In a statement, Instagram has just announced the start of a test period for Instagram Subscriptions, a tool that will allow creators to generate income through exclusive content.
In test with 10 creators for the moment
The concept is simple: subscribers who so wish can subscribe to a monthly subscription in order to have access to stories or exclusive lives from a creator. As on Twitch or YouTube, paying subscribers will have a small purple dot next to their name, which will allow creators to identify them and dedicate more time to them if they wish.
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Currently, the feature is only tested with ten US creators, and they can offer prices ranging from $0.99 to $9.99 monthly. ” Creators do what they do for a living and it’s important that it be predictable. Subscriptions are one of the best ways to have a predictable income, a way that is not tied to the audience you get on a given post, which will inevitably go up and down over time. “, explains Adam Mosseri, the CEO of Instagram.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also commented on Instagram subscriptions: This will help creators earn more by providing perks to their most engaged followers, like access to exclusive Lives and Stories. I’m excited to continue building tools for creators to make a living doing creative work and to put those tools in the hands of more creators soon. “.
? Subscriptions ?
Subscriptions allow creators to monetize and become closer to their followers through exclusive experiences:
– Subscriber Lives
– Subscriber Stories
– Subscriber BadgesWe hope to add more creators to this test in the coming months. More to come. ✌? pic.twitter.com/SbFhN2QWMX
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) January 19, 2022
Meta wants to do more for creators
Last summer, Zuckerberg announced a massive investment of $1 billion by the end of 2022 to help creators monetize their content. In November, Meta unveiled similar subscriptions for creators on Facebook. Whether on Facebook or Instagram, the firm said it won’t take any commissions from creators’ earnings until the end of 2023, but didn’t reveal its plans for the future.
It is also important to take into account the 30% tax levied by Apple on all in-app purchases. Fervent opponent of it, Facebook has unveiled a technique supposed to circumvent it for Facebook subscriptions, it is not known if it will be the same for those of Instagram.
Paying subscribers will be able to attend live broadcasts reserved for them. Picture: Instagram
We must redouble our efforts in the face of competition
Paying creators well is vital to Instagram. The social network, which remains incredibly popular around the world, nevertheless faces very tough competition. Many creators are indeed going to TikTok where they can reach a younger audience.
Faced with the immense success of the Chinese application, American platforms do not hesitate to put their hands in their pockets to attract creators. While Snapchat paid $250 million in 2021 to creators on Spotlight, its TikTok clone, YouTube opened a $100 million prize pool for creators posting on Shorts, its short video format, also designed to compete with TikTok. . If it does not evolve exactly on the same model, the social network Twitter has also launched a paid subscription service called Super Follows.
Instagram, however, hopes to stand out thanks to its popularity. ” One of the biggest differentiators here for creators and for fans is just the convenience of the fact that you actually already know how to use all of these things. You are already on Instagram. And we hear a lot [sur] the friction of having to “click out”. It may seem like a small thing. But in times like these, it can be the difference between having someone jump on your subscription or not. We think the convenience of having everything where the conversation and connection already takes place will be one of the strengths of this system for creators and fans alike. ”, explains Ashley Yuki, co-head of products of Instagram, to TechCrunch.
These various investments from major social networks prove that the designer market is a golden hen. Growing, it is estimated at 100 billion dollars, and platforms must not give up or fall behind; the arrival of TikTok on the market has proven it.