How Instagram is building a suite of money-making tools for creators

Hi, this is Amanda Perelli and welcome back to Insider Influencers, our weekly rundown on the business of influencers, creators, and social-media platforms. Sign up for the newsletter here.

In this week's edition:

• Instagram tests new monetization features to pay creators

• TikTok music marketers are hiring micro influencers over superstars

• Amazon is building new tools for influencers to make money

• Creators say YouTube Shorts can lead to big subscriber growth but monetization is lacking

• And more including how much TikTokers are getting paid to promote songs, real influencer media kits, and how a small business owner used TikTok to sell products.

Before we get started, don't forget to sign up for our live event on July 8: How TikTok has transformed the music industry. Sign up here.

Send tips to aperelli@insider.com or DM me on Twitter at @arperelli.

Instagram is building a suite of money-making tools for creators

Instagram is building a suite of monetization tools as it competes with other platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.

The platform is developing these new money-making opportunities in its race to win over creators.

Sydney Bradley broke down all of the new (and potential) ways that creators can make money on Instagram.

Here are a few of the 10 features Sydney looked at:

• Creators can receive tips with "Badges" on IG Live.

• Instagram is testing placing ads on IGTV videos and sharing a percentage of revenue with creators.

• Creators can set up shop on Instagram and sell products like merchandise.

Check out the full list of 10 new and upcoming features, here.

TikTok music marketers are increasingly hiring micro influencers over superstars

Some music marketers trying to make songs go viral on TikTok are turning to a wider swath of creators who are less well-known.

Dan Whateley wrote that a big part of the shift in strategy is tied to cost.

Hiring less-famous creators allows marketers and labels to test out new ideas at a cheaper rate.

Here are some takeaways:

• Flighthouse is looking into the idea of "leaking" a snippet of a song on TikTok before its official release. And hiring less-famous creators is a cheaper way to experiment.

• Hiring a few big stars to try to drive hype on day one of an album's release is thinking too short term, some marketers said.

• RCA Records will sometimes hires top stars to promote tracks, while other times it enlists between 10 and 30 micro influencers for a song campaign.

"There's never been a viral hit on TikTok that just took off over night," said Johnny Cloherty, CEO of the music-marketing agency Songfluencer.

Read more about why music marketers are hiring micro influencers, here.

Amazon is building new tools for influencers to make money and recruiting YouTube and Instagram stars to livestream

Amazon is building out its influencer program to try and build a network of social-media creators.

The Amazon Influencer Program offers a variety of different tools and programs for influencers.

I broke down key takeaways from the company's influencer marketing strategy.

Here are some new features currently being beta tested:

• Creator Connections, a marketplace that matches brands and influencers for paid partnerships.

• Creator Ads, a program where influencers can appear on shoppable Amazon ads across social media (like Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram) and the creator will earn a commission every time someone buys something from that ad.

"We don't look for just one particular influencer," Katie Scott, director of the Amazon Influencer Program, said of the program. "Similar to how we attract customers of all different backgrounds, we think about it the same way for influencers."

Check out more on how creators are using Amazon's features, here.

YouTube Shorts have led to big subscriber growth for some creators, but are hard to directly make money from

As the battle for short-form video heats up, YouTube is looking to be seen as a platform where creators can make money and reach new audiences.

Since its launch, Shorts has boosted viewership for some creators and lead to quick subscriber growth.

The platform is also in the process of launching a $100 million Fund for top creators on Shorts, which the company said will release "in the coming months."

I spoke with creators about how it has impacted their views, subscribers, incomes.

Here are some takeaways:

• Viewership is generally higher on Shorts, and creators are seeing a boost in engagement.

• Creator Nigel Braun said his subscriber growth became supercharged this year when he started experimenting with Shorts.

• But many creators said monetization was still lacking with the feature.

"YouTube is a platform that has the absolute highest barrier to entry when it comes to social platforms," said Samir Chaudry, who co-runs the Colin and Samir YouTube channel (268,000 subscribers).

Read more about YouTube Shorts and its impact, here.

More influencer industry news:

YouTube

• Many influencers will send a media kit to every advertiser they work with. We spoke with a dozen creators who shared the exact media kits they use.

TikTok

• A woman launched a small business and used TikTok to boost her company and earn $69,000 so far this year.

• A TikTok star broke down how he's making money - from Patreon to the Creator Fund.

• Song promotions have become an important source of revenue on TikTok. Here's how much creators are getting paid to promote songs.

• TikTok has become a desirable workplace for US job seekers. Insider broke down how much the company pays for jobs in engineering, product, data science.

Instagram

• Instagram stars earn money a number of ways. We spoke with more than a dozen creators who shared how much money they earn.

• Instagram's top exec Adam Mosseri took to Twitter this week to voice some opinions about the app. Here's a quick rundown of his recent takes on Instagram.

• Instagram influencers reveal how much money "micro," "nano," and "macro" creators make. Here are key takeaways from a survey of 1,865 influencers.

Seeking nominations for the top managers and agents for gaming YouTubers, streamers, and esports competitors

Insider is compiling our second annual list of the top managers and agents in gaming and esports.

In this list, we are highlighting the managers and agents who are successfully assisting creators with their businesses and in adapting to changes in the industry.

Please submit your ideas or nominations through this form by July 7.

Chart of the week:

The influencer-marketing agency HypeAuditor surveyed 1,865 Instagram influencers to find out how and how much creators are earning right now.

Check out the full report here.

TikTok's top trending hashtag of the week:

This week's hashtag: freebritney

• The percentage uptick for the last 7 days: 8,419%

• This uptick is centered around the Free Britney Movement, where fans are demanding an end to the star's conservatorship.

Here's what else we're reading:

• The YouTube Theater in LA will host events featuring YouTube creators (Todd Spangler, from Variety)

• The NHL names TikTok star Josh Richards as special adviser (Mark J. Burns, from Sports Business Journal)

• The Nelk Boys make no income from YouTube, but sold $50 million in merch (Taylor Lorenz, from The New York Times)

• The Information built a database of private startups in the creator economy (Kaya Yurieff, from The Information)

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And before you go, check out the top trending songs on TikTok this week to add to your playlist, according to data collected by UTA IQ, the research, analytics, and digital strategy division of United Talent Agency (UTA).

Subscribe to the newsletter here.