As all the major platforms now look to integrate commerce options, YouTube is expanding its testing of third-party product tags, which allow chosen creators to tag products featured in their music videos, with the creator being, at least currently, paid by YouTube directly for the use of these highlights.
As you can see in this example, some creators are asked to label products as purchasable itemswithout having to enter into separate branded content agreements for them.
“Viewers will be able to learn more about the products and discover ways to buy them without leaving YouTube.”
As Business Insider reported, YouTube launched the first iteration of the program in April, but more recently has invited more creators into the fold. Over time, this increases the amount of product tags in clips, which will help raise awareness of the option, while also allowing user behaviors to change around the process and possibly providing another avenue of in-app monetization.
It’s similar to Instagram’s product tagging process, which it also launched in April, allowing creators to earn a commission on any direct sales generated through their product tags.
Although, as noted, YouTube’s system, at least for now, isn’t commission-per-sale-based, with YouTube instead offering a flat monthly fee to creators for using the tool.
According to Business Insider:
“[One] The creator was offered a minimum of $50 per month for using the feature, and he could earn up to $0.08 each time a viewer clicked on a product label and visited the product page. product. The cost-per-click rate offered by YouTube varies by creator and product based on “a number of factors,” the company told Insider, but declined to elaborate on the exact payment structure.
Eventually, you’d expect YouTube to look to move to a direct affiliate program, with creators earning a cut of sales generated, establishing another ecosystem to facilitate in-app monetization, while helping to expand its push for e-commerce.
Although questions remain as to how many users actually want to buy from social apps and the value of these beacons and streaming options.
In-app purchases have been a transformative trend in China, with some other Asian markets also embracing the more streamlined product display process for purchase. But so far, Western audiences have not been so quick to follow the trend, despite the overall increase in online shopping behavior.
Live commerce is where most social apps are currently focused, with TikTok, Meta and YouTube all incorporating different forms of live shopping tools to align with impulse buying behaviors and consumer trends. modern commitment.
It could still become a thing, but results so far show that even though consumers search for products in social apps, they’re generally happy to buy them from each company’s website. Which could present a greater challenge here, as it may reflect a distrust of payment services offered in social apps and the recording of your bank details in relation to your data embedded in the application.
I mean, considering the bad press around data sharing and privacy that’s been attached to Meta and TikTok in particular, that wouldn’t be surprising, when Chinese regulators have a lot more control over the how these businesses operate in their region. This could be a major challenge for Western platforms to overcome – or maybe it’s just a generational shift, and as younger consumers grow older and have greater spending capacity, in-app purchases will become a more accepted and adopted behavior.
Either way, the jury is out on the process right now, but what you can be sure of is that whichever platform is launched, the others will follow, as they all seek to offer the best deals on revenue sharing for creators, to better align them. to their applications.
If streaming shopping catches on, TikTok could see great success with Product Tags and its Shop tools, as it has already done in China, which is why Meta and YouTube have no choice but to do so. ‘offer the same, in case it happens, and they miss out on a key opportunity.
I don’t see it becoming a big thing right away, but you can expect streaming buying to pick up momentum over time, especially as more and more people have better safer experiences by providing their payment details in each app.
