Facebook to allow content creators to monetize short videos

Facebook is set to allow content creators to monetize short videos on its platform to help them stay afloat during the pandemic.

In a blog post published on Thursday, it said that creators would now be allowed to earn revenue from videos as short as one minute with minimally interruptive ads running at 30 seconds and test sticker ads on its stories.

For videos three minutes or longer, an ad can be shown 45 seconds in. Previously only three-minute or longer videos could monetize with in-stream ads, with an ad shown no earlier than 1 minute.

Facebook said it would also update its in-stream ad eligibility so more creators can access the program and would include the in-stream ads in live events.

The creators’ page will need to have 600,000 total minutes viewed from any combination of video uploads in the last 60 days and 5 or more active video uploads or previous live videos.

Current criteria of pages having at least 10,000 followers and be owned by someone over 18 years old and located in a supported country still stand. The page must also pass and remain compliant with the company’s Partner Monetization Policies.

It also added that it would be expanding paid online events and fan subscriptions to more countries, including Argentina, Austria, Hong Kong, Ireland and Portugal among others.

Facebook also said that it would be investing $7bn in the development of its Stars program that will also earn money for content creators. The plan involves rewarding fan loyalty with Stars.

Over the past six months, people sent video and gaming creators an average of 1bn Stars per month that are equal to $10m per month.

Facebook said that from 2019 to 2020, the number of content creators earning the equivalent of $10,000 per month grew 88% and content creators earning $1,000 per month grew 94%.