Facebook, Instagram to invest over $1 billion in content creators

Facebook Inc will invest over $1 billion to support content creators through the end of 2022, the social media giant said Wednesday, as it aims to compete with platforms like TikTok and YouTube for the attention of top social media personalities.

The investments will include bonus programs to pay creators who hit certain milestones on its apps, including photo-sharing network Instagram, and fund users to produce content, Facebook said.

On Facebook, video creators and online gamers will receive a monthly bonus if they hit milestones for earnings Stars, a form of digital tipping that fans can use to pay their favorite creators during live-streamed videos.

Instagram's bonus programs will include incentives to use Reels, its copycat TikTok feature that showcases short-form video clips. Creators will earn money based on how their Reels videos perform, the company said.

Facebook is opening its wallet to court creators as rival social media platforms are wooing top influencers with millions of fans. TikTok has committed to spending $2 billion to support creators over three years, while Snap Inc's Snapchat previously paid creators a total of $1 million per day to post popular short-form videos on its service.