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Social media giant Meta is launching a new Meta Creator Academy, a first for its Facebook and Instagram platforms worldwide, in Australia to assist creators in telling and selling their stories on Reels.
This is one of the realisations of Mark Zuckerberg’s vow to invest over $US1 billion ($A1.5 billion) in programs that provide creators with new opportunities to earn money on Facebook and Instagram.
The new academy will connect creators with supportive organisations through master workshops, panel discussions and Q&A sessions.
As the “creative economy” expands beyond the realm of traditional business models, the next Marion Grasby, Deni Todorovic, or Ian Zaro may already be among us.
The six million Australians who call themselves creators include Marion, an Australian-Thai food maker whose goods can be found in supermarkets; Deni, a fashionista who collaborates with fashion brands; and Australia’s First Nations actor/comedian Ian.
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According to Deni, the subcultural landscape is still developing, so everyone may find their place.
“You could be twins who love knitting and there’s a community of twins who also knit,” Deni said.
In the past, the business, like the mainstream media, favored a certain type of talent, but this is beginning to change.
Marion’s Kitchen is a cutting-edge food and lifestyle brand that reaches over 30 million people every month around the world and has eight million paying subscribers.
Marion told AAP, “Once you start adding movement and real life into it … the videos really made platforms infiltrate that much more.
“You are a completely live human being that people are watching and not a photograph that could have been styled.”
Deni, the former fashion editor of Cosmopolitan Australia, is now a part of a worldwide movement to de-gender fashion and hosts a weekly fashion podcast for the Mamamia network.
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Additionally, Deni has published “Love This for You: How to Rewrite the Rules and Live Authentically.”
Ian, an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQI and Indigenous communities, began posting lip-syncing videos online and has since appeared in the films Nude Tuesdays, The Panthers and Black Comedy.
Ian told AAP, “I didn’t know how to access the whole acting world, so my whole thing was to be characters and show them what I can do on my socials.
“I didn’t think agencies would take me on so I just had to do it myself. And I just built it from there.”
People in isolation due to a pandemic have been vocal, and some have even started businesses as a side gig.
Deni said, “People were bonding, with a sense of connection – that’s ultimately what it is.”
However, establishing such a link is easier said than done, so the three are now joining forces with Meta to share their technical expertise with others.
They were in Canberra for the launch, and they all want to see more creators breaking into the mainstream, like Australian-Chinese Margaret Zhang, who started a fashion blog when she was 16 and is now editor-in-chief of Vogue China.
“I want to see more of that, I want to see power moves,” said Deni.
The academy will launch in Sydney in the first quarter of 2023 before expanding throughout Australia and other nations later that year to assist new creators with reels, branded content and retail sales.
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
