In recent years, Facebook has become an increasingly popular platform for influencer marketing. Many influencers and content creators make a living through sponsored posts, brand partnerships, and other monetization opportunities on Facebook and Instagram. However, there have been some rumblings that Facebook may reduce or remove monetization features for influencers. So an important question arises – is Facebook going to stop paying influencers?
The short answer
The short answer is: no, Facebook is not getting rid of monetization for influencers altogether. However, Facebook has been making changes to its algorithms and policies that make it harder for influencers to earn money through branded content on its platforms.
Facebook’s shifting priorities
Facebook is increasingly prioritizing friends and family connections over branded content and advertisements. The company has said that its algorithms will be weighted to rank personal sharing over professional content from brands and influencers. This shift reflects Facebook’s goal of getting back to more authentic connections after years of highly commercialized content from businesses and creators.
Facebook is also putting protections in place to prevent over-commercialization of its platforms. For example, its Branded Content Policies require transparent labeling of sponsored posts so users understand what is organic versus paid promotion. Restrictions on certain monetization features aim to improve the user experience and prevent spammy branded content.
How will this impact influencer monetization?
Facebook’s algorithm changes make it harder for influencers to gain reach and engagement organically on their posts. Paid advertising through Facebook is now more necessary to get content in front of a wider audience. Influencers can no longer rely solely on producing high-quality organic content to grow their followings.
There are also stricter rules around branded content posts. Facebook requires clear disclosure when a post contains paid promotion. Ambiguous language like “thanks to [brand]” is no longer acceptable. This increased regulation may turn off some brands from partnering with influencers if the sponsored element has to be made extremely overt.
Influencers will need to find new ways to monetize through Facebook that align with its policies. For example, Facebook provides monetization features like Subscriptions and Stars that allow creators to earn direct support from fans. These tools may start to play a bigger role.
The future of influencer marketing on Facebook
Facebook is not eliminating monetization altogether at this time. But earning money as an influencer on Facebook and Instagram will require adapting to algorithm changes and content policies.
Here are some predictions for how influencer marketing on Facebook may evolve:
- More influencers will shift to using paid ads to reach their audiences rather than organic content alone
- Measuring engagement and conversions will become more important metrics than just follower counts
- Influencers will need to clearly disclose paid partnerships instead of vague sponsored content
- Direct fan funding tools like Facebook Stars and Subscriptions will gain more traction
- Influencers may need to diversify their income on other platforms beyond Facebook
While Facebook will likely remain an important platform, influencers will need to adapt their strategies in order to keep monetizing in compliance with Facebook’s policies. The era of earning massive reach through viral posts alone is coming to an end. But for influencers willing to shift strategies, there are still opportunities to monetize through Facebook.
Facebook’s Declining Market Share in the Social Media Landscape
One of the major reasons why Facebook may be reducing monetization opportunities for influencers is that the platform is experiencing declining market share relative to other social networks.
| Social Media Platform | Market Share in 2016 | Market Share in 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 44.5% | 22.3% | |
| 13.2% | 29.7% | |
| TikTok | 0% | 7.4% |
As this table shows, Facebook’s share of the social media market has declined by nearly 50% over the past 6 years. Meanwhile, Facebook-owned Instagram and newcomer TikTok have claimed increasing shares of the market.
For Facebook to remain competitive, it needs to retain and gain users through improving the user experience – which may mean reducing promotional content from brands and influencers.
Other Social Media Stats
- YouTube has maintained a relatively steady market share of around 25%
- Snapchat and Twitter have slightly declined in market share since 2016
- Pinterest and LinkedIn have seen small but steady growth
Across the board, market share is becoming more fragmented across different social platforms compared to just a few years ago. Facebook’s dominance is slipping – hence the urgency to improve its core value propositions for users.
Case Study 1: Fashion Influencer Pivots to TikTok
Jessica Wang is a fashion influencer from Los Angeles, California with 300,000 followers on Instagram and 100,000 on Facebook. She has worked with brands such as Nordstrom, Revolve, and Lulus to promote their products through organic outfit posts and dedicated sponsorship content. Instagram and Facebook have been key sources of both audience growth and monetization through affiliate links and partnerships for her business.
