Instagram is offering creators up to $500,000 for long videos. IGTV got this too.

WHAT INSTAGRAM IS PAYING

Instagram announced its first tests of Features in late October, with videos of up to 90 minutes.

According to Business Insider, reported by Social Media Today: "The Meta-owned platform has offered select creators $50,000 to post long-form video to its new 'Features' product, while others have been offered six-figure deals, some of which have reached $500,000."

Meta did not confirm or deny those details. A spokesperson said Meta is "funding Features content directly with some creators". Adam Mosseri, Instagram's chief, wrote on Threads that "the economics matter a ton" and that his team is exploring ways to get long-form creators paid.

WHY IT HAS TO PAY: THE EARNINGS GAP

A creator chooses a platform partly on what a view is worth. VidIQ's analysis, as reported by Social Media Today, shows the gap:

• YouTube's ad revenue share generally pays $1 to $10 per 1,000 long-form views.
• Instagram's monetisation from views alone is "effectively zero" without a brand deal.
• Creators with more than a million subscribers on each platform earn around $50,000 a month on YouTube, on average, and $5,000 to $15,000 on Instagram.

So a one-off cheque is the only way to close that gap today. It buys uploads. It doesn't change what the next video will earn.

META HAS RUN THIS PLAY

As Marketing Dive reported in 2021, Meta said it would pay out $1 billion to creators in 2022, including special payments to creators who allowed ads in their IGTV content. That didn't raise interest in the format. By early 2022, Meta was already moving to shut down the separate IGTV app.

Others have done versions of this. Earlier this year, X offered a $175,000 prize to users who generated their own version of The Odyssey with Grok. Social Media Today's read: these promotions usually create a spike in posts and rarely a lasting rise in posting or viewing.

Instagram may have learned something. Features also get a real funnel: as we covered last week, a Reel can link straight to the full video. That is a genuine advantage. It still has to prove people stay for a long video.

THE TEST FOR BRANDS: COST PER 1,000 VIEWS

Cost per 1,000 views is the price you pay for every thousand people who saw your sponsor slot.

Cost per 1,000 views = sponsor fee ÷ views × 1,000

Here is a hypothetical. A creator charges $20,000 for a slot in a long video. If it gets 400,000 views, you pay $50 per 1,000. If the same show gets 1 million views elsewhere, you pay $20 per 1,000.

Then check quality. A view in the first ten seconds is worth far less than one that reaches your slot. Ask for the retention curve (the chart showing how many people are still watching at each minute), and see where your slot lands on it.

THE PUNKD TAKE

When a platform pays people to use a feature, it is telling you the feature can't win yet on its own. There's no shame in that. Every format starts somewhere.

Creators should take the money. Brands should stay curious and keep their wallets shut until viewers show up without a cheque behind them. Being early only pays if the audience turns up too.

STEAL THIS

1. Ask any creator pitching Features whether Meta is paying them for it.
2. Ask for retention numbers, not only views.
3. Buy one test slot before you commit a whole season.
4. Keep your long content on the platform that pays and lasts, and treat Features as a second home.
5. Link a Reel to a Feature, give it its own code, and count the sales.

Would your favourite creator still post there if the cheque stopped?