Facebook and Instagram with paid subscription. Zuckerberg’s dream of patching the hole in finances may not come true

Meta followed in the footsteps of another popular social network and, like Twitter, launched a test of paid services on two of its services: Facebook and Instagram. Some users may use a tool to verify the authenticity of their account.

Instagram and Facebook with account authentication fee. The test has started

The price of the service is not low from the perspective of an ordinary consumer, because it can reach several dozen zlotys when converted into PLN. But from the point of view of business, celebrities and influencers, it is not so severe.

Mark Zuckerberg has reasons to look for “quick money” in the pockets of his users, because he has sunk billions in the rather utopian Metaversum project. For now, users are moving to the digital world slower than assumed by the creator of Facebook, and this, of course, costs a lot.

Subscriptions may not be enough to reinvent your business

Monetization of Instagram and Facebook can be a drop in the ocean of needs. The CEO of the Funktional creative agency, Hubert Pokrowiecki, in an interview with the Wirtualne Media portal, enumerates why this was the case with the portal, which recently belongs to Elon Musk.

– In mid-January, Twitter had 290,000 global subscribers, with Travis Brown reporting that in the second week of February alone, 26,319 users unsubscribed while 9,119 new subscribers arrived. So the balance is negative. Even with 290,000 subscribers, Twitter Blue’s annual revenue (at $8 per account) is only $27.84 million, he says. “I expect the Meta Subscription will have a similar reception,” he adds.

Meta tries to run forward. But it (clearly) slows down

Mark Zuckerberg also has other reasons to test the patience of his users and demand from them (for now as part of the test) $ 11.99 or $ 14.99. for a new feature (more expensive for iOS). The company’s stock has fallen more than 50% in the last 18 months. There is no trace of the record level from 2021.

Perhaps the owner of the website hopes that investors will take his decision at face value. After the announcement of staff cuts, which reached 11 thousand. employees, Facebook’s share price began to recover. The day after the announcement of the subscription tests with the giant’s shares, however, nothing spectacular happened – their quotations increased symbolically. Mark Zuckerberg has reasons to be optimistic – the fall in the value of quotations to the level below $ 100 is behind him, now it remains to be hoped that investors will believe in the new service.