Would you want to pay for extra stories and posts from your favourite creatives on Instagram? Many possibly wouldn’t, however for a lot of people, it would probably depend on the fee. Instagram are planning to add a new feature that allows content creators to be paid for a subscription service.
Instagram subscriptions
Here it is, straight from the main man Adam Mosseri. Instagram are planning and currently testing out subscriptions. It’s believed there is a gap in the market which people would be happy to pay for. The social media giants believe Instagram users would pay a subscription fee each month to see hidden and secret content from their favourite influencers, artists or accounts. They want to optimise their output and by this, they want to earn more money in any way they can.
The trial is currently only available within the US, however, if it proves popular with the few creators they’ve included, then we can expect to see it across the pond very soon. Instagram are very good at trialling features quickly, so they can share them with the rest of the world. The subscription service would allow creators to post stories or lives that only their paid followers can join in with. These features could include behind the scenes content or personalised messages to the people paying for a subscription.
How will they stand out from other accounts?
We’re all aware of how popular Twitter’s blue tick was when it first came about. Throughout time creatives have been able to get themselves verified on Instagram too. Now, with this new feature idea, users would have a purple badge next to their name if they subscribed to a particular creative. This badge would be visible by the content creator they subscribe to. That way the creative can prioritise responses to their comments or messages as they’ll stand out from others.
It’s said that the idea behind it comes from a place of monetising content and also the head of Instagram believes that creators should have a relationship with subscribers. This isn’t currently as easy to achieve because it’s hard to tell the committed fans from general followers. Instagram won’t be taking a cut and creators have their own chance to set a subscription rate. They get to decide how much people should pay for their extra content. It could change in the future. If it grows rapidly, it’s likely Instagram will want to earn from this.
