Instagram Will Now Show Ads in IGTV Videos; Share Revenue with Creators

We’ve been hearing about Instagram’s revenue-sharing plan for a long time. And well, Instagram has finally detailed them today in an official blog post. One, the company’s long-form video platform, IGTV, will start showing ads and secondly, Instagram Live viewers will be able to purchase badges to support an influencer.

First, let’s talk about ads in IGTV videos. Instagram reveals that ads will show up in IGTV videos starting this week. It has partnered (via The Verge) with a handful of English-speaking creators and advertising partners such as Ikea, Puma, and others.

As per the blog post, you will only see ads when you tap the ‘Watch IGTV video’ button from your Instagram feed. The ads will be built for mobile and can be as long as 15-seconds. Currently, tapping an IGTV video in the feed makes it go full-screen and play from where you left off. You will now first see an ad and then the playback will continue.

“We’ll test various experiences within IGTV ads throughout the year – such as the ability to skip an ad – to make sure the final result works well for people, creators, and advertisers,” adds Instagram. The company will share an “industry standard” 55 percent cut with creators.

Ads in IGTV videos are currently limited to the United States but you can expect it to find its way to creators worldwide over the coming months. You can see how ads will look in IGTV videos in the header image above.

• Live Video Badges

Instagram takes cues from Twitch and YouTube for this next feature. The same way that you subscribe to a creator on Twitch and see a badge next to your name in chat, Instagram will let users purchase badges during a live video to support their favorite creators.

These badges will then show up next to their username in the live stream chat, giving them a better chance to stand out and unlock additional rewards. They will get access to a special heart they can share during the live video.

Users will be able to choose from among three tiers, represented by hearts, that will show up next to their username in chat. One heart tier for $0.99, two hearts tier for $1.99, and three hearts tier for $4.99. You can see how the badge for each tier looks like in the image above.

Creators will be able to see who has purchased a badge, along with a placement list. The company revealed to The Verge that it will not take a revenue cut from creators using Badges right now. It plans to scale the feature and introduce revenue sharing in the next few months.

Instagram will begin testing Badges next month with a small group of creators and businesses. Over the coming months, it will expand this feature across the US, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, and Mexico. So yes, Instagram is finally giving its creators an avenue to earn money from the content they post on the photo-sharing app.