Instagram Introduces Creator Affiliate Program, Ways To Monetize Content

Instagram on Tuesday introduced an affiliate program and Shops for creators to help them monetize their content on the social media site. The announcement was made by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the keynote of the company’s first Creator Week conference, which took place online. 

Rumors began swirling earlier this year that the company would initiate an affiliate program for creators. Zuckerberg delved into the offerings today at the Creator event. Branded content and commerce tools allow creators to partner across Facebook and Instagram, among others. Now there are new ways for creators to make money across Facebook and Instagram.

“I believe people are naturally creative,” Zuckerberg said. “We want to share what we make with others. A Lot of times we want to turn that into a career as well. Everyone here today is proof of that. You just need access to the correct tools.”

Instagram will begin testing in the coming months a native affiliate tool built on top of the shopping tools. Creators will have the ability to build a business by recommending products to followers. The tools will allow creators to discover products at checkout, share them with followers, and earn a commission for the purchases that creators drive.

Sellers will set their own commission rates, and affiliate posts will be labeled “Eligible for Commission” so people know their purchase will support the creator. 

For those who want to sell their own products and merchandise, Instagram will make it easier to open a new shop on their personal profile. It will also become easier to set up a new shop by linking with a merchandise partner such as Bravado/UMG, Fanjoy, Represent, and Spring. This will roll out to all eligible creators in the US by end of the year.

The ability to link a shop to a personal profile becomes available globally today.

Zuckerberg said the platform will introduce ways for creators to “earn extra cash” for hitting milestones when using badges like Stars on Facebook.

For example, creators who go live on Instagram using Badges consistently for four weeks, might become eligible to earn an additional payout for Instagram and Facebook.  

Next story loading loading..