New Instagram Features For Marketers & Creators 

Instagram is casting itself as the hero their army of influencers never knew they needed with two key announcements.

The platform has announced a double whammy of measures that will allow the further monetisation of content and increased revenues for influencers and Instagram.

New Fan badges and IGTV adverts will enable marketers and influencers to take advantage of a unique phase of rapid video growth.

Instagram Expands IGTV Ads

Video views are up 70% from February to March 2020 as people are spending more time at home; in front of their phones.

Where there’s eyeballs, there are going to be monetisation plans. IGTV ads will allow influencers to earn extra cash by including adverts along with their content, and they will keep 55% of the revenue generated.

Ads will last up to 15 seconds and formatted for mobile. This feature is still in the test phase, and it’s not clear what the implications will be when videos are interrupted by an advert. Could we see a decrease in watch time as users get annoyed by the intrusion?

Instagram will also test a skip feature, and that would certainly be welcome if it can be worked in to provide a seamless experience. IGTV ads were initially available to a select few in the US, such as Puma and Sephora. This testing phase has since been expanded to more influencers.

Give Your Fans A Badge Of Honour

The other way Instagram is increasing monetisation for influencers is through their badges feature. The platform has been testing this feature throughout the year, and it represents a new way for fans to support the influencers they love.

Fans will be able to buy badges during Instagram Live videos at the cost of $0.99, $1.99 or $4.99. Twitch and YouTube already have a similar feature to this, while Facebook Live operates a way to tip content producers.

Instagram

“Once purchased, badges appear next to a person’s name throughout the live video. Fans who have purchased badges 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.”

In a particularly charitable move, Instagram has announced that it’ll be matching earning from badges throughout November.

Badges will now be available to a select group of 50,000 influencers and have been expanded in the US and will now be available in France, UK, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and Japan.

Badges are being lapped up by content creators, who can’t get enough of the additional monetisation opportunities Instagram has presented.

@ronnebrown was one of the influencers who got to test-drive badges.

“Badges in Live has been an amazing tool for me to make money from home. I spent a lot of time going live on Instagram before so to be able to monetise the content I was already creating in a way that feels natural has been a game changer for me.”

How To Get Your House In Order

Influencers will need to make sure they adhere to a set of rules if they want to make money from the content they post.

1. Facebook community standards. This just means you need to ensure your content doesn’t depict graphic violence, nudity or hate speech.
2. Partner monetisation policies. Partner monetisation standards address rules for the content you create, how the content is shared and how you receive and make online payments.
3. Content monetisation policies. These address the content of each video or post that you publish and includes rules against violent, sexual, criminal, graphic or profane content.

However, for both content creators and publishers alike, you can find a complete overview of the relevant policy here.