Doing More to Support Creators on Instagram

Creators have always been at the core of our community. Since the earliest days of Instagram, they have inspired people around the world with their talents, shared their lives and built their personal brands from the ground up.

We have always been committed to supporting creators as they turn their passion into livelihoods - because every creator is unique, that means providing a mix of monetization tools to help creators of all sizes, from the emerging to the more established.

Given the uncertain circumstances many are facing today, that commitment is more important than ever. Today we’re announcing new ways for creators to make money through Instagram Live and IGTV.

Introducing Badges in Live

During the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve seen people supporting their favorite creators in Live with comments, likes and donations. To give fans another way to participate and show their love, we’re introducing badges that viewers can purchase during a live video.

In recent months, we’ve seen creators embrace Live in new ways, leading to a 70% increase in views from February to March. From fitness instructors to dancers, artists to chefs, Live has helped creators and businesses stay connected to their followers and bring people together. With badges, creators can generate income from the content they’re already creating.

Badges will appear next to a person’s name throughout the live video. Fans who have purchased badges in Live will stand out in the comments and unlock additional features, including placement on a creator’s list of badge holders and access to a special heart.

“Badges in Instagram couldn’t have come at a better time for fitness creators like me. It’s an easy way to channel the love we already see in our Live feeds so we can continue building and creating for our fans.” @charleeatkins

Badges will begin testing next month with a small group of creators and businesses. Over the coming months it will expand across the US, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, and Mexico. If you would like to be considered for early access to badges, please fill out this form.

IGTV Ads

Starting next week, we are introducing ads in IGTV, our long-form video destination. We want to support creators’ investment in IGTV by sharing advertising revenue with them.

IGTV ads will initially appear when people click to watch IGTV videos from previews in their feed. The video ads will be built for mobile and up to 15 seconds long. We’ll test various experiences within IGTV ads throughout the year - such as the ability to skip an ad - to make sure the final result works well for people, creators and advertisers.

IGTV has become a powerful place for creators to connect more deeply with their fans, pilot new projects and share their lives and talents. With IGTV ads, they have another new way to earn money from the content they work so hard to produce.

“IGTV has given me a place to show my fans more of my creativity and personality, which has helped grow my personal brand. Being able to earn money from the content I’m already creating gives me even more motivation to share more of myself with my followers on IGTV.” @avani

We’ll begin testing IGTV ads with a small group of creators and advertisers in the US, and will expand slowly over time as we improve the experience.

Looking Ahead

In addition to badges in Live and IGTV ads, we’re also making it easier for creators to grow with shopping and branded content.

We recently announced Live Shopping, which will let creators and brands tag products during their live videos. And over the coming months we’ll expand shopping access to more creators who want to sell their own merchandise. We’re also expanding access to Brand Collabs Manager, which helps creators find potential brand partners.

These updates are a step forward in giving creators ways to earn money and grow their business. As we test and gather feedback, we’ll find more ways to support creators on Instagram.