SOCIAL
Meta Updates Reels Monetization Options to Better Incentivize Creators

With short-form video now the key battleground for social media attention, all of the major platforms are working to establish the most appealing creator monetization programs, in order to ensure that top stars continue posting to their apps.
YouTube already has its Partner Program, which essentially works to supplement Shorts, in addition to its Shorts Fund, while TikTok has just today announced its first steps towards a revenue share program for top creators.
And now, Meta is also sweetening its deal for Reels, with an update to its Reels Play Bonus program, which will see it restructure its payments process, while it’s also launching a new ‘Challenges’ option for Facebook Reels, providing more ways to earn money from your short clips.
As explained by Meta:
“As we continue to test and refine the Reels Play bonus programs, we’re making some updates. We’re adjusting how payouts are calculated, aimed at rewarding creators across a range of audience sizes who are making high quality original content that resonates with people, (which may result in payouts changing for some creators)”
Meta hasn’t provided any specific breakdown as to how its calculations will be changing, but the update seems to be aimed at rewarding creators with smaller audiences, as opposed to the big players taking up all of the cash.
For example, if someone has a million followers, it’s going to be much easier for them to reach any engagement threshold set for Reels rewards, which disadvantages rising stars and those looking to establish themselves in the space. By factoring in variability, and potentially rewarding creators based on some kind of engagement per viewer ratio, that could make it a more equitable and encouraging program to foster rising talent.
In addition to this, Meta’s also introducing “Challenges” on Facebook, “a new incentive that helps creators in the Reels Play bonus program unlock new ways to earn from their content, up to $4,000 in a given month.”
This is also angled towards helping a broader range of creators to make money from Reels, as opposed to the big names gathering up all of the cash available.
But really, creator funding programs like this are not scalable, and if Meta wants to build a truly equitable and beneficial revenue share system, it will need to incorporate ads at some point, and allocate a portion of their performance to relevant creators.
Which is where this next announcement comes in:
“Building on the strong advertising and revenue sharing foundation we’ve established with in-stream ads, we’ve been rolling out overlay ads in Reels on Facebook, and we’re starting to test them with a wider set of creators, (beyond the in-stream ads program) to expand availability to more creators and open up more high quality inventory for advertisers on our platform.”
Meta’s been testing overlay ads for Reels with selected creators for some time, with all Reels creators in the US, Canada and Mexico getting access to the option back in February.

That could provide a more sustainable monetization pathway for short-form content, while also providing advertisers with another way to promote their products within the rising option, meeting consumers where they’re increasingly paying attention.
Indeed, in its most recent performance update, Meta noted that Reels clips now take up more than 20% of the time that people spend on Instagram, while video content, overall, makes up 50% of the time that users spend on Facebook.
Even if TikTok was the originator of the trend, and these other apps are simply jumping on the bandwagon, the popularity of the format is undeniable, and it’s worth considering the opportunities in short form clips, in all apps, for your marketing efforts.
Finally, Meta’s also rolling out new insights for Reels Play creators on Facebook.
“On the Reels Play Bonus Insight page on Facebook, creators can easily see how many Plays each of their eligible Reels received within the given earning period.”
That will provide more transparency into the process, and help Reels creators establish a more sustainable process.
At least until Meta changes its monetization parameters again, based on what it’s looking to incentivize, which is why Meta really needs to push its Reels overlay ads offering, in order to provide a more reliable monetization flow for Reels creators.
It’s amazing to consider the adoption of short-form video, and the impact of TikTok, especially when you also consider that Vine was around years ago, and offered essentially the same type of content approach, yet never caught on in the same way.
Maybe it was ahead of its time, and maybe, as consumption habits continue to evolve, shorter and shorter forms of entertainment will continue to be the norm, leaning into the increasing pace of the media cycle, and the never-ending stream of content available to us 24/7.
I mean, it seems like our brains can only take so much, but we’re also evolving, and as we grow more accustomed to these changes, expectations will also shift, forcing industry changes to go with them.
Whatever it may be, short-form video is the key trend of the moment, and the platform that can work out the best monetization process will likely be the big winner in the end.
SOCIAL
Threads Looks Set to be Made Available to European Users Next Week

Good news with EU social media fans, with Threads looking set for a December 14th launch in the region, just in time to capitalize on holiday engagement.
As reported by The Verge, EU Instagram users can now access a countdown timer at www.threads.net, which seemingly indicates the exact time for the upcoming EU launch. Meta hasn’t made any official announcement, but the countdown clock is only visible to European users, while EU users can also search ‘ticket’ in the Instagram app to find a digital invitation to Threads.
Which replicates the original Threads launch back in July, which included similar Easter eggs and indicators pointing to the launch date (like the above).
The EU launch of Threads has been delayed by evolving EU data privacy regulations, which, due to the timing of the implementation of these new rules, has put additional development burden on the Threads team to ensure compliance with the new parameters. Amid the initial Threads launch, Instagram (and Threads) chief Adam Mosseri said that it could take “many months” for Threads to reach EU users due to these additional complications.
But we have since seen indicators that Threads is coming.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta had an established plan to launch Threads to EU users in December, while app researchers have found various references to an upcoming “Threads EU Launch” in the app’s code.

