Instagram and Facebook available for subscription now
2023.02.19 12:37
Instagram and Facebook available for subscription now
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, is launching Meta Verified, a subscription service with a few additional benefits and features, including account verification badges for paying customers.
The new subscription is primarily aimed at content creators and will cost $11.99 per month (or $14.99 if purchased through the iOS app). A Meta spokesperson stated in an email that the subscription comes with “proactive account protection, access to account support, and increased visibility and reach” in addition to the verification badge.
Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s chief executive officer, made the announcement of the new product via his Instagram Channel, a recently launched service. The choice will be available on both Instagram and Facebook, but they will require distinct subscriptions.
In recent years, social networking companies have started offering subscription plans as a way to diversify their advertising-heavy businesses. Snapchat Plus is a product from Snap Inc., and Twitter Inc. is currently promoting a subscription service with account verification as a major selling point.
Advertising accounts for nearly all of Meta’s revenue, but the industry as a whole can be unpredictable and have a significant impact. For instance, Meta’s business was severely impacted at the beginning of the pandemic and once more last year during the European war and the rise in inflation. A more consistent revenue stream is provided by subscriptions.
However, it is not clear whether users would prefer to pay for services that have always been free. The subscription service offered by Twitter has not grown quickly. “Increased visibility” will likely be Meta’s subscription package’s most valuable feature. Even among a user’s own followers, standing out on Facebook or Instagram is more difficult these days. The company has begun to direct users to additional content that they might be interested in, rather than necessarily content from followers.
According to the company, increased visibility will result in “prominence in some areas of the platform — like search, comments, and recommendations.” Meta will require users to confirm their identity with a government ID in order to receive a verification badge, in contrast to Twitter, which does not verify a user’s identity through the subscription.
Beginning later this week, Meta will begin testing the subscription product in Australia and New Zealand.
