Facebook is trying to innovate the way influencers create content, engage with fans, and monazite their content by launching their new Creator App.
Oh, and they want to drive influencers away from competitor sites and onto their platform.
This is a very interesting addition to their platform, especially since their sister company Instagram is currently home of the influencers.
In this article, I’m going to talk about this new Creator App and what it means for influencers and brands going forward into 2018.
What is the Facebook Creator App?
The Facebook Creator App is a mobile application that provides influencers with everything they need to create content, connect with fans, and grow their following.
The Facebook Creator App can be downloaded by anyone with a Facebook Page or personal profile.
Once downloaded, you’ll be able to use the following features:
Live creative kit: This lets influencers personalize their images and videos by adding intros, outros, stickers, and unique creatives to brand themselves more effectively.
Community tab: This offers a centralized location to engage with comments and messages from Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
Camera and Stories: This provides additional filters, slides, and effects when taking photos or creating Stories. Posting through the Creator App allows influencers to cross-post on both Instagram and Facebook, and even Twitter.
Insights: This offers basic metrics to see how content is performing for videos and pages.
Facebook has even launched a website called Facebook for Creators where they can learn the best ways to create and distribute content.
What about monetization options for creators?
At the time of writing (April 2018), the only way influencers can monetize their brand using the Creator App is to work with brands through sponsored posts.
It’s quite weak.
However, Facebook has gone on record to say that they are exploring more ways to provide monetization features for creators, including the following:
Monthly subscriptions: Facebook will provide fans the option to send monthly payments to support creators and in return get access to exclusive content and badges on their personal profiles which show they are supporting others.
Connecting influencers with brands: Facebook wants to make it easier for advertisers and influencers to work together, and will be creating a tool where influencers can upload their portfolios and brands to find influencers to partner up with.
Is Facebook the new home of the influencer?
Not yet, but I love what they are doing.
Facebook is facing some issues right now as the amount of time users spend on their platform is decreasing. Their sister company, Instagram, is doing very well because of influencers.
I believe Facebook wants to give influencers all the tools necessary to create amazing content and reach fans in order to get people to spend more time on Facebook.
The Creator App is also a lure to bring social media influencers away from YouTube, Patreon, and Twitch and onto Facebook, bringing their audience with them.
To really push their app and bring the best influencers to Facebook, they’ll need to start offering influencers more ways to monetize their content, which seems to be in the works.
Things are getting interesting
You know influencer marketing is a super-hot topic right now, but it can be very time consuming to find the right influencers to promote your content.
If all goes to plan and the Facebook Creator App becomes mainstream, this will unlock a new door of ad inventory and will be a great way to connect with influencers.
You can download the Facebook Creator App yourself via Apple Store (it will be available very soon on Android devices).