In just a few days, we have seen announcements from both YouTube and TikTok who are launching new funds and features in order to become the app that can offer its users the best experience.
Youtube set to pay creators $100million for using Shorts, its TikTok competitor
Since YouTube launched it’s ‘Shorts’ feature in the US in March, up until now, there hasn’t been a built-in way for creators to make money from their Shorts content.
With competitors TikTok and Instagram Reels introducing funds to monetise creators on their swipe through short video platforms, YouTube has decided to take a similar approach.
It is yet to be confirmed how much exactly creators will be able to earn from YouTube Shorts. The plan is for YouTube to reach out to creators each month who have excellent engagement on their Shorts, offering payment from the $100 million fund pot – which is half of the amount of TikTok’s creator fund.
To begin with, only Shorts creators in the US and India — the two regions in which Shorts has launched — will be in with the chance of receiving payment from YouTube. The platform plans to continue rolling out Shorts and Shorts payments across more regions in the future.
TikTok to test in app shopping to rival Facebook
As YouTube works towards offering tools similar to TikTok, TikTok has its own plans to come up on top with in-app shopping. In the past, TikTok has run one off in-app shopping campaigns, but is currently testing to make in-app shopping a permanent feature to rival the likes of Facebook.
Currently in it’s test phase, and available to a select number of participants is the initial shopping prototype which sees TikTok collaborate with brands including European streetwear label, Hype.
The in-app shopping feature will present itself by allowing fashion label’s storefront to appear under its TikTok account, displaying a range of merchandise with product images and prices. Brands will be able to interact directly with their consumers, and consumers will be able to make purchases without leaving the TikTok app.
We can not yet confirm when the new feature will be officially released for all TikTok users, but as the second most popular app for influencer marketing, TikTok could present as real competition for Facebook.
We will continue to follow the rollout of these new plans, looking at how they develop and whether they succeed in regards to creating the most engaging and exciting platforms for their users.
