Meta has unveiled a series of tools designed to help creators earn money on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
In its announcement Wednesday (Nov. 2), the company said it will let creators make their own non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Instagram and sell them to fans on and off the platform.
“They’ll have an end-to-end toolkit — from creation (starting on the Polygon blockchain) and showcasing, to selling,” Meta said in the announcement. “People can easily support their favorite creators by buying their digital collectibles directly within Instagram.”
The company is testing these features with a small group of U.S. creators, with plans to expand the project to additional countries soon, according to the announcement.
Meta has also expanded the type of digital collectibles creators can showcase on Instagram, such as video, and has added support for the Solana blockchain and Phantom wallet, the announcement stated.
The company is also introducing gifts to Instagram, giving creators “a new way to earn money from fans who love their Reels,” Meta’s short-form video offering, according to the announcement.
On Facebook, Meta has introduced a professional mode that lets creators “build a public presence while maintaining their personal Facebook experience.” Creators can earn money through Meta’s Stars program, as well as ads on Facebook Reels, Reels Play and in-stream.
PYMNTS noted in September that Meta’s attempt to compete with TikTok by promoting Reels on Instagram was falling short.
While Reels is Meta’s fastest-growing format for content, the amount of time Instagram users spend watching Reels is less than a tenth of the time TikTok users spend watching videos, the company said in an internal report.
The report also found that engagement had dropped 13.6% in the four weeks before the document was published, and only 20% of creators using Instagram post on the platform at least once a month.
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