Back in 2020, Meta (still called Facebook back then) introduced Fan Subscriptions for creators and pages as a way to monetize content. Now they’re testing out a similar program for Instagram with a small group of creators whose audience is bigger there than on other platforms. The test is limited to a select number of U.S-based creators and influencers who will now be able to offer exclusive content to paying subscribers who want to support them and get extra features just for them.
Instagram Subscriptions will let creators and influencers offer a monthly subscription to their fans and followers. If they’re part of the test, they will be able to unlock a “subscribe” button on their profile, with price tiers ranging from $0.99 to $99.99 per month. Some of the exclusive content they can offer include exclusive Live sessions, Stories that can only be accessed by the subscribers, and a subscriber badge next to the comments and messages to easily distinguish subscribers.
For now, only ten creators are part of this very exclusive test program. This includes basketball player Sedona Prince, Olympian gymnast Jordan Chiles, astrologer Aliza Kelly, content creators Alan Chikin Chow, Kelsey Lynn Cook, Elliot Norris and other big names in the industry. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri says that subscriptions is part of their efforts to give creators a “predictable income” and monetize their content on the platform.
Similar to what they’re doing on Facebook Subscriptions, Meta will not be collecting any fees from creators for Instagram Subscriptions, at least until 2023 at the earliest. They will also be building more tools and features that will let creators connect directly with their audience, even off-platform. But what those features are were not specified and this will most likely happen “in the future”. For now they’ll see how the test group’s audience reacts to this new monetization model.
Meanwhile, Facebook Subscriptions is also continuing to improve with some changes that they made late last year. This includes downloading emails of new subscribers, more tools for creators to promote their subscription, and a bonus program that rewarded creators for new subscribers.
