Talking to BT, Instagram said that it is now looking at several monetisation models in the short form video space, and is focused on developing these models for its Reels segment on the app.
It’s no secret that Instagram Reels are big in India which is the largest market for social media platform Meta (formerly Facebook). Instagram, with 230 million users from India, is now looking at monetisation models in the short form video (SFV) space. The company told Business Today that it will be focusing on these building monetisation tools for Reels.
“Towards that we are running several tests in various parts of the world — advertising supported revenue opportunities, direct fan-based subscription or payments, commerce-based opportunities, and many more,” said Paras Sharma, Director & Head of Content & Community Partnerships – Entertainment, Sports, News, Music, Social, Facebook India (Meta).
Sharma added, “As we look at the monetisation models in the SFV space, let’s first look at what are some of the drivers behind the growth of this category as they would help us unlock the opportunities for building monetisation models. First of all, the meteoric rise of SFV in India in the last two years has been led by Reels which has been the rocketship of growth for the category,” he explained.
The biggest value that Reels offer people is discoverability. Artists from across the country, cities, and towns, producing in multiple regional languages, can get discovered by users, thereby, turning them into social media influencers instantly.
“This is how talent across India is becoming visible to audiences nationally and how regional trends are brewing regularly. This visibility then aids brand partnerships, which is the value creators can immediately extract from being on Reels,” Sharma said.
According to him, the company’s aim is to help the creator ecosystem realise the economic value of their community and fan franchises.
“Towards that, we are driven to build an ecosystem that is both economically sustainable and progressive. We provide multiple models, products and programs, be it funded programs or initiatives that help enable creation and experimentation; acknowledging and rewarding performance; and connecting creators with economic opportunities like branded content,” Sharma said.
Instagram said that they are looking out for the rise of both ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’. As Sharma explains, the strategy for Instagram is to tap into the bourgeoning regional language space within the SFV category, but by also not overlooking the content created in English, which is meant for more affluent audience.
We have multiple programs that ensure equitable support to different creator segments. We see 100s of thousands of creators rising from small towns, from what we call Bharat – creating content and building fan franchises,” Sharma added.
Instagram now runs in five different Indian languages and is also using augmented reality (AR) as a way to expand its reach out to the creator community. In India, over 35 per cent of the Reels produced daily feature AR effects.
“This means AR is a great way to create Reels and get trigger mimicry from creators’ perspective, and a completely new way to engage with content and become a creator yourself from a user’s point of view. We continue to engage with creators and partners to build such opportunities for collaboration by bringing developers and creators together,” he said
Source:https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/story/instagram-looking-at-monetising-reels-through-advertising-e-commerce-subscriptions-says-top-exec-342008-2022-07-19