As Instagram makes its new push into long-form content via Features, the platform is also working on other ways to promote long-form video in order to get more people viewing and more creators posting.
A key question from creators, however, has been around monetization, and why they would want to post their longer videos to Instagram, given that its payout system is nowhere near as lucrative as YouTube’s Partner Program.
But even without a solidified payments system in place, Instagram does have some other tricks up its sleeve to get creators sharing more long-form videos.
As shown in these screenshots posted by creator economy expert Lia Haberman, Instagram is highlighting long-form video in a prominent space at the top of its Explore page for some users. That will certainly get the attention of creators, who will see this as a massive opportunity to get more people checking out their content.
Instagram is also reportedly offering one-off payments of up to $500,000 to a selection of big-name creators to get them posting long-form content.
In combination, it seems like Instagram will be able to make Features a bigger consideration for creators, even without a more competitive monetization program.
Though the platform is also working on that element.
Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri has acknowledged the app will have to evolve its payment program to incentivize long-form creators, but it hasn’t worked out the best way to move forward yet.
In an interview with YouTubers Colin and Samir published last week, Mosseri discussed the various challenges Instagram is facing in building a sustainable monetization program.
Mosseri said the aim of adding long-form content on IG was to compete with YouTube, which is now seeing most of its viewership growth via Connected TV, or people watching YouTube videos on their home TV sets. Mosseri said that Instagram, ideally, will be able to integrate short and long-form content into a more Instagram-style approach, where long-form videos can be split into short Reels, thereby providing viewers multiple consumption options.
But on payments, Mosseri said that Instagram was still weighing its options.
Mosseri added that he doesn’t believe platform payments, performance-based incentives or creator bonuses are a revenue driver. Inserting mid-roll ads can also be disruptive, and while Mosseri said Instagram is making one-off payments to bootstrap Features, that isn’t a sustainable path.
Which leaves few options, outside of helping creators organize brand deals to support their content. Mosseri said that Instagram offers certain smaller creator payment schemes, but those have also been historically cost-negative and a losing bet in terms of ROI.
Mosseri’s comments likely won’t give a lot of hope to creators looking to make more money via long-form content in the app. This is especially true given that an external analysis of Instagram’s payout program, conducted by VidIQ, shows that creators on Instagram generally only earn around 10% of what they make on YouTube.
That could eventually see Features going the same way as IGTV, the platform’s previous long-form content play. IGTV also died because there was no financial incentive for creators to post to Instagram instead of posting to YouTube.
Given Mosseri’s comments, it’s hard to see this outcome shifting , even with expanded exposure options.
