From learning about Instagram and Facebook’s new tools to help creators earn more money to a special appearance from chart-topping musician, Olivia Rodrigo, Instagram and Facebook’s first-ever Creator Week kicked off in an epic way on June 8, 2021 giving creators an in-depth look at how to build their careers in the digital realm.
Attendees were welcomed at the virtual event by social media sensation and comedian, Benito Skinner (aka Benny Drama), who introduced none other than Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg shared some exciting news about the new ways creators can monetize including using the social media platforms’ affiliate tool, shopping tools and more.
Zuckerberg detailed the latest monetization opportunities for creators starting with the chance for select users to be able to earn commissions for the purchases they drive to brands. As shared in Instagram’s blog post, the “native affiliate tool will allow creators to discover new products available on checkout, share them with their followers and earn commissions for the purchases they drive — all within the Instagram app. When people come across an affiliate post from a creator featuring a tagged product, they will see “eligible for commission” at the top of the post, so it’s clear that their purchases help support that creator.”
Creators also have a new way of connecting with their fans through their merch. With Instagram’s new shopping tool, creators can now link their shop to their personal profile. In addition, “creators will also be able to set up a new shop and drive excitement with exclusive product launches from the Instagram app by linking their account with one of Instagram’s four merchandise partners: Bravado/UMG, Fanjoy, Represent, and Spring. This will roll out to all eligible creators in the US by end of the year” (source: Instagram blog post).
Adding onto the excitement of the event, worldwide entertainment powerhouse, JoJo Siwa talked all about how she has been able to build her incredible empire on social media while also using her platform to share her magnificent journey with her fans. Siwa also revealed that after several years of being in development, she is finally filming for her very own reality TV show with her mom, just another one of the many outstanding projects the 18-year-old media mogul currently has in the pipeline.
Siwa spoke with Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri and also discussed how she shared a very important part of her life with the world through Instagram.
During her Creator Week session with Mosseri, Siwa talked about coming out and said, “I told my mom, how I wanted it to happen was just like that, it was just natural. It happened better than I could have ever planned.”
The Boomerang singer also gave her top tips to creators (what could be better than getting advice from a successful creator such as JoJo Siwa herself?!).
Siwa said, “The biggest thing that I’ve learnt is to make sure you love it… I’ve done plenty of things where I didn’t love it and they never seemed to work and they never seemed to follow through. But, something with me that really connected to my audience is that everything was so genuine and they could see right through that. They could see that it was really me behind it. They could see that it was everything that I wanted it to be, and so it felt so natural and so organic…”
One of the many highlights throughout the event was when internationally-acclaimed artist Olivia Rodrigo made a special appearance at Creator Week and chatted with climate journalist, Sophia Li about all things fashion, her “good 4 u” music video and more. Rodrigo has been making waves with her extraordinary music – from taking the #1 spot on the music charts for several consecutive weeks to her song “good 4 u” being the number one song on Reels in the U.S. this past week, fans, celebrities and critics have all been oh, so proud to call themselves fans (or shall we say “Livies”) of the gifted singer.
A phenomenal part about social media is being able to share your true, authentic and vulnerable self with the world. Being able to show your personality while also showcasing your greatest passions and creativity is what makes social media so special.
Rodrigo spoke about the impact of being vulnerable with your audience and how being vulnerable has allowed her to connect with more fans in an unprecedented way.
“I’ve always been the type of person to think that vulnerability is the most powerful thing you can possibly show to other people and I think that’s definitely true in my songwriting,” said the “Drivers License” singer. “Sometimes the songs that are the most vulnerable and raw and insecure are the songs that people resonate the most with and the songs that are the most powerful.”
Day 1 of Creator Week also featured an “Algorithm Mythbusting” session where Refinery29 Unbothered‘s Laurise McMillian and Instagram’s Karina Newton, Raki Wane and Stacey Houston, II talked about some of the biggest questions aspiring creators have about Instagram.
Having a platform is great, but what’s most important is how you use your platform and influence for good. Instagram and Facebook’s Creator Week invited guests to a brilliant session titled, “Supercharge Your Community” where Ashley Tuck, Tommy Marcus (aka @quentin.quarantino), Jhánneu and Naaya (@naaya.wellness) all discussed how to use social media to make a difference in the lives of others and support causes you care about.
Needless to say, day 1 of Instagram and Facebook’s Creator Week was jam-packed with an incredible amount of invaluable information to help creators build their phenomenal brands.
For more on the first day of Creator Week, check out the daily recap, The Rundown on the @Creators Instagram page below!