Business Casual: Instagram Experiments with Creator Content Monetization Features & IGTV Ads

During the COVID-19 crisis, as creators embraced Live in new ways, Instagram viewership increased 70% from February to March. Offering new ways for creators to make money through Instagram Live and IGTV, on Wednesday, Instagram launched new tools aimed at boosting revenues for video artistes. While the features are currently in a testing phase, limited to select creators and businesses, viewers will now be able to add badges during live videos and advertisements on IGTV which will show up next to a person’s name, enabling them to show their support for specific creators. Similar to superchat features on YouTube or Twitch, Instagram’s “heart” badges allow viewers comments to stand out from the pack, and will be offered at different price points—99¢ for one heart, $1.99 for two, and $4.99 for three, with purchases limited to one badge per video—and the company plans on sharing all that revenue with their creator partners.

In addition, starting next week, Instagram watchers will also begin seeing advertisements on IGTV—ads that will likely appear when the watcher taps to watch IGTV videos from previews in their feed and will last up to 15 seconds. With 55% of the advertising revenue going to the creator, the ads will initially be tested on a small group of U.S. creators and advertisers such as Sephora and Puma, but access will be gradually expanded over time. Further, Instagram will also test the ability skip ads throughout the year, ensuring the product will work well for viewers, creators and advertisers alike.

Born from a commitment to support creators in turning their passion into livelihoods, particularly during these uncertain times, on today’s Business Casual segment, presented by MarketScale, Daniel Litwin, Taylor Bagley, and Tyler Kern discuss this strategic move by Instagram.

“Providing a variety of monetization tools is crucial in order to support all creators on Instagram, from emerging digital stars to established entertainers and everything in between,” said Instagram COO Justin Osofsky. “We’re excited to add these two new revenue streams to the mix of tools for creators to help them generate additional income to fuel their work.”

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