The social media company turned metaverse maker was mocked last weekend when chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said via a Facebook post that his company would start charging users to verify their accounts. accounts and improve customer service. Dubbed Meta Verified, the new subscription will roll out in Australia and New Zealand this week, according to the company. It follows Elon Musk's brand new Twitter Blue initiative, a subscription that charges users for their own version of identity verification to reduce financial dependence on advertising. Things didn't go so well: About two months later, only 0.2% of Twitter's total monthly active users felt Twitter's subscription plans were worth paying for, according to a report by The Information.
Meta has long been known as a company that is at fault in using its resources and user base to outpace its competitors in their own games, adding duplicative features such as post cards. temporary posts and shortened videos after other platforms prove their worth. Now we copy what was useless until now. At first glance, this shows a lack of innovation.
But there is more than meets the eye. Facebook's Zuckerberg said the new initiative is aimed at "increasing authenticity and security" for its platform. But a company press release and an Instagram post from platform chief Adam Mosseri on Tuesday added an important element. Subscribers can get more information in areas such as research, reviews, and recommendations.
Meta is getting paid, not only for advertising but also for content. And at nearly $12 a month for a web-based Facebook or Instagram subscription, emerging creators could soon be paying around $288 a year for both. It is trying to recreate its financial success with small and medium advertisers by monetizing small and medium creators. And after all, what is advertising if you don't have to pay to see it? Faced with slowing ad growth, Meta will try to rely on its creators to complete its $113 billion annual revenue stream. There are many skeptics. For example, BofA analysts estimate that the company will only attract about 12 million subscribers over the next year, double the percentage of Facebook's monthly active users that Twitter has persuaded to 'pay' now. now.
According to BofA analysts, the main limitation of Meta is the large number of creators on its platform. Citing Linktree, the company notes that there are around 45 million content creators with more than 10 million subscribers among them. Many have been verified, and Meta says that, at least while "testing and learning," their new sign-up offer won't change verified Instagram and Facebook accounts. However, the huge amount of money that Meta still makes from traditional advertisers speaks volumes for the value of a platform to this little guy. Even BofA's forecast could bring in about $3.5 billion in additional revenue annually, and that may underestimate the appeal. Whether vying for financial rewards or simply psychological rewards — the dopamine hit of being seen and responding to — Meta's social networks are a unique playing field. There are plenty of marketing tricks to get attention online, but like any arms race, simply showing the little guy a new gun will at least get people to consider buying. .
Meta itself alluded to this in the fine print of the press release, saying that paid creator visibility "may vary", depending on factors like subscriber size, as so "subscribers with a smaller number of subscribers may see a more noticeable impact." That describes most creators: a recent global survey by ConvertKit found that over 90% of creators have less than 10,000 followers on Instagram, while over 93% of creators have less than 10,000 followers. 10,000 followers on Facebook. Verification, a legitimate advantage for some, is just the icing on the cake. As a company with little reputation for excellence in security and privacy, Meta cannot claim to reliably provide security guarantees. As with Twitter, verification is more about protecting others from impostors. Advertising, on the other hand, is all about return on investment.
Meta is once again thinking bigger by targeting something smaller. Remember that if you don't pay, you are the product and the creators have their own products to sell.
