Future of TV Briefing: Instagram is taking a ‘mix and match’ approach to money-making tools for video makers

By Tim Peterson

The Future of TV Briefing this week looks at how Instagram’s all-in-one video product strategy is now being reflected in its wide-ranging monetization plans for video makers.

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Instagram, the all-inclusive digital video platform

As a digital video platform, Instagram has not necessarily carved out a niche among video publishers and individual video creators. But that may be becoming more of a feature than a bug.

YouTube is currently most closely associated with more produced, longer-length videos. Snapchat is the spot for short-form shows and ephemeral stories. And TikTok is the hotbed for the shortest of entertainments. Meanwhile, Instagram has emerged as a home to all of the above.

“Instagram is still figuring out how to best curate that content, but they are the best at giving all of the resources to the individual,” said Chris Sawtelle, head of digital ventures at talent agency ICM Partners.

At the same time, Instagram is increasingly developing the means of giving video makers one of the most important resources of all: money. While publishers and creators are able to sell sponsorships against their Instagram accounts, the platform has been slow to provide direct means for them to make money.

That’s changing, though. But even as it does, the Facebook-owned company is adopting a kitchen sink strategy. Rather than solely stand up a long-expected advertising revenue-sharing program, Instagram is also stretching into commerce and even dangling the possibility of audience-payment products.

The key hits:

Instagram’s video platform spans Reels, IGTV, Stories, live video and in-feed video posts.
That breadth contrasts with other platforms that have established specialties.
However, the scope of Instagram’s video product portfolio and size of its audience have opened it up to different kinds of publishers and creators.
Instagram is now taking a similar wide-ranging approach to rolling out revenue-generating products for video makers.

Instagram is continuing to test an advertising revenue-sharing program for IGTV videos. But it is also pushing into commerce by testing an affiliate tool for creators to receive a commission for products featured in their posts that lead to purchases as well as shopping products for creators to sell their own goods. And in a Q&A with creator Karen X. Cheng during Instagram’s Creator Week on June 10, Instagram head Adam Mosseri teased the possibility of Instagram adding “ways to for users to actually pay creators directly, whether it is gated content or subscriptions or tips like badges or other user payment-type products. I think there’s a lot to do there,” he said.

“Ads rev share is going to be one small part of the broader suite of monetization tools that we will offer,” said Ashley Yuki, director of product management at Instagram, in an interview. She declined to discuss specific plans, but she emphasized that “it all really comes back to our fundamental belief that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach here and we need to offer a suite of tools that …read more

Source:: Digiday