YouTube Creators vs. Facebook for Creators

As the influencer marketing industry grows and creators are continuing to become more popular, various platforms are constantly looking for ways to engage their creators. With content creators creating viral content that drives consistent traffic to social media sites, these sites have developed tools made specifically for their creators. For Facebook and YouTube, their creator platforms make video creation and monetization efficient and easy – but how do they compare?

Facebook for Creators

Keeping video creators in mind, Facebook released Facebook for Creators in 2017 to empower creators to unleash their creativity, connect with other creators, and get rewarded for their content. Facebook’s creator platform breaks down its tools into three categories: Manage, Earn Money, and Engage. For video creators and Page managers, Facebook breaks down the video monetization process down to chronological steps to streamline the process and allow Page managers to handle multiple pages through one central location. Along with these tools, creators can connect their Facebook with their Instagram. This way, creators can successfully manage multiple social media accounts at once.

Benefits

• Video Ecosystem: The Video Ecosystem helps users captivate viewers, deepen engagement, and ultimately optimize video creation. The Video Ecosystem connects with Instagram and encourages optimization for mobile viewing. 
• Creator Studio: Creator Studio is a desktop app that simplifies the process of posting, monetization, interacting with followers, and tracking performance. The tool also allows social media managers to run their accounts in one place. Access to the various tools of Creator Studio is determined by the creator’s Facebook Page Role and Instagram accounts linked to their Page. In order to use Creator Studio’s tools on Instagram, the account must either be a Business Profile or a new Creator Account.
• Groups: To create a community, Facebook for Creators has a Groups feature, where creators can make a Facebook Group for people who share similar interests. By connecting with like-minded users, Facebook helps its creators foster authentic conversations and deepen the connection to a fanbase. In order to officially link a Group to a Page, the user must be an admin of the Page, the user or the Page must be an admin of the Group, and the Page cannot have an age restriction.

Making Money

• In-Stream Ads: In-Stream Ads allow creators to earn money by inserting short ads into their videos using automatic placement. In order to qualify for In-Stream Ads, a creator must: 

1. 1. Pass and maintain compliance with Partner Monetization Policies
   2. Publish from a Page with at least 10,000 followers
   3. Generate at least 30,000 1-minute views on videos that are at least 3 minutes long in the last 60 days
   4. Be at least 18 years old
   5. Live in an In-Stream ads eligible country

• Brand Collaborations: With Facebook, creators get help with finding brands that best match their interests for collaborations. Using the Brand Collabs Manager, a creator can create a portfolio that is available to brands when they search for creators to work with. In order to qualify for Brand Collabs Manager, a creator must: 

1. 1. Comply with Facebook’s Branded Content Policies
   2. Meet Facebook’s Partner Monetization Policies
   3. Have 1,000 followers and at least one of the following: 1) 15,000 post engagements in the last 60 days, 2) 180,000 minutes viewed in the last 60 days, or 3) 30,000 1-Minute views for 3-Minute Videos in the last 60 days
   4. Be a Page Admin for the page being submitted
   5. Have a Page that is in a Brand Collabs Manager eligible country 

• Fan Subscriptions: Creators can turn their fans into supporters by offering monthly subscriptions. Fan Subscriptions is another feature to help creators monetize their content by providing exclusive access to paid subscribers. Currently, Fan Subscriptions are not available in the U.S., but in order to qualify for Fan Subscriptions, a Page and content must adhere to Facebook’s Monetization Standards, Fan Subscriptions Creator Terms, and Apple’s App Store Guidelines for Subscriptions.

YouTube Creators

Like Facebook for Creators, YouTube Creators emphasize learning and connecting, benefits and tools, and support and guidance. The creator platform is broken up into three tools: The Creator Academy, YouTube Space, and NextUp.

1. 1. The Creator Academy: The academy is full of courses designed to inspire, challenge, and build creators’ skills. When creators start a course, they learn about various topics regarding YouTube and get answers to technical questions.
   2. YouTube Space: The places that bring creators together to learn, connect, and create with one another. The spaces can be found around the globe and offer events, workshops, and the latest production resources.
   3. NextUp: This YouTube contest allows creators to learn how to create better videos, gain more subscribers, and take their channel to the next level. Winners of the contest get access to a weeklong Creator Camp at YouTube Spaces among other prizes.

Benefits

For creators, YouTube offers various Creator Benefit Levels to recognize the amount of effort and dedication that creators put into their channels. The levels are broken down as:

• • Graphite: 1-1K Subscribers
  • Opal: 1K-10K Subscribers
  • Bronze: 10K-100K Subscribers
  • Silver and Up: 100K+ Subscribers

For creators on the graphite level, they have access to numerous academy courses to help them hone their production skills, get started on YouTube, and create great content. Graphite creators can also sign up for Creator Monthly, which provides YouTube creator news, sign up opportunities and event announcements. For Opal creators, they also have access to academy courses to teach them how to get discovered, grow their community, and analyze their insights.

Bronze creators have the ability to unlock new YouTube Space production benefits including premium soundstage access, hosting their own events, and more. They can also enter the YouTube NextUp Contest to get help with new equipment and a spot at a week-long creator camp at their nearest YouTube Space. Like both the Graphite and Opal creators, Bronze creators have access to academy courses covering topics such as: making money with YouTube, building a business on YouTube, and planning for a channel assessment.

For Silver and Up creators, they have access to awards like the Silver Creator Award (100,000 subscribers), Gold Creator Award (1 million subscribers), and the Diamond Creator Award (10 million subscribers). They can also get a partner manager to help take their channel to the next level by talking creative strategies, business questions, and help develop their channels with different tools. Silver and Up creators gain access to exclusive invites to events like YouTube FanFest and other parties for top creators throughout the year. Top creators also gain maximum production access to YouTube Space benefits including premium stages, events, and advanced workshops.

YouTube Creators also offers Creators for Change, which is a global initiative that spotlights inspirational creators that use YouTube to foster productive conversations centered around tough issues to make an impact with their content. As a part of their commitment to the program, creators can become ambassadors and fellows that receive mentorship and promotional support to aid the creation of their Impact Projects – videos that tackle a range of topics to advocate for global empathy.

Making Money

As of 2018, YouTube has tightened the rules around what channels can be monetized. To apply for monetization, creators must have racked up 4,000 hours of overall watch time on their channel within the past 12 months and have at least 1,000 subscribers. For channels unable to meet the threshold, they will not be able to make any income from ads.

Once YouTube creators enable their channels for monetization, they can, like Facebook creators, earn money from advertisements that air alongside their YouTube videos. Creators only get paid when viewers watch the ads in full, click on the ads, or interact with the ads in other ways. However, Google takes a cut of the earnings from the ads as a part of the YouTube Partner Program’s revenue-sharing model. Ads are served through the AdSense auction, Google Ad Manager, and other sources, but do not guarantee how much or whether creators will be paid. Creators’ earnings are generated based on a share of ad revenue based on views, so more views can lead to more revenue. 

To check out some examples of Creators, take a look at these pages/channels: