Meta Explores Additional Revenue Streams With the New Instagram Plus Subscription
In Focus
- Instagram Plus gives users access to exclusive features
- Meta is testing the service in the Philippines, Mexico, and Japan
- The subscription service will cost between $1.07 and $2.20 per month
Meta is testing Instagram Plus in selected countries, Mint reported. The premium subscription service allows subscribers to access exclusive features while generating more revenue for the social media giant. Meta’s Instagram Plus subscription indicates that the company is exploring additional revenue streams beyond the traditional ad system.
Monetizing Day-to-Day Engagement
Meta’s latest Instagram subscription model appears to be focused on monetizing everyday user engagements. The social media giant, which recently launched the Facebook Marketplace, is introducing the service at a time when its ad revenue is experiencing strain.
Although revenue from Reels crossed the $50 billion annual run rate, the company is struggling with regulatory challenges. By adopting models such as Snapchat+ and X Premium, Meta is looking to reduce ad reliance while monetizing its AI and infrastructure investments.
Last month, Snapchat added a direct-to-fan subscription service that allows creators to generate recurring income from their most engaged fans in a bid to diversify revenue sources.
Instagram Plus is different from Meta Verified, which the company previously introduced for creators and businesses.
Exclusive Story Features for Instagram Plus Subscribers
One of the premium features available on Meta’s Instagram Plus subscription is the ability to view Stories anonymously. Stories are video or photo posts that disappear after 24 hours.
With the Meta Instagram premium subscription, users can create unlimited audience lists for Stories in addition to the ‘Close Friends’ list.
This means they can group followers to create customized lists of the people who can view their Stories, instead of sharing with everyone. They will also know how many people viewed their Stories more than once. They can search their Story viewer lists to check whether a specific contact viewed their story without having to scroll the entire list.
The new subscription allows users to spotlight one Story once per week to push it to their followers’ viewing trays. Additionally, they can send “Superlikes” to other users’ Stories.
“Our hope from these tests is to understand what’s most valuable to people in a premium feature set,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Meta had previously announced plans to introduce subscription plans on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. WhatsApp is reportedly testing a paid subscription plan called WhatsApp Plus. The plan will give users access to various customization options for changing the app icon, theme, and accent colors.
Where is Meta Running Instagram Plus Tests
Meta did not reveal the countries where it is actively testing the new subscription service. However, social media reports indicate that the service is in the Philippines, Mexico, and Japan.
The social media giant plans to test the plan in other markets before rolling it out globally. The initial subscription price varies depending on the market. However, the monthly fee price will range between $1.07 and $2.20 in the initial test markets.
