Kenyans will begin monetizing their content on Facebook and Instagram by June this year.
This makes Kenya one of the few countries in the continent enjoying the feature.
The move was announced by the Facebook President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg in a meeting with President William Ruto at State House Nairobi
The announcement is a culmination of a year-long push by the government led by the president to have creators earn for their online content.
“Kenyan content creators who meet the eligibility criteria will now earn from their Facebook and Instagram spaces as we start monetization by June this year,” Nick said.
President William Ruto praised the partnership between Kenya and global digital platforms on the monetisation of content.
“Now content creators can begin earning from their imagination and creativity. I have kept my word to negotiate and get them fresh opportunities,”
He added: “We are banking on the digital space to create jobs for the millions of jobless youths in our country.”
President Ruto welcomed plans to have monetization available on M-Pesa.
Requirements
Content creators with over 5,000 followers will be eligible to earn from Facebook, Creator Partnerships Lead Africa at Meta Moon Baz announced.
Baz also outlined what one needs to be eligible.
“Content creators must have more than 5,000 followers, be 18 years old and above, have more than five active videos on their page, and collected 60, 000-minute views in the last 60 days,” she said.
Baz said any creator that passes eligibility criteria will be able to monetise on their own.
“It is also important to pass monetisation policies and community standards. These are rules that refer to authentic behaviours, safety and intellectual property,” she explained.
“We are happy to announce that we are going to have in-stream ads on Facebook, starting early summer, maximum.”
In-stream ads in on-demand video are a way for you to earn money on your videos
In-stream ads are brief video ads that play within other videos on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
They show up before, in the middle, or after the main video, grabbing the viewer’s attention when they are most focused on the content.
They ensure ensuring messages hit users when they’re most engrossed in the content for maximum impact.
These ads are intentionally non-skippable for a brief period — usually 5-30 seconds.
Baz reiterated that image or video ads will be played before, during, or after the videos.
“It’s a way for you guys to monetise or generate revenue through Facebook. We are also launching other revenue channels across Facebook and Instagram,” she said.
She named the channels Facebook Stars, Instagram Gifts and Instagram Subs.
Facebook Stars enables content creators to monetise their video content and photo and text posts on Facebook.
Viewers can buy Stars on Facebook and send them to content creators while they are live, for on-demand videos that have Stars turned on, and for text and photo posts.
Viewers can also buy virtual gifts with their Stars.
Baz however pointed out that content creators will also have to pass the eligibility test.
With monetisation features on Facebook and Instagram, fans and followers can support content creators and contribute to their earnings.