Creators see promise in Instagram’s long-form push, but question whether exposure is enough 

Digiday spoke with seven creator economy experts about what the change could mean for creators, agents, and marketers.

The revenue question

Instagram is known for reach, but engagement on Reels can vary (marketing software platform Cropink reports Reels get 36% more reach than carousels and 125% more than single-photo posts, but engagement lags). And creators question how that engagement translates into income.

Digital strategist and creator Gabriella Zutrau said that Instagram has great discoverability compared to other platforms, which is helpful for creators looking to build awareness. However, she was “disgusted” that it appears, at least for now, that the platform is “offering discoverability as a form of payment.”

Several of the creator managers and creators Digiday spoke with expressed concerns about the lack of an ad revenue structure for long-form content — especially in comparison to what is widely considered the best platform for earning, YouTube. But it’s increasingly difficult to get monetized on YouTube because of the thresholds required, and it may be harder after its requirements change next year.

“Exposure as a form of payment and with the intention of cutting into YouTube’s market share and cutting into the amount of views people are getting on YouTube — it’s just gross,” Zutrau said. “Instagram has never valued creators.”

Jo Wong, chief revenue officer at agentic AI creator commerce platform POP.STORE, agreed.

“If you talk to most creators, they’ll tell you that that’s really where a lot of the brand deals come through… Instagram in general never really had a super strong monetization program for creators off the get,” said Wong. “Frankly, I think they thought they could get away with [not having a long-form monetization model].”

Samantha Walters, vp of talent experience at Shine Talent Group, said she was “surprised” the platform hadn’t offered a competitive or comparable monetization infrastructure. “That’s why YouTube is so successful, and why creators give so much of their time and effort to it,” she added. 

Nick Jacklin, president of Shorthand Studios, was more optimistic, though he emphasized that creators should be paid equitably and transparently, and noted that if Instagram starts running ads on long-form content, it’ll break creator trust.

“I’m all in favor of advocating for a similar model [to YouTube] where Instagram makes $1 [per view], some share of that goes to the creator…but if Instagram can show with the creators that do [Features] work early on that you can drive awareness, I think the monetization will follow,” Jacklin said. 

A representative from Instagram told Digiday the platform is “exploring ways for creators to earn from brands, fans and Instagram, including performance-based incentives.”

For Alexandra Mathieu, vp of creative and strategy at Open Influence, the competition Instagram’s long-form push could breed is good for talent. “Instagram putting money behind creator acquisition gives managers more leverage in conversations with YouTube,” she said. “It also opens the door to negotiating beyond fees, including exclusivity, distribution, production support, and creative control.”

The potential new strategies

With monetization up in the air, are creators and creator agencies planning to do a strategic pivot? It depends on the content genre, it seems.

Mustafa Aijaz, vp of media company SoaR, which works with a lot of gamers and streamers, plans to use it as just another distribution platform for now. “We’ll post our content there, why not? But I’m not making content for Instagram at this moment in time,” he said.

Zack Evans, vp of creative strategy at Shorthand Studios, thinks interview-style shows and scripted comedy could work really well on the platform — especially with the revamped Instagram TV app, which he said promotes scrolling and discoverability more than YouTube does.

“Comedy is inherently surprising, so I think with Reels and Features now, being able to just scroll and see a scripted thing playing out, you don’t yet know what it is, and you’re going to be intrigued,” he said. “It’s much more a pure comedy experience…I think that there will be a certain sector of creators who will actually rise to [this] occasion.”

The ability to pull viewers in with short-form content and funnel them to long-form while remaining on the platform could be a boon for any kind of video creator.

“The top of the funnel is Instagram. [We’re always] trying to get them and trying to use Reels, use Shorts, use any kind of way to grab attention for people, and then try to funnel them over to a longer-form piece of content,” said Evans. “It’s really hard, and these platforms obviously aren’t the best of friends, and so they make it difficult for you to do that.”

The discoverability of short-form and the shareability of content on Instagram could help creators build bigger audiences on the platform, which they can then shop to brands.

Both Wong and Mathieu suggested creators might use Instagram’s Features to recycle older content for reach. 

“I’ve encouraged creators to actually use their older content and put it on there,” said Wong. “Most of the views on your YouTube come within the first month, for example, or three weeks, then put your older catalog on Features and test into it. See how your reach is doing. What does it mean for you? Are you able to then get better brand deals, or how does that change?” 

She’s advising creators to do that before “catalyzing” original content, whereas Mathieu thinks creators should use Features to use “existing programming as a springboard for new, Instagram-native series such as creator-led shows, movie-length content, longer-running series and video.”

It’s clear that creators are still sussing out Instagram’s latest feature. In a survey sent to 50 of Shine Talent Group’s creators, 93 percent said the platform would have to change its revenue policies to entice them to post long-form content; 100 percent already post on the platform.