Capitalizing on TikTok’s brief absence, Instagram is seeking to entice video creators with large cash bonuses to start posting Reels.
After TikTok was briefly banned in the US before receiving a 75-day reprieve from President Trump, Meta’s Instagram is seeking to capitalize on the disruption by enticing video creators over to Reels. The Information reports that creators are being offered large cash bonuses to exclusively post Reels on Instagram.
Those bonuses range from $10,000 to $50,000 per month and come with a requirement for creators to post their short-form videos on Instagram before publishing them on other platforms, like TikTok. Considering Reels are often mocked for being slow to jump on trends, this is likely a move born out of a move to bring more relevance to Instagram.
This isn’t the first time that Meta boosted payouts for creators in an attempt to compete with Tiktok, although it’s worth noting that the hefty bonuses don’t often last that long. For example, 2021 saw the launch of Instagram Reels’ bonus program but the high payments used to entice creators at first reportedly dwindled by 2022, before Meta axed the problem entirely in 2023.
Time for Reels to seize the day
Nonetheless, Instagram is wise to jump at the chance to become the top dog in video-sharing social media. Although TikTok is no longer dark, at the time of reporting it’s still unavailable on iOS and Android app stores.
As well as the major payouts, Instagram has recently launched a flurry of updates that seem to suit creators used to TikTok. For example, the format of profile grids has switched from square thumbnails to rectangles, for an appearance that looks closer to ByteDance’s platform.
Instagram lead Adam Mosseri also unveiled plans for the company to work on a new video editing and creation app designed to compete directly with CapCut, an app owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance. With Instagram’s own editing tools consistently coming under fire for glitches and tricky UI, this will be a welcome addition even to those who prefer Reels.
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