By Fidji Simo, VP of Product and Sibyl Goldman, Director of Entertainment Partnerships
We are committed to helping creators connect with their fans and build their businesses because they have some of the strongest communities and share some of the most engaging and creative content. Creators are vibrant and inspiring, and we want to support them on their journey — whether they’re just getting started or already have millions of fans.
Earlier this year, we announced that we would be testing a range of new tools and experiences for the creator community. Today we’re sharing updates on new ways for creators to engage and grow their communities, manage their presence, and build a business on Facebook.
Engaging and Growing Creators’ Communities
We want to help creators connect with their fans through video — from Live With to Facebook Stories to Watch Party – and today we’re taking the next step.
- [New today] Making Video More Interactive: We believe that watching video doesn’t have to be passive, and that many types of traditional entertainment formats — from game shows to reality TV to scripted content — can be reinvented to be community-centric. Today we’re sharing the next step for interactive video on Facebook. We’re announcing a set of new tools — polling for Live and on-demand video and gamification for Live — that will give creators the power to create fun, unique, and interactive content for their fans. Read more in our Media Blog post.
- [New today] Bringing More Videos to Facebook Watch: When we launched Watch, we started with shows, and while they will continue to have a prominent place in Watch, we are now bringing videos from Pages into Watch as well. In our testing, we’ve found that people enjoy discovering and watching a combination of shows and videos in Watch — and for creators, this means their videos may be eligible to show up in Watch to be discovered by a broader audience.
- Rolling Out Top Fans to More Creators: In March, we started a test that highlights a creator’s top fans by displaying a badge next to their names, enabling creators to easily identify and interact with their most loyal fans. Creators and fans loved the feature, so we are rolling it out more broadly.
Managing Creators’ Presence on Facebook
We’ve continued to invest in the fundamental tools creators need to manage and control their content on Facebook. We want to ensure it’s easy for creators to manage their presence on Facebook.
- [New today] Testing a New Video Template for Pages: We are starting to test a new Video template that creators and publishers can use on their existing or new Facebook Page. This template puts video and community front and center on a creator’s Page, with special modules for things like videos and groups. This new template will be easy to try out with one click, or revert back to their original Page template if desired.
- Creator App for Android Available Globally: Last year we introduced the Facebook for Creators site and Facebook Creator app for iOS, and now the Creator App for Android is available globally.
- Accepting Applications for Rights Manager for Creators: In March we announced that we were testing a new version of our Rights Manager tool that’s built especially for our creator community, and recently began accepting applications from any creator, helping them control where and how their original content appears.
Building a Business on Facebook
We want to provide different ways for creators to make money on Facebook, so they can choose what makes sense for their content and community. For example, creators with longer content that fans come back for can monetize effectively through ads. Creators with super-fans or niche content can earn money directly from their audience through fan subscriptions or digital goods. Branded content can work for a range of creators who have audiences that businesses want to reach.
Today we’re sharing a few updates on the monetization products we’re building.
- [New today] Announcing Brand Collabs Manager: We want to help creators be discovered by brands for new branded content collaborations. The Brand Collabs Manager lets brands search and find creators to potentially establish deals and partnerships with. We’ve been testing this with a limited set of partners, and will now be opening up more broadly. Learn more and express interest here.
- Enabling Ad Breaks for More Creators: Today we’re starting to open up our Ad Breaks program to more creators in the US. We’ll be opening up in stages, starting with creators who are creating longer, original content that brings people back and fosters a loyal community.
- Expanding Fan Subscriptions: We’ve been testing a way for fans to support creators they love by pledging $4.99 (USD) per month in exchange for perks like exclusive content and a special badge highlighting their status as a supporter, and we are now expanding to more creators.
Creators can visit Facebook for Creators to learn more and express interest in these features. All creators using our monetization products must meet our monetization standards and follow our content guidelines for monetization.
We’re also launching a limited program called Facebook for Creators Launchpad to help support creators we think fans will seek out in Facebook Watch. The program is by application only; creators in the program will be able to earn money from their videos via Ad Breaks and get support connecting their content to larger audiences. The program will focus on creators with longer, authentic content that brings people back, that are focused on building a loyal community of fans, and who meet our monetization standards and follow our content guidelines for monetization. Creators can apply here.
Finally, this week we will also be presenting six sessions at the annual online video conference VidCon, with topics spanning from video to News Feed to monetization. Additionally, for the first time, Facebook will have a booth on the show floor as part of the Community Track. We’ll have special appearances by a range of creators, including Huda Kattan, Laura Clery, Julius Dein, 80Fitz, The Crazy Gorilla, Nala Cat, Doug the Pug, and more. If you’re at VidCon, please come visit us!
We’re looking forward to seeing how creators use all these tools to create great experiences for their fans. We encourage creators to join the Facebook for Creators community at facebook.com/creators/join to express their interest in these new tools, stay up-to-date on the latest news, be considered for product testing opportunities, and get notified when new features become available.