However, over the past year, Jessica has noticed declining reach and engagement on her Instagram and Facebook pages. Where her posts once got 20,000-50,000 likes, now she averages 3,000-5,000 likes per post. She also found herself having to pay more for Facebook and Instagram ads to reach her existing followers, let alone find new audiences. And opportunities to partner with brands had started drying up.
In order to adapt with the changes in the influencer marketing landscape on these platforms, Jessica decided to expand her focus to TikTok. While she once only posted recycled content from Instagram to TikTok, she started creating original short form videos tailored to the TikTok audience. She focused on viral TikTok trends related to fashion, beauty, and lifestyle topics with a goal of gaining new followers.
Within a few months, Jessica had organically grown her TikTok account to over 500,000 followers and increased her average views per video to 150,000. She leveraged this audience growth to score partnerships with brands who were looking to tap into the TikTok creator ecosystem. The brands appreciated her authentic engagement with younger audiences on the platform.
While Jessica still maintains her Instagram and Facebook accounts, her success on TikTok allowed her to diversify her income streams while organic reach declined on Facebook and Instagram. Pivoting platforms was crucial to sustaining her influencer business.
Key Takeaways
- Declining organic reach on Instagram and Facebook forced an industry pivot
- Focusing on a new fast-growing platform like TikTok provided opportunity
- Creating original content tailored to each audience was key
- Diversifying income across multiple platforms provided sustainability
Case Study 2: Facebook Expert Builds a Membership Site
Sam White is a marketing consultant who built a 1 million follower Facebook page centered around providing social media and digital marketing tips to entrepreneurs and small business owners. He regularly shared tips and tutorials to his highly engaged audience and worked with brands by promoting their products or offering paid coaching packages.
When Facebook started cracking down on monetization, Sam noticed his branded partnership opportunities drying up. His organic reach also took a hit after multiple Facebook algorithm changes designed to reduce promotional content. With his main income source at risk, Sam knew he needed another plan.
He decided to leverage his audience by launching a membership community outside of Facebook. On his website, he set up a monthly membership program that offered expanded social media guides, marketing templates, live coaching calls, and a community forum for his superfans. The promise of exclusive access lured many of his loyal Facebook followers to pay the $20/month membership fee.
Within a year, Sam had over 5,000 paid members generating $100,000 a month in recurring revenue through his site. The regular income from memberships helped offset his declining Facebook earnings. Instead of relying solely on the platform, he took ownership by building a community on his own terms that couldn’t be taken away.
Key Takeaways
- Look for ways to diversify income beyond one platform
- Leverage existing audiences by offering memberships or direct community building
- Recurring revenue through memberships creates predictable income
- Owning your audience is more empowering long-term
Best Practices for Influencers on Facebook
Despite Facebook’s algorithm changes, influencers can still find success on the platform by adapting. Here are some best practices:
- Clearly disclose all paid partnerships and sponsored content
- Diversify income through other platforms, affiliate links, merch, etc
- Engage followers through interactive video formats like live streaming or Stories
- Offer exclusive content or perks through fan memberships and Subscriptions
- Participate in branded content that aligns authentically with your niche
- Measure ROI beyond just vanity metrics – track sales, leads, sign-ups generated
The key is to provide and demonstrate real value to followers rather than simply promoting products. By focusing on serving your audience, influencers can continue finding ways to monetize through Facebook while also building revenue channels beyond it.
Conclusion
Facebook’s algorithm changes have made influencer marketing and monetization more difficult on its platforms. But Facebook still presents opportunities for influencers who adapt to the changes and diversify their strategies.
It will require more experimentation, pivoting to different platforms, and direct audience monetization compared to the “golden age” of organic reach on Facebook and Instagram. However, influencers who can roll with the punches will remain viable. Completely cutting off monetization would likely decreases Facebook’s value proposition to creators.
For the foreseeable future, Facebook will likely remain an important platform for influencers – just one that requires more nuance to benefit from. While the days of easily earning massive organic reach are gone, adaptable influencers can still find ways to leverage Facebook’s massive built-in audience to support their businesses.