Can creators make Facebook cool again?

Meta wants Facebook to be as hip as it was during its 2000s glory days, so it’s reaching out to people who know what’s hip in the 2020s: Creators. According to The Information, Meta has consulted with big names like MrBeast and Mark Rober to learn what it can do to attract more creators to its original platform.

Facebook, once the foremost social media platform, has seen another Meta-owned property eclipse it in terms of cultural influence. Instagram is now the epicenter of Meta’s creator community, a truth the company pointed out during its Q4 2024 earnings call. Mark Zuckerberg also took time during that presentation to call for a return to the “OG Facebook” experience. “I think that there are a lot of opportunities to make it way more culturally influential than it is today,” Zuckerberg said.

Rober told The Information that Facebook has a “big hill to climb” if it wants to reach the level of cultural influence Zuckerberg covets. “Instagram is culturally relevant,” said the engineer-turned-creator. “Facebook is not.”

In its quest to add creators to its Facebook friends list, Meta is starting with the most obvious strategy: Cash money. The Information reported that a “New Year’s Bonus” promised creators up to $15,000 if they post photos or carousels on Facebook.

If that sounds like a familiar move for Meta, it’s because a similar offer was just put into place on Instagram. Amidst regulatory uncertainty, Meta has offered top TikTokers up to $50,000 to take their talents to Instagram Reels.

The idea behind these direct payments is to build a bigger library of video content, which creators can monetize thanks to Facebook’s newly-united revenue streams. But Rober said Facebook has more work to do before it sheds itsas being “unattractive compared to YouTube.” He cited potential features like detailed analytics and translation tools, which have fueled his growth on YouTube.

Meta may be serious about Facebook’s creator-forward future, as that would be the simplest way for the platform to regain the sense of community that defined it during its heyday. It’s worth noting, however, Meta’s long history of questionable pivots. Its mid-2010s embrace of video content led to an earnings crash for creators, and it has mostly failed to fulfill the promise of its 2021 name change, even if it is still investing in metaverse projects like Horizon Worlds.

For its latest pivot, Meta seems to be heading back toward its initial business model. I’m sure creators and users would love to see a social media experience that resembles old-school Facebook, but unfortunately for them, it’s compilcated.