Media

Facebook rolls out fan challenges and custom badges for creators

Ken Metral

29 Sep 2025 — 2 min read

Credit: Meta Platforms, Inc.

Meta is rolling out new features on Facebook designed to strengthen the bond between creators and their fans: fan challenges and customized top fan badges.

Fan Challenges Bring Interactive Content

With fan challenges, creators can prompt their followers to participate in themed activities. Fans respond by posting a reel or a post tied to the challenge, which then gets tracked on a leaderboard ranked by engagement (likes, reactions, etc.).

These types of challenges have already proven popular on short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, where users often join in on viral dance trends or riffs on trending audio. Facebook’s approach formalizes the concept by providing a dedicated landing page for creator-specific challenges.

For example, Facebook suggests a cooking creator might celebrate fall by asking fans to share videos of their best butternut squash recipes. Early tests hint at strong participation: Kalen Allen, a creator with 3.6 million followers, launched a challenge inviting fans to share videos about their dreams and goals, generating over 520 entries. Meta says more than 1.5 million challenge submissions have been made during the three-month testing period.

Customizable Top Fan Badges

The platform is also updating its top fan badges, which highlight a creator’s most active followers. Instead of simply being labeled a “Top Fan,” badges can now be tailored to fit a creator’s community. For instance, Ed Sheeran fans could proudly wear the badge “Sheerio,” while other celebrities like Cardi B and J Balvin have adopted their own custom versions.

Meta’s Push for Creator Engagement

Traditionally, Facebook hasn’t been seen as the go-to hub for creators — a role more closely associated with Instagram, which recently celebrated 3 billion monthly active users. For many, Facebook is still thought of as a space for neighborhood groups or odd viral memes like “AI Shrimp Jesus.”

But Meta wants to shift that perception. By rolling out features like fan challenges and custom badges, the company is signaling that it wants fans to engage more deeply with creators on Facebook itself, not just on Instagram or TikTok.

The timing is notable: just last week, Meta also introduced a new Reels-like video feed for its Meta AI app, filled entirely with AI-generated videos. In contrast, these new Facebook features emphasize real human interactions — a reminder that the social network still sees value in authentic engagement.

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