• As the digital advertising landscape becomes increasingly competitive, Twitter and Meta are exploring alternative revenue streams, including subscription-based models.
• Twitter and Meta are both behemoths in the social media landscape but face significant pressure to diversify their revenue streams and reduce their dependence on advertising.
• Twitter and Meta have faced criticism for their handling of user data and privacy, but subscriptions can offer additional privacy protections and tools.
• Twitter Blue, a subscription service, launched in June 2021 in Australia and Canada and was later rolled out to other countries. It offers users an “Undo Tweet” button, Reader Mode, and customizable app icons.
• Meta’s subscription service, called Meta+ Pass, launched in November 2021. It allows users to access additional features and tools, including a disappearing mode, a private profile option, and an instant article option.
• Whether Twitter Blue and Meta+ Pass offer enough value to justify the cost depends on the individual user. Both services offer free trials.
• Subscription-based social media can provide improved user experience, but may also limit the reach of content creators who rely on organic reach to grow their audience.
• Subscription-based social media platforms may need to provide additional features and tools to attract subscribers. These features may include ad-free experiences.
• Subscription-based social media platforms like Twitter Blue and Meta+ Pass offer several compelling features and tools, but their success will depend on whether users see enough value in the offerings to justify the cost.

The Rise of Subscription-Based Social Media

Social media platforms have long relied on advertising as their primary source of revenue. However, as the digital advertising landscape becomes increasingly competitive, platforms such as Twitter and Meta (formerly Facebook) are exploring alternative revenue streams, including subscription-based models. In this article, we’ll examine the rationale behind these moves, the features offered to subscribers, and the potential benefits and drawbacks of subscription-based social media.

Why are Twitter and Meta experimenting with subscriptions?

Twitter and Meta are both behemoths in the social media landscape, with millions of daily active users. However, both companies face significant pressure to diversify their revenue streams and reduce their dependence on advertising. For example, in Q4 2020, Twitter’s advertising revenue was $1.15 billion, accounting for 87% of its total revenue. Similarly, in Q4 2020, advertising revenue accounted for 98% of Meta’s total revenue.

In recent years, both companies have faced criticism for their handling of user data and privacy. By introducing subscription-based models, Twitter and Meta can offer users additional privacy protections and tools that are not available to free users. Additionally, subscriptions can provide a more stable and predictable revenue stream than advertising, which is subject to fluctuations based on market conditions.

What features do Twitter and Meta offer to subscribers?

Twitter’s subscription service, called “Twitter Blue,” launched in June 2021 in Australia and Canada and was later rolled out to other countries. For a monthly fee, Twitter Blue subscribers can access a range of additional features, including an “Undo Tweet” button that allows users to retract tweets for up to 30 seconds after posting, a “Reader Mode” that makes reading long threads easier, and customizable app icons. Additionally, Twitter Blue subscribers can access “Super Follows,” a feature that allows creators to charge followers for access to exclusive content.

Meta’s subscription service, called “Meta+ Pass,” launched in November 2021. Meta+ Pass subscribers can access a range of additional features and tools, including a “Disappearing Mode” that allows users to send messages that automatically disappear after a set period, a “Private Profile” option that hides user profiles from non-friends, and a “Safe Mode” that filters out potentially harmful content. Additionally, Meta+ Pass subscribers can access “Instant Articles,” which are news articles that load faster and are optimized for mobile devices.

Do These Subscription Features Justify the Cost?

Whether or not Twitter Blue and Meta+ Pass offer enough value to justify the cost depends on the individual user. For some users, the ability to undo tweets or access exclusive content through Super Follows may be worth the monthly fee. However, for others, these features may not be compelling enough to justify the cost. It’s worth noting that both Twitter Blue and Meta+ Pass offer free trials, allowing users to test out the features before committing to a subscription.

What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of subscription-based social media?

Subscription-based social media has several potential benefits, including:

• Predictable revenue: By introducing subscription-based models, social media platforms can generate more stable and predictable revenue streams than they would from advertising.
• Enhanced privacy and security: Subscription-based models can provide additional privacy protections and security features to users, which can be particularly important for users concerned about their data privacy.
• Improved user experience: Subscription-based models can provide access to additional features and tools that enhance the user experience.

However, subscription-based social media also has several potential drawbacks, including:

• Limited reach: Subscription-based models may limit the reach of content creators who rely on organic reach to grow their audience. For example, a creator who charges for access to their content may see a decrease in engagement and reach compared to when their content was free.
• Exclusivity: Subscription-based models may create an exclusive environment that only caters to users who can afford to pay for premium features, potentially alienating users who cannot or choose not to pay.

• Increased competition: With more social media platforms introducing subscription-based models, users may become overwhelmed by the number of subscription services they need to sign up for, leading to subscription fatigue.
• Limited differentiation: Social media platforms may struggle to differentiate their subscription-based models from those of their competitors, particularly if they offer similar features and tools.

What else could social media platforms offer to attract subscribers?

While subscription-based social media offers several potential benefits, platforms such as Twitter and Meta may need to provide additional features and tools to attract subscribers. Some potential options include:

• Ad-free experiences: Many users find ads on social media platforms to be intrusive and annoying. By offering ad-free experiences to subscribers, platforms can provide an additional incentive to sign up for a subscription.
• Premium content or features: Social media platforms could offer access to premium content or features that are not available to free users. For example, Twitter could offer exclusive access to live streams of sporting events or concerts to subscribers.
• Exclusive communities: Social media platforms could create exclusive communities that are only accessible to subscribers. These communities could be focused on specific topics or interests and could offer a more personalized and engaging experience than traditional social media.
• Access to experts or influencers: Social media platforms could offer subscribers access to experts or influencers in specific fields. For example, a subscriber to a gardening-focused social media platform could have the opportunity to ask gardening experts for advice or attend exclusive virtual events with gardening influencers.

Conclusion

Subscription-based social media represents a new frontier for social media platforms as they seek to diversify their revenue streams and reduce their reliance on advertising. While Twitter Blue and Meta+ Pass offer several compelling features and tools, the success of these subscription models will depend on whether users see enough value in the offerings to justify the cost. Moving forward, social media platforms may need to explore additional features and tools to attract and retain subscribers, particularly as more platforms enter the subscription space.