Facebook and Instagram umbrella company, Meta, has launched various creator fund programs for the upcoming Metaverse.
In an announcement in October of last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined the idea of the Metaverse to mixed reactions. But it looks like the Metaverse is meeting us in 2022 whether we want it to or not. According to Zuckerberg, it will be the “next step in the internet”, creating a space for friends to meet up and hang out, host meetings, do your weekly shopping in partnership with Amazon, “and more”.
And it looks like the next step is to encourage engagement by encouraging influencers to the platform. Meta intends to do this with a creator fund.
That makes sense. TikTok and other platforms have been known to be behind the creators on that element, with creators making the platform engaging and demanding fair compensation. Looking at past up-and-coming platforms, unexpected talent does rise to the surface, promoting the platform with it. It’s important that a creator fund is in place to ensure fair payment.
The other half of the fund is the pilot program, which will essentially turn the Metaverse into a virtual shop. Creators can sell virtual items which can be used within the virtual world, which inevitably brings the term “NFTs” into the mix. NFTs are intended to be attached to these virtual items to ensure scarcity and therefore demand.
What does Meta have to say?
As explained on the Meta site: “We’re beginning to test a Horizon Worlds Creator Bonus program for participants in the US. These bonuses come in the form of goal-oriented monthly programs where the creators are paid out at the end of the month for their progress toward the goal.”
Concerning the pilot program, Meta said: “For example, someone could make and sell attachable accessories for a fashion world or offer paid access to a new part of a world.”
How will this affect marketers?
Affiliate marketers in particular will no doubt be pleased by this news. If the Metaverse is coming, for better or worse it will be another playground of influencers with another audience to reach and a lot of new ways to market. A creator fund is the best way to encourage influencers to the platform.
