Meta Jumps On Twitter’s Bandwagon, Introduces Premium Subscription Model For Facebook And Instagram

(Photo Illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images

Getty Images

These are the Key Takeaways

Meta introduces a premium service for content creators via Instagram and Facebook.
After targeted ads have come under increased scrutiny, Twitter introduced a subscription model as the first social media platform.
While subscription models may not be popular with users, AI could hold the key for Meta’s revenue woes

Meta is now a subscriber. It’s announced Facebook and Instagram, which have active user bases of 2.9bn and 2bn respectively, will now have a paid-for service called Meta Verified.

The move comes following Twitter’s rocky launch of Twitter Blue, with Meta being the first Big Tech company to follow suit, and a challenging regulatory climate as advertising-reliant Meta looks to change course.

How significant and what has Meta done? Let’s get into the detail.

Technology sector is changing. With Big Tech evolving to stay afloat and the rise of AI, it’s an exciting time to invest in the field. Q.ai’s Emerging Tech Kit neatly packages diversified ETFs, stocks and even crypto together to bring you a diversified tech portfolio – all made possible with our AI technology.

Get Q.ai nowAccess to AI-powered Investment Strategies

What announcements has Meta made?

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta took to Facebook on Sunday to unveil a new subscription plan called Meta Verified. It is available for Instagram and other social platforms. “This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services,” Zuckerberg said.

The post pointed to nifty new features like government ID verification, a blue badge (if you don’t have one already), extra impersonation protection and a beefed-up customer support system.

Target audience: Content creators. “Some of the top requests we get from creators are for broader access to verification and account support, in addition to more features to increase visibility and reach,” Meta said in a statement.

Meta Verified users will have to pay $11.99 per Month; iOS users, however, will be charged $14.99 per Month for the exact same service. Yep, we’re scratching our heads on that one too.

Australia and New Zealand have been granted the privilege of first access to Meta Verified. Other countries are expected to follow suit.

Was the reaction of the market?

This latest announcement had Meta’s stock holding steady. Meta’s stock has performed well lately in the market despite the fact that other tech companies remain slow after the terrible 2022 year for this sector. Meta stock prices rose 44% in the last year due to a number of factors.

Its Q4 earnings results showed better-than-expected figures, including total revenue and average daily users, despite Meta’s net income profit plunging by over half. Stocks shot up 20% after the announcement.

The social media giant has also announced over 11,000 employees were losing their jobs as part of Zuckerberg’s ‘year of efficiency’. It’s rumored another round of layoffs will soon be on the way.