Meta wants to charge Facebook and Instagram: for whom and why?

After Twitter users platform users Target (facebook And instagram) will be able to wear a blue badge that guarantees their authenticity and better promote their messages for a dozen dollars a month.

Paid subscription was introduced on Sunday by the head of the California group, Mark Zuckerberg, after almost 20 years of championing an economic model based on free services and advertising.

two speeds

Subscribers Target confirmed can verify their accounts facebook And instagram by showing official ID and then wearing a “blue badge” that shows they are who they say they are.

Your account will also be better protected from the risk of identity theft.

In case of problems, subscribers can contact the support staff directly.

And your posts, photos and videos will be promoted above others, being among the first search results, comments and recommendations.

Target it also promises new creative possibilities.

The subscription will first be available in Australia and New Zealand this week, and then it will be expanded to other countries, starting with the US.

It will cost $11.99 (€11.22) per month for users who buy it online and $14.99 for those who subscribe via mobile apps (to offset the Apple or Google fee).

Influencers

Subscription is optional and the platforms will remain free. Interested users must be over 18 and will not be available to companies though Target does not exclude their inclusion in the future.

The new offer is aimed primarily at content creators.

Target explained what he was thinking Target confirmed based on the requirements it received from ascendant creators.

But for expert Carolina Milanesi, the formula lacks coherence, as it offers features that meet the needs of different types of users: authentication for official organizations and individuals, promotion for influencers, security that should “apply to everyone.”

“I’m not sure that for each of the categories of people there are enough things to justify the expense,” she said.

Income

Strategy Target It occurs when historical social networks see an increase in the number of users and a drop in revenue.

In 2022, the group’s advertising revenue fell for the first time since it went public in 2012.

Inflation eats away at advertisers’ budgets, users’ attention is divided among many applications, and they can no longer collect as much personal data as before the intervention of the authorities (especially European ones) and Apple to better protect users’ privacy.

The battle between platforms then shifts to creators, “who produce content that grabs the attention of the public,” Milanesi explains.

But this is not enough.

Snapchat, Reddit or Discord offer access to additional tools for a few dollars a month.

Twitter, acquired by Elon Musk last year, launched a “Blue” subscription for $7 a month online or $11 on an iPhone.

Blue allows you to have the famous blue badge that guarantees authenticity, promote your posts better, see half as many ads, and have more freedom when writing long tweets, among other features.

“In my opinion, Target he will try first of all to diversify his sources of income. Twitter has been launched and others say they are going to try it too,” says Milanesi. (AFP)

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