Instagram Launches 'Subscriptions' To Allow Creators To Charge For Exclusive Content

Source: Instagram

Instagram launched a new Subscriptions feature, allowing creators to charge for exclusive access to Live videos and Instagram Stories content.

The feature is initially available to 10 U.S. creators, athletes, and actors, including Alan Chikin Chow, Sedona Prince, Aliza like Ibiza, Jordan Chiles, and Lonnie IIV, who now have a Subscribe button on their profile.

Creators can choose from eight different price points, ranging from $0.99 to $99.99 per month. Users who purchase a subscription will receive alerts about exclusive Live broadcasts and see subscriber-only Stories. Subscribers will also receive a purple Subscriber Badge next to their names that will make it easy for creators to spot them in comments and DMs.

Creators can view information related to subscriptions, such as total estimated earnings, total subscribers, and new subscriptions. They aren't currently able to export a subscriber list, but Instagram says it will work on this in the future.

Patreon has shown how subscriptions are a proven way for creators to monetize their content and reach their most loyal fans. As a result, social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and most recently Twitter, have started to support in-app subscriptions for creator monetization.

Creators could use Subscriptions to do subscriber-only live Q&As through Live, share behind-the-scenes moments through Stories, and even charge for recurring services such as fitness or cooking classes.

Subscriptions could also provide new opportunities for branded content, such as brands providing creators with exclusive promo codes to share with their subscribers or having them go live to preview unreleased products. Subscriber-only content would reach significantly fewer people than if creators shared content with all their followers, but the impact could be greater due to the deeper connection and more intimate experience between creators and paying fans.

Even though Subscriptions are a win for creators, it will likely be an uphill battle. The challenge for creators will be in choosing what content to share with subscribers versus what content to share with everyone, especially since Live videos and Stories are content formats that have existed on Instagram for a while now. Because content on Instagram has historically been free for all users, there will need to be a shift in perception by users as they start paying for content that they may have previously accessed for free.

Despite this, there are a number of things that work in Instagram's favor. There is, of course, the convenience factor. Creators will not need to navigate a complicated integration like they sometimes must do with Patreon or other third-party platforms. Secondly, creators can leverage the audience they have already built on Instagram directly instead of having to push them somewhere else. Lastly, Instagram won't take a cut of subscriptions, allowing creators to maximize their earnings.