Instagram introduces Badges in Live, ads in IGTV

Over the next few days, Instagram will start testing Badges and IGTV ads with a small group of creators and businesses in the US.

With a focus on creators and the intention to facilitate monetary gains for content being created on and for the medium, Instagram has announced two prominent features. These are Badges for Instagram Live and ads in IGTV. The platform hopes to support content creators by sharing advertising revenue with them. Over time, the features will be expanded across US, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, and Mexico.

Badges in Live

With Badges, Instagram will give fans a chance to participate and show their love during a Live. For creators, it will help generate income from the content they are creating. Once a fan has purchased a badge, it will appear next to their name throughout the Live. They will stand out in the comments as well as get access to additional features including placement on the creator's list of badge holders and access to a special heart.

Vishal Shah, VP of Product at Instagram spoke about the new developments in a series of tweets. Stating how creators are at the heart of Instagram and the platform wants to help them turn their passion into a living, he wrote: "I’m particularly excited to see how up-and-coming creators use these tools to start building their own businesses on Instagram."

Also Read: How to build an Instagram strategy amidst COVID-19?

IGTV Ads

Up to 15 seconds long, IGTV ads will be built for mobile. They will initially appear when people click to watch IGTV videos from previews in their feed. Instagram will test various experiences within IGTV ads throughout the year. This would include the ability to skip an ad to ensure that the final result works well for people, creators and advertisers.

The platform will roll out the feature with a small group of creators and advertisers in the US, eventually expanding over time with improvements in experiences.

Earlier, the platform has announced Live Shopping, letting creators and brands tag products during their live videos. Over the next few months, the platform intends to expand experiences around shopping, facilitating creators to sell their own merchandises.