The social network Pinterest joins the battle for influencers.
The platform, which is mainly used for sharing photos, provides $ 20 million, which will be paid out this year and next, the company said to the FAZ.
According to the company, it is the first monetization program for influencers from Pinterest.
So far, they have only been able to earn money through direct cooperation with brands - i.e. without the involvement of Pinterest.
At the end of June, the network had around 450 million monthly active users worldwide, making it significantly smaller than Facebook, Instagram, Youtube or TikTok, which each have more than a billion users.
"We have a different mentality"
Pinterest, which presented some innovations at the same time, looks similar to Instagram, but wants to stand out from the competition.
“We have a different mentality than other platforms,” says Naveen Gavini, who is responsible for Pinterest products on the board of the FAZ. It is about inspiring users to do things offline themselves.
That is also the kind of influencer - Gavini calls them creator - that Pinterest wants to win over for itself.
"These are people who are not enthusiastic about how many likes and how much reach they get, but how many are inspired." He mentions as an example that users cook recipes, develop them further and share their results with other amateur cooks.
Influencers post content on social media and make money by placing advertisements.
Because they help to bind users to the platforms, they compete for the best influencers.
Facebook, TikTok and Youtube have provided funds with hundreds of millions of euros that they pay out to influencers.
Gavini also indicated that the $ 20 million could still be topped up.
The platforms often advertise for influencers who are successful in other networks.
Even Pinterest "now not only appeals to creators who are already on Pinterest," said Gavini.