It’s no big secret that Instagram is quick to challenge any and every competitor out there that might dare to steal viewership away from its platform.
But what many of us might not know is just how far Instagram is willing to go to secure those eyeballs.
We’ve talked about various funds that the company started in the past to keep people on its platform or lure people away, and this latest ploy is pretty much the same thing albeit one that is interestingly competing with rival programs from Snap and YouTube (of all platforms). It seems like there is big money in short reels, and as TikTok nears one billion users, everyone wants in on the action.
There’s only one big issue and that’s how people make money.
Or, in other words, what metrics go into determining who gets what. Instagram users can’t really seem to figure out what kind of following/views you need to make serious money and it’s creating a pretty unpleasant atmosphere, TechCrunch reports.
In a response to the seeming randomness of money payouts, Instagram told TechCrunch:
“We’re continuing to test payments as we roll out to more creators, and expect them to fluctuate while we’re still getting started. We’ve designed bonuses so that we can help as many creators as we can in a way that is achievable and drives meaningful earnings. Our goal is for bonuses to become more personalized over time.”
One program announced, Reels Surprise, gives users a $USD 10,000 bonus for content that is exclusive to Instagram (no reposts). If selected, Instagram will notify the user through the app and take things from there. Overall, though, everything surrounding making money on Instagram seems to be sort of vague from the average user's perspective. Perhaps clarifying this will go a long way towards retaining or attracting new talent?
You can check out the Reels Surprise program here and Reels Play Bonus program here.
Of course, we’d love to know your thoughts on Instagram’s aggressive chase after big-name content creators on TikTok in the comments below.
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