🤑 THE NEW DEAL
Meta’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?
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DEEPFATE 🤑 THE NEW DEAL
Meta’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)
META’S LAUNCHING A premium tier.
Generations of social media users have grown up expecting social to be free.
Surprise! It’s not.
This week, “Meta became the latest and largest major social media company to announce a paid version of its products with the ‘Meta Verified’ program.”
“Facebook and Instagram will each charge users US$12 a month for a blue verification badge, more protection against account impersonation, access to ‘a real person’ in customer support to help with common account issues, and — most importantly — ‘increased reach and visibility.’”
People are upset.
“It’s kind of disappointing to see Instagram start to trend toward that commercial, more money-seeking business,” said one New York City-based lifestyle influencer with over 12,000 followers.
BUT WHY? META is a commercial, more-money seeking business.
And it’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 “The Deal?”
Regular readers know that “The Deal” is my nickname for the advertising-based media business model.
The Deal goes: “show me what I want for free, and in exchange I’ll look at an ad every now and then” —and it’s fueled every type of mass media, from radio to TikTok.
Does “Meta Verified” mean “The Deal” 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 Twitter’s “paid blue tick” (verification) experiment is anything to go by, 99% of users will opt not to pay for Meta Verified.
SO, WILL META’S attempt to “double dip” —meaning, make money from advertisers as well as from its users— even work?
There’s evidence it will.
“Double dipping” 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.
It’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 seats… 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, WHAT’S THE point here?
The Deal’s not going away.
But Meta’s new setup, and the examples above, all suggest that there is a “New Deal” in town.
The New Deal is: “charge me for what I want to see/do, and, uh, show me some ads too, I guess. Like, whatever.”
That right there is a perfect summation of our information overload era.
More
Social media used to be free. Not anymore »»
Meta Verified shows a company running out of ideas »»
Does paid-for Facebook and Instagram signal end of free-access orthodoxy? »»
Written by Jon Kallus. Any feedback? Simply reply.