Facebook smacked down a Watch publisher that was trying to make some extra money — and it points to a looming problem for media companies who've been burned before on the platform

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Publishers are increasingly making money from including commerce links in their editorial posts — and taking a cut of any resulting purchases.
But there's not an easy way to do this right now with Facebook Watch shows.
Facebook recently forced one of its Watch partners to label an editorial video as branded content because it featured a product link.

Loads of digital publishers have recently found a lucrative revenue stream by placing e-commerce links alongside their editorial content. But they better be careful on Facebook Watch.

In fact, Facebook recently smacked down one of its Watch partners for trying to make an extra few bucks.

Specifically, the lifestyle web video company Kin was including e-commerce links to products below some of its Watch videos. These videos were editorial in nature — they weren't paid for by an advertiser. But people could click on the links and buy products featured in the clips. And Kin would see a cut if this were to happen.

While it's OK to include affiliate links with Facebook Watch videos, Facebook wants publishers to label said clips as branded content, which in this case, Kin wasn't doing. So Facebook told Kin it needed to give the video a specific label.

This was but a minor skirmish, and if Facebook Watch proves to be a killer new revenue source for media companies, this sort of thing won't matter much. But that's no guarantee.

Meanwhile, commerce has supplied a reliable source of revenue to many digital publishers. And it's easy to see that model working well in Facebook Watch videos.

"Right now, Facebook does not distinguish between affiliate and branded videos," said one publishing executive.

Publishers are trying every which way to make money on Facebook

As media companies invest more in original programming for Facebook's fledgling video hub, they are looking to make money any way they can. Some are hoping for Facebook's own video ad products to start kicking in cash in a meaningful way. Others are producing video content on behalf of brands.

Another option would seem to be affiliate links. This is increasingly common among publishers on their own sites. Companies ranging from BuzzFeed to the New York Times to Business Insider often produce content that features consumer products (think a guide to the cheapest PCs or most comfortable mattresses).

Often publishers will include links to buy these featured products at the bottom of these articles or videos.

But there seems to be no easy way to do that on Facebook Watch.

Publishers need to make it clear upfront when they are getting a cut from affiliate deals on Facebook Watch

Take Tia Mowry's Quick Fix, a lifestyle show produced by the web video firm Kin featuring the former "Sister Sister" star.

A recent video featured Mowry making a recipe using a Mealthy Multipot. The video was editorial - Mealthy didn't pay for it — but it did include a link below the video player where viewers could click and purchase the product with Kin getting a cut of each buy.

When Business Insider asked Facebook about this arrangement, the company quickly told Kin it needed to label the video as branded content, using the With Mealthy Recipes designation.

"Our Branded Content tag is intended to indicate whether a Page or Profile received any sort of compensation in exchange for featuring products in a post," a spokesperson for Facebook said. "We do consider these videos to be branded content, so we reached out to the creators."

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While branded content videos can perform just fine on Facebook, it's likely that some consumers would be less likely to click on what they assume is a advertiser-paid-for clip.

A similar issue came up with a Kin video called Adrienne Houghton's Beach Bag Essentials from the Facebook Watch franchise All Things Adrienne.

That video was accompanied by a link to a product on Amazon. While Facebook told Business Insider it would be OK for Kin to label a video as being branded content funded by Amazon, Kin took the Amazon link down.

This issue is far from a widespread problem in the Facebook universe at the moment, according to publishers, but it does represent a thorny challenge for the social network going foward.

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