Instagram is paying creators tens of thousands of dollars to bring new users to the platform.
The tech giant has been quietly running a program called “Referrals,” which compensates U.S.-based creators when new users visit Instagram through links shared by creators, Business Insider confirmed with Meta.
Related: Instagram Is Offering TikTok Creators Up to $50,000 Per Month For Exclusive Content
The invite-only, limited test allows creators to earn a maximum of $20,000 in two ways: Earning $100 for every new user who makes an Instagram account through their links or receiving $100 each time 1,000 new users navigate to Instagram via their links.
Instagram creator Courtney Canfield, who runs an Instagram page with over 36,000 followers for her dog Rambo, told BI that she was offered the second option and could be compensated based on the number of new users who visit Instagram through her profile, posts, stories, or other links.
According to the report, the referral program runs for six weeks from May to June. Instagram is instructing creators to share links to their Instagram profiles and posts on other platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Discord to drive new users to the site.
This isn’t Meta’s first effort to lure users away from other platforms and get them scrolling on Instagram instead. According to a January report, Meta offered some creators up to $300,000 to exclusively post short-form content to Instagram Reels, Meta’s take on TikTok. Meta wanted creator audiences to migrate to Instagram from TikTok or other platforms to watch the exclusive content.
The contracts Meta offered creators then had exclusivity agreements that ranged from posting a certain number of Reels only on Instagram to keeping videos only on the platform for at least three months. Payouts ranged from $2,500 per month to $50,000 per month for six months.
Related: Meta Is Testing AI That Can Catch Teenagers Trying to Get Around Age Rules on Instagram
Meta launched a separate “Breakthrough Bonus” program in January to pay TikTok creators up to $5,000 within three months if they posted content to Instagram Reels. In an earnings call last April, Meta’s Chief Financial Officer, Susan Li, said that Instagram users spent about half of their time on Reels, emphasizing the popularity of short-form content.
Instagram is expected to generate $32 billion in U.S. advertising revenue this year, accounting for half of the company’s total U.S. ad revenue, according to Bloomberg.
Instagram has 169 million users in the U.S., per Statista estimates, making it the country with the second-largest Instagram audience after India. In comparison, competitor TikTok has 170 million U.S. users, and rival YouTube has around 253 million.
