Platforms like Meta, Substack and Flip are trying to lure TikTok creators with financial incentives
As TikTok faces mounting uncertainty due to the looming threat of a national ban in the U.S., alternative platforms are racing to capitalize on the potential exodus of creators. Companies including Meta, Substack and Fip are all dangling financial rewards, such as cash bonuses and equity, to draw talent from TikTok.
Last week, Meta introduced the Breakthrough Bonus Program, which allows TikTok creators to earn up to $5,000 over three months by posting Reels on Instagram and Facebook. The Information reported last week that Meta is also targeting TikTok creators with large followings by offering them cash bonuses of as much as $50,000 per month for posting exclusive Reels.
Around the same time, newsletter platform Substack debuted a $20 million “creator accelerator fund” that guarantees influencers won’t lose any revenue if they switch over to Substack. On top of financial guarantees, Substack said creators will receive “strategic and business support” from Substack and early access to new features.
Meanwhile, Flip, a video-driven shopping app, launched a creator fund offering up to $100 million in equity to creators, Modern Retail previously reported.
Meta, Substack and Flip are making these moves as many TikTok users and brands look for new platforms after the ByteDance-owned platform went dark earlier this month. But attracting creators is only half the battle — retaining them will require keeping them engaged beyond short-term payouts. Brands and advertisers, meanwhile, must adapt quickly as creators shift platforms.
“Unless a platform takes a long-term approach, many creators will jump at these opportunities but may not stay,” said Lindsey Gamble, an independent influencer marketing consultant.
In addition to funding guarantees, the company is throwing in ongoing assistance from its partnerships team to help with the migration process and overall business strategy. Creators also get early access to beta features as members of Substack’s product lab.
‘The lifeblood of social media’
TikTok’s billion-dollar success is fueled by content creators. Their videos keep users on the app longer, attracting advertisers and driving profits. This has sparked a race to lure TikTok creators.
“Creators are the lifeblood of social media today,” said Gamble. “Bringing them on the platform and getting them to post more content is going to drive attention and eyeballs, and then ultimately, that means platforms are going to be able to sell more ads and drive more revenue.”
As such, financial incentives are crucial in keeping creators engaged. “Money is one of the biggest incentives for creators to remain on a platform,” Gamble said. “Creators love to create content, but you can’t do that long term without having money.”
Notably, TikTok’s initial popularity was driven in part by financial incentives. In 2020, TikTok announced a $200 million fund, which was later increased to $1 billion. The fund was shut down at the end of 2023. Some creators alleged that TikTok’s creator fund wasn’t as lucrative, and it was unclear how payments were calculated.
Yet, while these incentives provide a short-term boost for platforms seeking to attract creators, they don’t guarantee long-term loyalty. Meta, for instance, has repeatedly tested and shuttered various creator-monetization programs, including one earlier this month, which paid creators for ads placed on their profiles, according to Business Insider.
“Creators, for the most part, should know that a lot of these incentives are temporary,” Gamble said. “They jump on these opportunities knowing that they are probably going to disappear.”
Flip’s creator fund attempts to circumvent this dilemma by offering influencers a stake in the company, with payments being doled out over the course of five years, according to Eddie Vivas, Flip’s president.
“It’s our way of issuing phantom equity to creators, so as Flip becomes more valuable, they share in the upside,” Vivas said.
While the initial rollout of the creator fund was intentionally quiet, Vivas said that the current uncertainty surrounding TikTok presents an unprecedented opportunity for platforms like Flip. As he put it, “If TikTok were to go away, creators should want to be on a platform that not only gives them a revenue share but where they have a vested interest in its success.”
Winners and losers
It remains to be seen which of these platforms, if any, will become the next TikTok.
To Gamble, Meta’s efforts to attract creators are the most robust so far. In addition to creator monetization, Meta recently announced Edits, a video editing app designed to compete with CapCut, a video editing app owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. Creators can also more prominently add affiliate links and codes from Amazon, Walmart and others to Reels, videos and photos.
Still, all these platforms have a ways to go to catch up with TikTok’s e-commerce business, Shop, which has become a fast-growing revenue stream for creators and brands alike. While Meta has dabbled in shopping features, it has yet to fully replicate the success of TikTok Shop, which has grown rapidly since it launched in September 2023. With Flip, shopping is baked into the platform, but it lacks the social media dominance of Instagram and Facebook. As Gamble put it, “Instagram and Facebook are core parts of the creator economy.”
For brands and advertisers, the shift in platform dynamics requires careful attention. As creators migrate between platforms in search of better incentives, brands need to follow them to ensure they reach their target audiences.
“Creators are going to jump on these opportunities,” Gamble said. “If you’re a brand, that means you need to extend your partnerships to those platforms and also diversify your own influencer marketing programs.”