People often say that IG feels aspirational, polished, and often leads to feelings of inadequacy, while TikTok is authentic, fun, and uplifting.

Why? Creator monetization is a huge, underrated factor (in addition to content format & interest vs. social graph).

Thread

Instagram doesn’t pay creators directly; creators monetize by finding sponsors for their content or via affiliate links.

This means the most successful IG creators induce a desire among viewers to buy something--i.e. making them feel that what they already have is insufficient.

In contrast, on TikTok, most creators make money through live streaming & getting viewer donations, or by participating in the Creator Fund, which distributes based on # of views.

This monetization model incentivizes creators to make content that many people watch and enjoy.

TikTok's Creator Fund functions like a centralized economy--the monetization model coordinates the entire community around the goal of engagement.

IG is the free market version: creators earn on their own, by driving purchases or amassing an affluent (monetizable) demographic.

The content that's on both platforms thus diverges: one is defined by curated, polished, aspirational content that makes viewers feel the need to buy things, whereas the other has content that's intended to bring joy and entertain.

Other examples of how creator monetization influences the content itself are YouTube and podcasts: creators are incentivized to go for broad reach and length, rather than constraining their TAM by going to deep into one subject.

Founders: pick your monetization model carefully because it has huge implications. How creators can earn money on a platform directly impacts the content that's created & the product's vibe and stickiness.

Thread inspired by a convo with @hankgreen