Content creators and publishers can take advantage of the various tools that Facebook and Instagram offer to grow their audience, increase or reach engagement and monetise their content. 

Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Strategic Media Partnerships, Facebook Sub-Saharan Africa shared tips during a Jamfest Africa 2021 session on how a publisher or content creator can make the most of Facebook and Instagram. During the session, Muhutu-Remy focused on two ways to monetise content: in-stream advertising and instant articles. 

In-stream advertising enables a content creator or publisher to earn money on video advertisements, a user can insert an advertisement into their video, and earn revenue. Muhutu-Remy said that “ads are inserted during natural pauses in your content”. She added that “each time an in-stream ad runs, you earn a share of the revenue it generates”. Muhutu-Remy said that in-stream ads are more effective in videos that are three minutes or longer. However, some countries in Africa do not have the monetisation capability.

Eligibility for in-stream advertising

  • Always follow the monetisation rule for partners
  • Publish from a page (not a profile) that has at least 10,000 subscribers
  • Generate at least 600,000 minutes of viewing in the last 60 days
  • Have at least five active videos on your page
  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Reside in a country eligible for in-stream advertising example South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, or Ghana

The second method on how to monetise is instant articles, which are available everywhere and in different languages, the service is not restricted per country. Instant articles allow a user to get more engagement, traffic and revenue. A user can circulate an instant article with a Facebook story, a user will share the link of an article on a story

Benefits of Facebook Stories

  • High growth format to reach readers: 300-million people view stories every day
  • Strong reader engagement 
  • No publisher action required
  • Links shared in Instagram Stories that are cross-posted will also render as Instant Articles

Muhutu-Remy said that “instant articles impact distribution in a very positive way”.

Have a look at other sessions from Jamfest Africa 2021 here.

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