Instagram has announced that they will be rolling out their newest monetisation feature: Instagram Subscriptions.
This announcement is exciting news for content creators, who will be able to make money directly from their followers, rather than rely on sponsorships and endorsements.
To help you make sense of it all, we’re covering:
- What are Instagram Subscriptions?
- Will creators get everything they make?
- When will Instagram Subscriptions be available?
Subscriptions are not a new thing to social media platforms; back in 2020, Facebook launched Subscriptions to help creators use their communities to build sustainable businesses and most recently in September 2021, Twitter launched Super Follows.
Instagram Subscriptions will enable creators to generate reoccurring monthly revenue by giving their subscribers access to exclusive content from within the same platform.
Image from Instagram
Here’s what Instagram had to say
In its announcement on the 19th of January, Instagram shared that they are testing subscriptions with a small number of creators, who will be able to set a fee of their choice and enable them to unlock a subscribe button on their profile.
“With Instagram Subscriptions, creators can develop deeper connections with their most engaged followers and grow their recurring monthly income by giving subscribers access to exclusive content and benefits,” Instagram said, “all within the same platform where they interact with them already.”
Creators will then be able to give their subscribers access to the following benefits:
Subscriber Badges
When a subscriber leaves a comment on a creators post, their comment will show a subscriber badge, so that creators can easily identify them.
Subscriber Stories
Creators will be able to share exclusive content with their subscribers using stories; allowing them to interact with their most engaged followers.
Subscriber Lives
Content creators will be able to go live exclusively with their subscribers, giving them the opportunity to form a deeper connection.
When will Instagram Subscriptions be available?
Unfortunately, this new and exciting functionality is only available to a limited number of US-based creators during the initial testing phase. However, Instagram hopes to expand the rollout of the subscription feature in the coming months.
If you can’t wait for the influencers you follow to get access, you can see what all the fuss is about by checking out these profiles:
- Allan Chikin Chow
- Sedona
- Aliza Kelly
- Kelsey Cook
- Elliot Norris
- Jordan Chiles
- Jack Cherry
- Bunny Michael
- Don Allen Stevenson III
- Lonnie IIV
“Having subscriptions on Instagram makes building a more intimate relationship with my followers and fans possible. I am so excited to nurture those connections and make a lasting impact that will help keep my work sustainable.” – @bunnymichael
Image from Instagram
Will creators get to keep everything they make?
Meta had previously said that as part of their commitment to supporting creators, they would not be collecting any fees for purchases made on Facebook Subscriptions until 2023; they have said that this will be the same for Instagram Subscriptions.
They hope to continue developing tools to enable creators to engage with their audiences and have greater control over their social businesses.
What are you think?
It looks like Meta is putting a lot of effort into developing new functionality to encourage creators to continue producing content and keeping their audiences engaged.
The platform is constantly being challenged by new entrants to the market who are vying for their audience. So now, more than ever, they need to keep inventing new and exciting ways to keep their creators and users engaged, and on their platform.
Hopefully, this article will have given you some insights into what to expect from Instagram Subscriptions. What are your thoughts on this new functionality? In a world where so much content is freely available, will followers be willing to pay for access to content, even if it is exclusive? I guess only time will tell…
Source
“Introducing Subscriptions: Helping Creators Earn Recurring Monthly Income on Instagram”, Meta for Business, 19th January 2021
