How Reels Play helped @sisiiuwu earn extra money on Instagram

October 11, 2022

We are evolving the test of our Reels Play bonus on Instagram and Facebook as we focus on investing in a suite of monetization solutions to help creators earn steady streams of income. Beginning on March 9, 2023, we stopped extending new and renewed Reels Play deals for creators on Instagram and Facebook globally. We will honor existing Reels Play deals across Instagram and Facebook. In the future, we plan to look into ways to run the program on Instagram, potentially in new markets. To learn more about other ways to earn on Instagram and Facebook, click here.



The bright, colorful videos Sierra Ann (@sisiiuwu) posts on Instagram cover a little bit of everything—from body positivity to her love of fashion to life at home with her husband.Her audience is drawn to both her sense of humor as well as the thoughtful point of view she brings to her content. As an avid Reels creator based in Alabama, she’s been part of the Reels Play bonus program since August 2021, and she says making reels has “played a huge role” in growing her following—and is another way to make money off of the content she loves to make.

“I’m already doing videos that I love—I might as well get monetized for it,” says Sierra, who set up Reels Play after it popped up on her Instagram feed. “I really liked it, it was an easy process. I thought it was too easy or too good to be true at first.”

In fact, Sierra made money off her very first reel with Reels Play and values the program for the earnings it provides. That being said, she advises fellow creators not to focus too much on the money: “Keep creating what you love and eventually, maybe the money will match with it.” Here, she shares her tips for Reels Play specifically:

Stay consistent. "Just because you post one reel, it’s not going to make you as much [money] as if you were posting consistently," Sierra says. She tries to post at least one reel a day. If you don’t know what to post, try replying to comments with a reel.

Experiment with sound effects and trends. As she began creating more Reels, she felt comfortable experimenting with new sounds and trends that ended up helping her reach her goals. Feedback from her audience supported new ideas, too, like her big sister advice reel series.

Use insights to tweak your strategy. Sierra used the insights in her account—learn more about Account Insights here— to make sure she was hitting her Reels creation goals. She says Reels Play helps keep her “consistent and on track” with how many reels she creates. Account Insights help her see which reels perform especially well, so she can make smart decisions about the type of content to create next so her audience keeps coming back for more.