(San Francisco) Facebook, the “free” social network that was to “always remain so”, will offer a paid subscription with its brother Instagram, while their economic model, based on advertising, is faltering.
Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Meta, announced on Sunday the launch of “Meta Verified”, a subscription from 12 dollars per month to authenticate his account on the platforms, which is very similar to the formula put in place by Elon Musk on Twitter (from 7 dollars per month).
“The idea is to improve the authenticity (of profiles and therefore of exchanges, editor’s note) and security on our services”, specified Mark Zuckerberg in a message broadcast on his Instagram channel and on his Facebook account.
Meta Verified will first be tested in Australia and New Zealand starting this week, before being rolled out to the US and other countries.
On Facebook and Instagram, subscribers will have a badge that shows their identity has been verified, as well as protections for their account (including against identity theft), “direct” access to customer service, and more visibility .
The social media giant told AFP that the formula is primarily aimed at creators and influencers willing to pay for their content to be distributed more widely and appear at the top of search results and recommendations.
The test phase should allow him to evaluate and possibly adjust his offer based on feedback. Membership is currently restricted to individuals and professionals over the age of 18 – it is not open to business accounts.
More free
The slogan of the social network launched in 2004 has long been “It’s free and (it always will be)”.
Facebook has thus established the dominant model of major online platforms: users benefit from free services which, in return, collect personal information about them to target them with personalized advertising.
Acclaimed by advertisers, from big brands to small businesses, Google and Meta have quickly become the dominant players in the sector, earning tens of billions of dollars each year.
But in 2022, Meta saw its advertising revenue decline for the first time since the California group went public in 2012. And its annual net profit came in at $23.2 billion, 41% less than the year former.
Some 3.74 billion people use at least one of the company’s services (social networks and messaging) every month, but between inflation which is eating away at advertisers’ budgets and fierce competition from apps like TikTok, these users no longer bring him as much as before.
The company is also suffering a lot from the regulatory changes imposed by its neighbor Apple, which restrict the ability of social networks to collect user data to sell ultra-targeted advertising space.
These factors have already prompted other networks, from Reddit to Snapchat, to launch paid plans.
Acquired by Elon Musk in the fall, Twitter has set up “Blue”, a subscription to authenticate his account, make his tweets appear in priority and see less advertising, among other advantages.
“Strange mix”
Meta Verified (like Blue) does not cost the same price depending on whether the subscription is taken out on the web ($11.99 per month) or on the mobile application ($14.99 per month), because of the commissions charged by iOS (Apple) on iPhones and Google on Android smartphones.
The group does not expect to generate significant revenue from this formula during the launch phase, but admits that it is part of its diversification efforts.
“In my opinion, Meta mainly wants to diversify its sources of income. Twitter launched and the others say to themselves, we will try too, ”reacted Carolina Milanesi, of Creative Strategies.
“The argument for attracting content creators is more about marketing than real value creation,” she added.
Admittedly, the platforms are fighting for the attention of users, and therefore influencers followed by millions of people.
But according to the analyst, the features included in Meta Verified form “an odd mix”: “I’m not sure it’s enough for any category of people (from individuals on Facebook to creators on Instagram, etc.) to justify the spent “.
Meta implemented a massive social plan in the fall, cutting 13% of its workforce, and Mark Zuckerberg indicated earlier this month that he wanted fewer managers at “intermediate levels”.
The year 2023 will be the year of “efficiency”, he promised, remarks welcomed by stock market investors.