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šŸ¤‘ THE NEW DEAL

Metaā€™s going to start charging to increase Instagram and Facebook post visibility

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DEEPFATE šŸ¤‘ THE NEW DEAL

Metaā€™s going to start charging its users for increased Instagram and Facebook post visibility. What does that mean for the ad-based media business model?

Meta Verified is currently being tested in Australia and New Zealand (Meta)

METAā€™S LAUNCHING A premium tier.

  • Generations of social media users have grown up expecting social to be free.

  • Surprise! Itā€™s not.

  • This week, ā€œMeta became the latest and largest major social media company to announce a paid version of its products with the ā€˜Meta Verifiedā€™ program.ā€

  • ā€œFacebook and Instagram will each charge users US$12 a month for a blue verification badge, more protection against account impersonation, access to ā€˜a real personā€™ in customer support to help with common account issues, and ā€” most importantly ā€” ā€˜increased reach and visibility.ā€™ā€

  • People are upset.

  • ā€œItā€™s kind of disappointing to see Instagram start to trend toward that commercial, more money-seeking business,ā€ said one New York City-based lifestyle influencer with over 12,000 followers.

BUT WHY? META is a commercial, more-money seeking business.

  • And itā€™s a mature, publicly traded one, one that has to replace fast growth with higher profit margins if the stock is going to stay afloat.

ZOOM OUT: DOES Meta charging for a service that used to be free signal the end of ā€œThe Deal?ā€

  • Regular readers know that ā€œThe Dealā€ is my nickname for the advertising-based media business model.

  • The Deal goes: ā€œshow me what I want for free, and in exchange Iā€™ll look at an ad every now and thenā€ ā€”and itā€™s fueled every type of mass media, from radio to TikTok.

  • Does ā€œMeta Verifiedā€ mean ā€œThe Dealā€ is done?

NO WAY! THE Deal has been around for 100 years, and will be for 100 more.

  • For starters, there will still be a free Instagram and Facebook tier.

  • And if Twitterā€™s ā€œpaid blue tickā€ (verification) experiment is anything to go by, 99% of users will opt not to pay for Meta Verified.

SO, WILL METAā€™S attempt to ā€œdouble dipā€ ā€”meaning, make money from advertisers as well as from its usersā€” even work?

  • Thereā€™s evidence it will.

  • ā€œDouble dippingā€ exists in plenty of other industries:

  • You pay for cable/satellite TV, and still get served ads between shows.

  • You pay for a Samsung television, and still get served ads on the menu screen.

  • You pay for a NYC taxi, and still get shown ads in the back seat.

  • Prefer Uber to cabs? Now, you pay for your Uber ride, and still get ads in the app.

AND CHARGING PEOPLE for what was once free is also totally a thing.

  • Itā€™s hard to believe, but checked bags used to be included in the price of an airline ticket. Any airline ticket, including economy.

  • Withdrawing your cash at an ATM in the US used to be free too. (In the UK, it still is in many places)

  • Do those examples sound like ancient history?

  • Just this past Summer, BMW announced that they would charge a monthly fee for drivers to switch on their heated seatsā€¦ in cars they already own.

  • Expect this trend to continue. Mostly because it works.

SEE, ONCE COMPANIES start charging customers for things, those fees usually stay.

  • Inertia is one reason why: people simply get used to paying.

  • Good business is another: companies seek to increase their revenues over time, not decrease them.

OK, WHATā€™S THE point here?

  • The Dealā€™s not going away.

  • But Metaā€™s new setup, and the examples above, all suggest that there is a ā€œNew Dealā€ in town.

  • The New Deal is: ā€œcharge me for what I want to see/do, and, uh, show me some ads too, I guess. Like, whatever.ā€

  • That right there is a perfect summation of our information overload era.

More

Social media used to be free. Not anymore Ā»Ā»

Meta Verified shows a company running out of ideas Ā»Ā»

Does paid-for Facebook and Instagram signal end of free-access orthodoxy? Ā»Ā»

Written by Jon Kallus. Any feedback? Simply reply.

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