Creators to get reels at new Meta academy

Social media giant Meta plans to help people make a living out of their most important asset - themselves.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to invest more than $US1 billion ($A1.5 billion) in programs that give creators more ways to earn money on Facebook and Instagram.

A new Meta Creator Academy - a first for Meta and its Facebook and Instagram platforms globally - has been launched in Australia to help Aussies tell and sell their story on reels.

Reels are short videos where creators can bring their personal brand to life, and it's just one of the pitfalls or joys for newcomers.

The new academy will hold masterclasses, discussions and host Q&A session and connect creators with agencies who can help.

The next Marion Grasby, Deni Todorovic or Ian Zaro may already be out there as the "creator economy" jumps from pockets to the plate, wardrobe and big screen.

The Australian-Thai foodie Marion whose products are on our supermarket shelves, fashionista Deni who is working with fashion brands, and First Nations actor/comedian Ian are among the six million Australians who identify as creators.

Deni says there's room somewhere for every subculture, and it's still evolving.

"You could be twins who love knitting and there's a community of twins who also knit."

Previously, the industry - much like traditional media - favoured a specific kind of talent but that's changing, they say.

Marion's Kitchen is a next-generation food and lifestyle company with a subscriber base of eight million and a global monthly reach of more than 30 million people. 

"Once you start adding movement and real life into it ... the videos really made platforms infiltrate that much more," Marion told AAP.

"You are a completely live human being that people are watching and not a photograph that could have been styled."

Former fashion editor of Cosmopolitan Australia Deni is part of a global movement to de-gender fashion, and hosts a weekly fashion podcast for the Mamamia network. Deni has published Love This for You: How to Rewrite the Rules and Live Authentically.

Ian, a passionate member of the LGBTQI and Indigenous communities, began uploading videos of himself lip-syncing and has since hit the big and small screens with Nude Tuesdays, The Panthers and Black Comedy.

"I didn't know how to access the whole acting world, so my whole thing was to be characters and show them what I can do on my socials," Ian told AAP.

"I didn't think agencies would take me on so I just had to do it myself.

"And I just built it from there."

All over the world, people in pandemic lockdown have been expressing themselves and some have developed their side hustle as a small business.

"People were bonding, with a sense of connection - that's ultimately what it is," Deni said.

But it's not as easy as it looks to get that connection, so the successful trio are working with social media giant Meta to mentor others and share technical knowledge.

And all three - in Canberra for the launch - want to see more creators moving into the mainstream, like Australian-Chinese Margaret Zhang who launched a fashion blog at the age of 16 and is now editor-in-chief of Vogue China.

"I want to see more of that, I want to see power moves," Deni said.

The academy program will begin in Sydney in early 2023 and be expanded across Australia and other countries later in the year to support new creators with reels, branded content and how to sell merchandise.