When you’re just starting out on YouTube, getting subscribers and views can be an extreme effort. This, of course, means that getting paid can also be a struggle, or even out of your grasp altogether; ad revenue usually trickles in via Google’s own platform within YouTube, but catching the eye of bigger advertisers and potential sponsors is often the name of the game for those who want to make it big. That’s where marketing platforms come in. One, known as FameBit, specializes in matching up sponsors, creators, and influencers to allow them to work together for mutual benefit. On the heels of a push by Google to get creators more attention and a backlash over policy enforcement, Google announced that they have acquired marketing firm FameBit.
While Google does now own FameBit, they stated in a blog post that this does not mean that they will necessarily be changing the way that FameBit operates, or favoring them over other marketing and influence platforms that typically work with YouTubers. FameBit’s main appeal is in creating opportunities for creators to make branded content hand in hand with advertisers, which normally pulls in more cash than the typical ads that run alongside a video. Targeted ads based on the videos that will host them are also a possibility with FameBit’s platform, and while those normally require personal advertiser approval, they can increase ad engagement, which increases the payout for the creators.
For the time being, FameBit will continue to operate as they always have, and YouTubers will be free to choose to use them or to not use them, as it has always been. Google hopes that FameBit’s “democratized market” will help a wide range of content creators to match up with opportunities to get their name out there and make more money. Since this market is already available to any YouTuber with a follower base on social media exceeding 5,000, however, Google’s motive for the buyout is a bit unclear at the moment. Whether they plan to integrate FameBit’s technologies, direct FameBit to reach new heights, or start implementing perks to drive YouTubers and advertisers toward FameBit, what is clear is that this move is not the first that Google and YouTube have made lately for creator advocacy, and it probably won’t be the last.