Given the various strands of evidence, it does indeed seem likely that European users will get access to the app next week. And again, with social media usage increasing during the holiday break, that would also provide the best opportunity for Meta to capitalize on its opportunities.
Which are seemingly on the rise. As more people turn away from Elon Musk’s X project, largely due to Musk’s own divisive commentary, they’re seeking a real-time social alternative, and for many Threads is already filling that void.
That’s especially true for journalists, a common target of Musk’s attacks, who are now establishing new networks within the Threads ecosphere. And while live sports engagement remains high on X, Threads is also making a push to win over more sports communities, even placing ads courtside during the new NBA in-season tournament showcase in Las Vegas.

That’s seemingly prompting more sports fans to post in the app, which will expand again with the arrival of potentially millions more users in the EU region.
So how many more users can Threads expect to gain as a result of its European expansion?
Based on Meta’s EU disclosure data on active users, Instagram currently serves some 259 million monthly active users in Europe.
Instagram’s total, official user count is 1 billion MAU, while Threads now has over 100 million monthly users. So presumably, around a tenth of active IG users are also signing up to the app, which would mean that, at a rough estimate, we’re set to see around 25.9 million new Threads users incoming, if/when Threads is launched in the EU region.
Which is probably not as many as you might expect, but this is based on rough estimates, as Instagram reportedly has more than a billion actives now, and we don’t know the exact, current user counts of either app.
But either way, it will expand the conversation in the app, and enable more people to take part, which has its own expanded benefits. And with around 60 million X users also in the region, that could see a number of them looking to make the switch.
Which is the real aim here. Meta has created Threads as the X alternative, aiming to scoop up former Twitter cast-offs who are unhappy with Elon’s changes at the app. In order to do that, Threads needs to be available in all regions where X users may be looking to jump ship, so its EU expansion is another critical step in this respect.
It’ll be interesting to see what Threads user numbers rise to over the holiday period, and whether it can indeed become a genuine rival for X in total active engagement.
We’ll keep you updated on any official announcement on the Threads EU launch.
SOCIAL
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SOCIAL
X Pitches Advertisers on Audience Reach Opportunities in ‘Q5’

X is making a push to win over advertisers in the holiday season, by promoting its opportunities in “Q5”, which covers the post-Christmas to mid-January period.
As explained by X:
“During [Q5], we see reduced CPMs and cost-per-conversion as consumers shop for post-holiday deals and products to support their New Year’s ambitions. Last year, X saw a 5% reduction in the average CPM and a 27% reduction in the average cost-per-conversion1.”
Which could present new opportunity to reach a larger audience with your promotions, if indeed they are engaging on X over the holiday period.
“Q5 is filled with a wide variety of tent-pole moments, ranging from the holidays to sports, entertainment and more. With a surge of engagement around these conversations, your brand can remain relevant to your audiences while driving maximum ROI.”
X says that, based on engagement data from last year, there are a lot of potential topics of interest for brands.
X also notes that sports video views are surging in the app, up almost 25% YoY over the past 6 months, while vertical video is also gaining momentum.
“Vertical video is the fastest growing surface on X. Over 100M people around the world are consuming vertical video daily at an average of over 13 minutes per day. On many days, vertical video accounts for around 20% of all time spent on the platform.”
Though I would advise some caution in trusting these data points.
In recent months, various questions have been raised as to what X counts as a video “view” versus an impression, which is when a post is shown in-feed.
Technically, X counts video views like this:
“The main X video view metric is triggered when a user watches a video for at least 2 seconds and sees at least 50% of the video player in-view. This applies to View metrics for both uploaded videos and live broadcasts.”
But that’s different to the actual view count that’s displayed on posts:
“Anyone who is logged into X who views a post counts as a view, regardless of where they see the post (e.g. Home, Search, Profiles, etc.) or whether or not they follow the author. If you’re the author, looking at your own post also counts as a view.”
Even worse, X counts multiple views from the same person in that count:
“Multiple views may be counted if you view a post more than once, but not all views are unique. For example, you could look at a post on web and then on your phone, and that would count as two views.”
So you can see how the public view count on video posts can massively overstate how many people actually watched a clip, which could be why X is reporting such big spikes in engagement. It just depends on which “view” metric it’s referring to here, actual views or exposure in stream.
Which makes all of these numbers a little difficult to determine, while X owner Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino have also continued to amplify misleading engagement stats via their own X profiles, muddying the waters as to what kind of actual reach and engagement you can expect.
And that’s before you consider the concerns that other advertisers have had with their promotions potentially being displayed alongside harmful or offensive content in the app.
But depending on how you feel about these aspects, and where your target audience is active, it could be worth considering X for your post-holiday promotions, as you look to maximize sales activity over the holiday period.
It’s also worth considering that with fewer big-name brands taking prime spots in the app, there may also be additional opportunity to reach people via X promotions.
There may be value, depending on your strategic thinking, though I would be keeping an eye on actual engagement
You can read more of X’s Q5 insights here.
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