Facebook wants to give $1B away… to creators

In the latest edition of “how dafook do we beat TikTok,” Facebook is bookmarking $1B for creators who use its platforms.

The invite-only program will reward creators for using specific features on Facebook and Instagram, or for reaching predefined milestones.

This isn’t the first cash offer to lure creators:

• Last summer, Zuck and crew made offers to draw top TikTokers ahead of the launch of Reels (their TikTok competitor)
• TikTok responded by launching a $200m creator fund of its own
• In November, Snap pledged $1m per day to get creators to use Spotlight (its TikTok clone)

But the real problem is product-related

With so much focus on helping brands and small businesses advertise, Facebook has left creators looking elsewhere.

TikTok and YouTube have seized the moment, building products that inherently support creator monetization.

For example: When Vine shut down in 2016, Logan Paul turned to Facebook to post videos but left for YouTube when he realized the platform didn’t have tools to help influencers make money.

$1B is a serious haul, but it may be too little, too late

Business writer (and friend of The Hustle), Nathan Baschez suggested Facebook offer a $1B king’s ransom to creators a year ago, calling it the only way to shift momentum toward Reels.

In the meantime, TikTok was the most downloaded app in the 1st half of 2021 and became the 1st non-Facebook app to pass 3B downloads worldwide earlier this month, per Sensor Tower.

Up against this momentum, backing up the Brink’s truck may be Facebook’s only chance. Thankfully, the firm’s market cap is just shy of $1T, meaning a billi might just be the beginning.