What You Need to Know About Facebook's Bonus Program
The time has finally come - Facebook is now paying you for all of your hard work when it comes to creating content. It may be paying you pennies… but HEY, we’ll take it!
Let’s dive into the Performance Bonus Program run by Facebook, an invite-only platform that lets creators, including small businesses, earn money for using the platform.
What Is The Performance Bonus Program?
This is an invite-only initiative from Facebook that allows pages to earn money based on interactions. Basically, the more engaging your content is, the more money you can earn. It’s important to know that right now, Reels and Stories are not eligible for the Bonus program. Therefore, to earn money, you’ll have to focus on grid content.
Eligibility
In order to participate, you have to receive an invite from Facebook. It’ll show up on your page, and you’ll also likely receive an email to the email address on file with your Facebook account. They’re slowly rolling it out, so not all pages are eligible just yet, but yours likely will be soon if you are consistently posting and getting decent engagement. This may be the first time being a small business is on our side on social media when it comes to quick returns, as data shows that smaller pages have received way more invites to participate in the program than the big guys!
Remember, this is NOT for your personal profile. Earnings can only be made from business pages.
How You Get Paid
When you sign up, Facebook will walk you through the steps to ensure it has your tax information so you can receive a 1099 for tax purposes. You can either input your social security number, which some feel uncomfortable doing, or input your business’s EIN (employee identification number). From there, you can connect a PayPal account to receive payment (there are other forms of payment available, as well). We highly suggest using PayPal as it allows you to have one additional layer of security.
How to Maximize Your Earnings
Once you are enrolled, it’s time to shine and make that money! You’ll want to:
- Post regularly: Make sure you have a schedule and keep your content fresh and engaging. Use less links, as links take people OFF the Facebook platform, which Facebook hates. It wants you to stay on their platform longer and be engaged, so catering to their wants will keep you higher in the algorithm.
- Engage with your audience: Make sure you are constantly responding to comments in a timely manner, and on your own feed engaging with other folks’ content.
- Break the mold: Make sure to change up your content. Think still images, just text, then a video (NOT a Reel - remember, those aren’t eligible for earnings), then maybe going Live, then polls. Keep mixing things up and experimenting to keep your engagement high.
Is It All Really Worth It?
We personally have made anywhere from $30-190 a month off of this program so far, and we have clients who have earned even more. Facebook states that you can earn up to $30,000 in a 30 day period from the program, but remember, that is likely reserved for those who are creating content as a full-time job for their page.
Even if you only make a few bucks here or there, we all know as small business owners that every penny counts - and you’re getting paid for what you’re already doing, so why not!
