Meta goes deeper into shopping, tests creator commissions on Instagram and new buy button within ads

Meta is making product changes to make it easier for users to find and buy products across Facebook and Instagram with new tweaks and tools.

On Tuesday, the tech giant said it is expanding the Facebook affiliate program, which lets creators tag products from retailers in their Facebook posts, to new partners including Amazon, eBay, and Temu in the United States; Mercado Libre in Latin America; and Shopee in Asia.

Meta is also testing a similar affiliate program for Instagram, the company said. Creators will be able to highlight products directly in their posts and Reels, and earn money through these new affiliate partners.

Essentially, Meta is giving creators more ways to recommend products across Facebook and Instagram. On Instagram, creators will have a new tag feature that they can use to flag items from a brand’s catalog or through affiliate links directly in their Reels, turning any Instagram video into a digital storefront.

The new product tagging feature is one of the ways Meta wants to turn creator content into a sales channel for brands and retailers and a new opportunity for creators to monetize their content.

Plus, Meta is opening up its existing Shops feature to advertising in overseas markets. The tech giant will let brands in Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the UK, and Australia plug ads in Shops.

Impulse buying: Meta is also introducing a new “Buy Now” button that will sit within ads running on its apps.

After clicking on an ad, Meta users may see a Buy Now button that will let them make a purchase from a brand, Meta said. Advertisers will get to choose the checkout partner and will fulfill the order directly.

Katya Constantine, CEO of agency Digishopgirl Media, said Meta is taking a page out of TikTok’s Shop’s playbook, which proved that customers will shop on a social media platform. Meta is building tools to make it easier for users to transact and discover, she added.

“Meta is taking those learnings and really making it a lot easier, both from a discovery perspective of what they’re doing with affiliates to conversion with how the information comes through and how easy it is to transact,” Constantine said. “I don’t think they’re going to be a retailer, but I do think that they are trying to capture more of the advertising dollar and affiliate dollar.”

TikTok rolled out its affiliate program, where creators post about products they love and earn a cut of every sale, in 2023. One candy brand made $1.4 million in one quarter after using TikTok’s affiliate program, the Wall Street Journal reported.