Meta Will Pay Influencers Up to $3,000 Per Month to Post on Facebook. Is It Enough to Fix Engagement?
Key Points
Facebook is paying influencers with large followings up to $3,000 per month for several months if they post content on the platform.
The company lags far behind TikTok and YouTube for time spent on the app.
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Meta (NASDAQ: META) recently announced a new program, called the Creator Fast Track, aimed at persuading social media influencers to post content on its Facebook platform. And for some influencers, it could mean $3,000 per month in guaranteed payments from Meta.
Handing out monetary incentives to influencers with big followings is nothing new for social media companies, but the reasons behind this content push matter. Facebook continues to fall behind video-focused rivals in the amount of time spent on its platform.
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Unfortunately, throwing money at the problem probably won't work.
Image source: Getty Images.
Paying for posts
The Creator Fast Track program will pay Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok influencers with at least 100,000 followers a guaranteed $1,000 per month if they post at least 15 Reels and 10 posts in a month on Facebook. If a person has 1 million or more followers, the pay jumps to $3,000 per month.
Influencers won't get paid for very long, however, with the guaranteed payments lasting just three months. They can still earn money on Facebook's platform through other monetization programs, though.
So, why do this? Facebook is trying to appeal to younger users and boost the time people spend on the platform. Millennials make up the largest segment of Facebook users, about 52%, and the company is trying to appeal to younger users who prefer to spend more time watching videos on TikTok and YouTube.
It's not that younger users are absent from Facebook -- men aged 18-24 are Facebook's second-largest user group. But Facebook falls far behind in how long people spend on its platform. For example, TikTok users spend more than 33 hours per month on the app, YouTube users spend over 27 hours, and Facebook lags with just under 19 hours.
Paying influencers to post Reels is very strategic for Facebook. Meta's management says its users spent 30% more time watching Instagram Reels in the fourth quarter -- and the company is likely trying to replicate that success on Facebook.
Most importantly, Facebook is looking to boost its video engagement and views more organically. Management said on the Q4 call that Facebook videos saw a 7% lift in views due to the company's "optimization" efforts. That suggests video improvements have come more from Facebook making changes behind the scenes to boost engagement, rather than from organic growth from user content.
Meta shareholders should watch this closely
I doubt paying influencers guaranteed payments for three months will make much of a difference for Facebook and how people use its social media platform. The new Creator Fast Track program feels more like one small piece in a broader content strategy for Facebook as it tries to get influencers to cross-post content on its platform.
It's not a bad strategy, but it's an admission that the company continues to face increasing pressure to stay relevant and keep its users engaged. I wouldn't be surprised to see more video-focused incentives or programs from Facebook as it looks to boost the amount of time its users spend on the platform.
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Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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