What is Social Media Monetization?
Social media monetization refers to the various ways social media platforms facilitate revenue generation for their users.
Platforms
Revenue can come from three differenet sources:
- Platforms - platforms offer revenue redistribution programs (sometimes called “Revenue sharing programs” or “Bonus”) to reward some users for helping them generate ad revenue.
- Audience - platforms offer features like subscriptions and digital tips to enable users to generate revenue from their audience.
- Advertisers - platforms run creator marketplaces to connect brands and creators and facilitate branded content partnerships.
This website places a particular focus on programs where monetization decisions rest with the platform. → Read about existing revenue redistribution programs
How Much Money Are We Talking About?
In 2024, we estimate that social media companies collectively redistributed over US$ 20 billion to more than 6 million accounts globally.
As the social media ad industry continues to rapidly grow and competition over creators intensifies, we expect platforms to redistribute ever larger sums.
Individual payouts vary from account to account and can be anywhere from a few dollars a month to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Who Is Eligible For Monetization?
In theory, anyone may be considered for monetization programs, so long as :
- They meet the program minimum eligibility requirements.
- They are - and remain - compliant with platforms’ monetization policies.
Platforms typically prompt accounts to monetize as soon as they meet the minimum requirements.
What Does Participation Entail?
In order to receive a payout, users must:
- Sign on to platform monetization terms and policies
- Pass an onboarding review process
- Post eligible content
- Register a payout account
- Earn enough to meet the minimum transfer threshold
How Do Platforms Moderate Monetization?
Platforms rely on a range of monetization systems for their monetization governance:
Setting Rules
Platforms have dedicated monetization and payout terms, as well as partner and content monetization policies. Each program also comes with its own eligibility requirements.
Enforcing Rules
Platforms have different review processes. This include conduct due diligence on partners and bank accounts, reviews of accounts for eligibility, and ongoing reviews of content for monetization eligibility.
Processing Payments
Platforms also have dedicated processes to calculate payout amounts and to process fund transfers, sometimes involving a third party payment processor.
What Are The Concerns?
Social media companies have a long history of failing to curtail abuse of their services at scale. Unsurprisingly, this applies to monetization services as well.
Decisions over who is eligible, and who and what gets paid, can have substantial impact on:
Decisions over who is eligible, and who and what gets paid, can have substantial impact on:
- Media and Creator viability - creators of authentic content face automated demonetization decisions, unfair competition, and widespread content theft, with no compensation for revenue lost.
- Brand safety - advertisers, publishers and creators can experience damage to their brand through association with harmful actors, behavior or content.
- Society - society bears the bulk of the impact when harmful and illegal content and activities continue to be incentivized – and subsidized – by platforms, and authentic content creation is undermined.
What Does Responsible Monetization Governance Entail?
Take a read through the monetization principles, and share your feedback!
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