Instagram is Paying Up to $35,000 to Lure Creators Away From TikTok

Instagram very much wants users to post Reels and is paying sums of money to some creators to do so. But the value that some creators are seeing to publish reels varies, between $1,000 and up to $35,000, and the parameters for why aren’t clear.

Called the Reels Play bonus program, Instagram is trying to lure creators away from TikTok (which TechCrunch reports just surpassed its billion monthly active users mark) by throwing down cash. How much money a single creator can make varies wildly and doesn’t seem to be connected to the number of followers an account has. In short, while the experimental program is in its early stages, the company isn’t being particularly clear about what factors determine the larger bonuses or how big a bonus a creator is actually eligible to receive. Instagram isn’t being forthcoming about the situation, either.

TechCrunch reports that one user with 800 Instagram followers was offered the same $8,500 as a creator with 24,000 followers, so how Instagram is calculating value is unclear. Some reports are showing that the value can balloon well beyond that.

While some creators are seeing offers for as low as $600 or $800, others are seeing a lot larger figures. One user on Reddit published a screenshot of an offer that showed Instagram offered a maximum bonus of $35,000 for 58.31 million Reels plays. That said, the reason the screenshot was posted was that the user was struggling with an error that wasn’t allowing them to start the program.

Instagram’s support page for the program says that the bonuses are rolling out slowly and that they are not available to all users yet, and for now they will only be accessible to those who are in the United States.

Reels Play is one of two Reels-based compensation programs that Instagram is bringing out to support its TikTok competitor. Reels Surprise will launch this week and will reward 150 United States-based creators per week up to $10,000 in exchange for what is described as an “entertaining and fun” Reel that is also “inspiring” and takes advantage of Instagram’s creative text, filters, and camera tools. For both the Reels Surprise and Reels play programs, users must be 18 years old and meet the company’s Community Guidelines and Partner Monetization Policies.

Image credits: Elements of header photo licensed via Depositphotos.