports.
Facebook has started cozying up to creators ahead of VidCon, the world’s largest celebration of digital video and online creators. Facebook says it will sweeten its offerings at the July 11-13 conference in Anaheim, CA.
Facebook Watch, the platform’s video vertical, already offers original programming and creator-generated videos. It launched globally in 2018 after being introduced in 2017 and has a reported 720 million monthly users and over 140 million daily users. By comparison, Google-owned YouTube says it has over 1.9 billion logged-in users watching videos every month.
Advertisers are asking for more specifics about the data, as well as wanting improved functionality for users to find the videos they want to watch.
YouTube has launched a class of superstar creators, many raking in thousands of dollars — even millions — every month. Instagram, too, has been a boon for influencers, and videos on IGTV command increased viewers and the potential to make bank.
But IGTV, Instagram’s YouTube competitor, has not grabbed a measure of success compared to YouTube. Facebook is looking to step in and grab the crown jewel of video.
“Creators” as defined by Facebook include a range of individuals and groups that use its tools to make money, whether they’re viral video stars or media companies.
New updates on Facebook will include options for placing less-intrusive ads on videos so creators can only show non-interruptive formats like a pre-roll ad or an image ad. That feature is available now, Facebook said in a statement.
Facebook says it will also update its “Brand Collabs Manager,” which was announced in 2018 and lets advertisers find creators for branded content partnerships. It’s also tweaking how much creators earn from their fans through more direct payments. The company’s “Fan subscriptions” program lets viewers pay creators each month for exclusive content and other rewards. It’s similar to the start-up Patreon, which lets an individual collect payments from fans.
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