$5,000 to join Facebook, Instagram: How Meta is wooing TikTokers in the US

San Francisco, US:

With the shadow of a ban still looming over TikTok in the United States, billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is offering to pay large sums of money to popular content creators on the “third-party” social media app that connects to Facebook and Instagram. The company said select creators will receive a bonus of up to $5,000 for posting content on the Meta platform for more than three months.

On its website, Meta states that the effects which are accepted in the so-called “Breakthrough Bonus Program” Money will be paid during their first 90 days on the app, as long as they post regularly. They’ll get cash based on “evaluation of your social presence.”

By sharing content on Meta’s platforms, creators will also get access to Facebook’s content monetization program that enables users to earn additional income from their posts. In addition to the bonus, Meta is also giving these popular faces a free trial of Meta Verified – the blue checkmark that offers special features and helps accounts stand out. Typically, this feature comes at a monthly cost of $15 to $120.

Is Meta Going After TikTokers?

Although Meta did not say that the lucrative cash offer was specifically for TikTokers, it came just days after the rival platform was removed from the US App Store. Although President Donald Trump delayed the removal of the short video app from the US market by 75 days, TikTok is still not available to download from the App Store.

The timing of Meta’s offering suggests it is attempting to capitalize on the uncertainty surrounding users of the ByteDance-owned platform.

According to TikTok, it has 170 million users in the US – many of whom have their livelihoods dependent on its existence. This means that if the Chinese company disappears then many people will be looking for an alternative platform to establish themselves.

This isn’t Meta’s first move to go after ByteDance users. Earlier on Sunday, the firm had announced an app called “Edits” that bore striking similarities with ByteDance’s CapCut – a video editing app that went offline when the ByteDance ban took effect on January 19.

Meta said “new affiliate link experienceFor users’ “shoppable content” – a system where Meta users will be able to add prominent affiliate links directly to their videos instead of in the comments – exactly how it works on TikTok.

But, perhaps TikTok’s biggest impact is visible in Instagram’s appearance. After the new update, posts and videos on Instagram now look rectangular like TikTok.