If you’ve been hearing chatter that you can get paid for Instagram milestones. It’s not a rumor.

The offer is real. But I stress the word “offer.”

We’ll get to that in a moment.

First, let me pipe you into where all of this is coming from.

Creator Week

Instagram hosted its first Creator Week June 8 – 10. The event included company executives and a roster of creative community power players.

About 5,000 content creators were supposed to be invited to participate, according to DigiDay, and the panels covered topics ranging from algorithm myths to managing finances. Plus, there were competitions for creatives to get funding for certain ventures.

“This is the first overt prelude Instagram has made in defining being a creator as a legitimate career,” said Ali Fazal, vp of marketing at the influencer marketing software company GRIN.

Announcing New Ways To Earn

In line with Creator Week, Instagram and Facebook released a statement  unveiling new ways for creatives to make money including:

Instagram Affiliate:

Instagram wants to help content creators get rewarded for pushing purchases. So now, the platform is allowing a select group to tag products from brands they work with.

In the months ahead, Instagram will be testing a native affiliate tool that allows creators to discover new products available on checkout, share them with their followers and earn commissions.

Instagram’s Affiliate will run its test with a small group of US-based creators and brands, such as Benefit, Kopari, MAC, Pat McGrath Labs and Sephora.

Here’s a glimpse of what it’ll look like:

Instagram Shops

Instagram wants to make it easier for you to use the platform to sell your merchandise.

And as of June 8, you can link an existing shop to your personal and business profile, so you can display and sell your merch to viewers.

If you don’t already have a shop, by the end of the year, Instagram will make it possible for US creatives to set one up by linking your account to its merchandise partners: Bravado/UMG, Fanjoy, Represent, and Spring.

Here’s a glimpse of that:

Instagram & Facebook Milestones

Instagram badges and Facebook stars are ways to allow eligible creators to make money from going live.

Facebook pays $.01 USD for every star received from viewers during a live, and during Instagram lives fans can buy badges ranging from $.99 – $4.99.

Starting this week, you can earn extra money from these features.

You can get paid for Instagram milestones you meet while using badges. For example, you could get rewarded for going live with another account, Instagram’s statement says.

And Facebook launched Stars Challenges, which allow you to earn free stars for milestones, such as broadcasting a certain number of hours or hitting a certain number of stars in a certain timeframe.

Here’s what you’ll see:

According to Instagram users, the bonus amounts for milestones are at least three digits. But I’m not sure if there’s really a minimum or if they think that because that’s what they received.

But yes, people are reporting that payouts have started.

Genuine Gestures?

I’m not buying that this let’s-help-creators-monetize movement is actually about content creators.

Tides are shifting for the dons of social media because competition is heating up.

Creatives are turning to a range of other platforms. Think Medium, Substack, Discord, Bigo, Only Fans, TikTok, SnapChat… The list goes on.

See: Substack Writer Gets White House Press Pass

And it’s much easier for content creators to monetize and operate income-seeking ventures on other platforms. Many platforms give creatives tools to start earning money immediately.

Facebook and Instagram have been feeling themselves for a long time.

They created systems where they continually push creatives to crank out more and more content. They make billions. But then they continually snatch the coin jar from creatives.

That sort of restrictive, coin-blocking has to change, and both Instagram and Facebook know that.

Instagram is losing status as thee place to be. Instead, it’s becoming another place to be.

For many, it’s a diminishing part of the grand vision.

For example, this year, 68% of digital marketers plan to use influencers on TikTok. That’s up from only 16% last year, according to data from influencer marketing platform Linqia, reported DigiDay.

“All platforms are competing for creator market share.” “They want creators to think of their platform as the first place to upload content and [as] being creator-friendly.

Feldman, business development lead at Viral Nation

So now, here come Instagram and Facebook trying to look like they’re for the people.

No, they’re for the same thing they always have been for–getting people on their platform and keeping them there so they can make money.

Instagram said it wants to offer content creators more ability to benefit from its audience shopping activity. But in the next breath, it says “all within the Instagram app.”

And once again, these platforms announce monetizing tools but most are limited to select groups as if to tell everyone else “just stick around and keep cranking out content. One day, you could be among that privileged class.”

Why do these platforms keep limiting earning opportunities if they want to help content creators?

Dangling the bone from upper branches is getting old.

And furthermore, these platforms came out with an announcement saying “we want Instagram and Facebook to serve as a home base for creators to tell their story, grow and make a living.”

In that same statement, one of the announcements they’re excited to make is content creators can get paid for Instagram milestones and Facebook star challenges.

Yet, they don’t say exactly what the milestones and challenges are or how much creators will get for reaching them.

That’s not helping content creators make a living. That’s the same work-for-hope model under a new banner.

It’s a thinly-veiled effort to encourage content creators to create more streaming content on these two platforms without a firm commitment to provide anything in return.

Instagram and Facebook hope that you’ll be so eager for unknown rewards that if you’d planned to stream on another platform you’ll come to them instead of trying to reach milestones.

Yes, some people have and likely will continue to make something. But as far as these platforms coming off as creator-friendly, these aren’t the moves.

Did You Hear: Facebook Is Creating A Platform For Content Creators To Monetize?

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