Insider.com update:
Hello, this is Dan Whateley, filling in for my colleague Amanda Perelli while she's out on vacation.
Welcome back to
In this week's edition:
Facebook and
Instagram are chasing after creators with their checkbooksHow much a Twitch streamer makes from sponsorships, product commissions, and subscriptions
An interview with
TikTok 's university recruiting lead on how to land a job at the companyTwo
YouTube creators talk about how they're earning over $10,000 a month from membershipsAnd more, including the return of travel influencers and an esports VC's investment strategy
Send tips to dwhateley@insider.com or DM me on Twitter at @dwhate.
Instagram and Facebook plan to pay out over $1 billion to creators
Facebook is getting ready to shell out some serious cash as it continues its push to court creators.
On Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook and Instagram will spend over $1 billion through 2022 to pay users through a slew of new monetization programs.
It can be difficult to keep track of all the pilots the company has been testing, which is why Sydney Bradley put together a guide highlighting each effort.
Here are a few takeaways:
Instagram is rolling out a program called the "Reels Summer bonus" in the next few weeks to pay a select group of US influencers who post short videos on the app.
Bonus payments are also expanding to include users who post videos and use in-stream ads on Facebook's app.
And Instagram is inviting select US creators to earn a one-time bonus for signing up for IGTV ads (Instagram's only ad revenue share program).
Read the full breakdown on all of Facebook's plans to pay creators in the next year, here.
How much money a Twitch streamer with 29,000 followers earns in a month
Katherine "Katliente" Pan is a Twitch streamer who plays Valorant and League of Legends.
She tried streaming on-and-off starting around 2019, but said she really started finding success on Twitch after posting on TikTok (278,000 followers).
Michael Espinosa spoke with Pan about how she earns money and her plans to grow her business as a creator.
Here are a few takeaways:
- Pan doesn't make money directly from TikTok, but uses the platform to drive followers to other apps that she can then monetize.
She earns about $1,800 to $4,000 each month from sponsorships, product commissions, Patreon, Twitch subscriptions, donations, and
advertising .- To make her monthly income more stable, Pan is currently looking to join an esports organization, find a part-time job, and monetize videos on her YouTube channel.
How to get a job at TikTok and navigate its interview process
TikTok has been staffing up in 2021 as its user base continues to explode, recently crossing 3 billion downloads globally.
But the company is still a relative newcomer to the US tech scene, and its hiring process is less well known than the app itself.
I spoke with Lauren Flaus, TikTok's university recruiting lead for the Americas, to learn more about how to get a job at TikTok.
Here are some key takeaways from the conversation:
- One area of focus for TikTok's recruiting team is the company's new video resume program where prospective hires can upload a video to TikTok to publicly pitch themselves for a job.
Creating a TikTok video resume is optional and carries greater weight for marketing applicants versus technical hires.
- Job applicants should make sure they're well versed in TikTok's features and current user trends, as they could be asked about it during an interview.
Read more about TikTok's hiring process and what to expect during an interview, here.
How 2 YouTubers earn over $10,000 per month from channel memberships
Paid memberships have been a trending revenue stream in the influencer world in the past year.
Amanda Perelli dug into YouTube's channel memberships feature, speaking with two creators who have leaned into the revenue tool.
Here are a few takeaways:
Over 140,000 channels earned money in December from paid digital goods (which include channel memberships), according to YouTube.
YouTube creators offer membership tiers that include access to exclusive content, loyalty badges, and other fan perks.
Jeff Thorman's YouTube channel Home RenoVision DIY (1.8 million subscribers) earns an average $15,000 to $17,000 a month from his membership program.
Read more about how YouTube creators can make money from memberships, here.
More influencer industry news:
YouTube
YouTube's ad program provides creators with recurring revenue each month. Here's what dozens of creators have earned from YouTube ads.
Charli Prangley is a YouTube creator who films videos about design and her daily life. Here's how much she earns in a month from sponsorships, affiliates, and ads.
Chloe Tan is a YouTuber who makes videos about college life. Here's how much money she has made from a video that had about 2 million views.
TikTok
A "body positive" TikToker who runs a group for "big beautiful women" sued five of them after they spoke out. The women posted TikTok videos accusing him of fostering a toxic environment.
TikTok's search function has been surfacing potentially harmful eating disorder content. One search recommended the topic "how to successfully starve without anyone noticing."
Richard Sales gained 2.4 million TikTok followers by posting "restock" reaction videos. Here's how he's turning virality into revenue.
Watch a full replay of Insider's webinar on how TikTok has transformed the music business, featuring execs from TikTok, Universal Music Group, and UnitedMasters.
Travel influencers say they've seen a big uptick in trip offers and other opportunities since May, but some obstacles remain. Here's how they're adapting their businesses in 2021.
Snap has been staffing up as it looks to best competitors in areas like augmented reality and video. Here's how much the company has offered for salaries in product, marketing, research, and engineering roles.
TikTok hashtag of the week:
Every week, we highlight a top trending hashtag on TikTok, according to data provided by Kyra IQ.
This week's hashtag: GossipGirlHere
The percentage uptick for the last 7 days: 8,984%
A reboot of the show Gossip Girl returned to HBO Max last week. The streamer hired TikTok influencers to promote its release, driving over 6 billion video views that featured #GossipGirlHere.
Here's what else we're reading:
Silicon Valley is laser-focused on the creator economy, and startups are reaping the benefits (Taylor Lorenz and Erin Woo, from The New York Times)
TikTok is cracking down on a bunch of new content categories for influencer marketers (Ilyse Liffreing, for Ad Age)
Some Snapchat creators have experienced delays in payments from its short-video feature Spotlight (Andrew Hutchinson, for SocialMediaToday)
How TikTok's content moderation failures have created challenges for creators (Abby Ohlheiser, for MIT Technology Review)