The holiday season will definitely have people taking time-off from work, which Facebook intends to capitalize on to increase the adoption of its ‘Stars’ creator donation tool. Facebook looks to jump-start Stars take-up through its newest ‘Stars Fest’ event.
Stars are a type of virtual currency, like some form of crypto, or better yet – an applied version of certain in-game fictional currencies such as Mario’s gold coins. Stars can be purchased in various bundles, and would enable Facebook users to allocate them to creators during live broadcasts.
Starry-Eyed
Starting from Dec. 7 to Dec. 31, users will be able to purchase more Stars for less, with loads of discounts for Star packages. Facebook is supposedly also adding new Stars features and usage options to further build interest in the tool.
From a general user perspective, the biggest functional addition would be the new ‘Stars Store’, which is basically a digital marketplace where users can buy Stars at lower prices. Fortunately, the store extends beyond the ‘Stars Fest’ event, meaning that you don’t really lose all of the discount prices after the event period, because purchasing Stars through the store means buying the direct from Facebook, effectively side-stepping any app store fees.
As explained by Facebook:
“Stars are deposited into people’s virtual wallets to then send to eligible creators during Facebook Live, on-demand videos or Live Audio Rooms. In the Stars store, fans get more Stars for their money at lower prices, so they can support even more of their favorite creators.”
Facebook is also looking to make Stars usable in more ways, including compatibility for videos in News Feeds, in Facebook Watch, and even in the Facebook Gaming tab. As to their original purpose, you’ll be able to allocate Stars to your favorite creators directly from your main feed, thus providing more monetization and support opportunities across the app. The next stage for Stars evolution, as Facebook notes, will be Stars in Facebook Reels, which it also says will begin testing early next year.
Facebook’s also adding a new ‘Stars Party’ option, which provides Stars fundraising goals when numerous people are viewing and donating on a live-stream. Facebook expounds:
“When a certain number of people send Stars during a livestream, a countdown timer will appear and the community has five minutes to hit a Stars goal together. If the goal is met, the screen is taken over by a shooting Star animation and a giant “Thank You” message. From December 22-January 3, creators will receive a bonus of $50 for every completed Stars Party.”
There are also new ‘Star Badges’ to acknowledge top donors, adding another competitive element to the process, as well as the ‘Stars Double Bonus’ program, which will see it match the Stars earning of some creators through to March 31st, up to $750 a month. Facebook’s also giving away $3 million worth in free Stars to fans as another way to greatly boost awareness, take-up, and creator incentivization.
The Wrap
So it’s basically a whole lot of new initiatives involving Facebook’s newest ‘Stars’ element. Not only do Stars aim to improve engagement, but they also stand to introduce a new way of directly monetizing creators and Facebook Live broadcasters. At the end of the long list is its ‘Star Fest Programming’, which is essentially a culminating event that highlights a range of top-creator live-streams, so as to really encourage Stars usage.
With all these new quirks, it seems that Facebook is prepping itself to clash with its new arch-nemesis, TikTok, in a bid to regain their industry dominance and as part of a broader push to win back younger audiences. There’s definitely more to do with Starz before they become any sort of key element, but at least this is a good start.
Subscribe to our‘Bottoms Up!’ Newsletter. Get the latest social media news, strategies, updates and trends to take your business to the highest level.
Please note:
This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin.
Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.
