Meta Has Reportedly Paid $2 Billion to Content Creators Posting on Facebook

A photography trend in the 2020s has seen freelancers start positioning themselves more and more as content creators, with YouTube often being the obvious place to start putting out videos about photography.

However, as Tech Crunch asks, are content creators sleeping on Facebook? According to Meta, Facebook has paid content creators more than $2 billion in the past 12 months for videos, reels, photos, and text posts. The company says in that time, payouts for reels and short videos have grown more than 80 percent.

Facebook has streamlined its monetization programs by rolling out Facebook Content Monetization beta, a fresh monetization program that expands opportunities for creators to earn from more content formats.

Facebook Content Monetization beta merges three previous existing Facebook-funded creator monetization programs: In-stream ads, Ads on Reels, and the Performance Bonus. All three are now in a single program, simplifying the process.

Meta has previously unveiled initiatives to attempt to lure content creators away from other platforms. In 2021, the company launched the Reels Play bonus program to tempt creators away from TikTok. But that was cut back in 2023 and payouts for reels dwindled.

Facebook’s bonus program is invite-only but the $2 billion figure paid out in one year is nevertheless impressive. However, for comparison, YouTube has paid creators $70 billion in the last three years via its partner program.

“We’re proud of how our monetization programs have helped creators thrive on Facebook, but we know that the different availability, eligibility requirements and sign-up processes of our various programs have resulted in some creators missing opportunities and others not being eligible to earn from all available formats,” Meta writes in a blog post.

“And the data backs this up — today only about one-third of monetizing creators on Facebook earn from more than one Facebook-funded program.

“With Facebook Content Monetization, creators will only have to join one monetization program. From there, they can monetize multiple formats and track their performance with one set of insights, making it easier than ever to earn money across our range of available content formats.”

Meta says this week it will start sending invitations to one million creators who are already monetizing content on Facebook to join the beta. Open enrollment won’t be available until 2024 but creators can express an interest here.