TikTok Starts Testing Paid Subscriptions for Creators, Just One Day After Instagram
New Monetization Tools For Creators Roll Out on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter
TikTok Starts Testing Paid Subscriptions for Creators, Just One Day After Instagram
JD Berkowitz 21 January, 2022
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TikTok has announced that it would begin beta testing paid subscriptions, a move that will undoubtedly increase competition in the social media industry.

This means that TikTok content providers will be allowed to charge people to view their video. It's unclear what the price plan will be at this time, but suppliers are expected to have a lot of leeway in terms of how much they charge.

The announcement comes only one day after Instagram launched its own creator subscription service.

If implemented, it would be TikTok's latest step toward supporting its creators in monetizing their work; it debuted its Creator Next site in December, which contains monetization tools, and it opened up its tipping option to qualifying artists in December after beta testing it with a small group.

Instagram appears to be following a similar strategy, having announced earlier this week that it would begin testing for its own subscription service. According to Meta Platforms Inc., this feature could provide content creators with a new way to monetize their audience.

Twitter adopted a similar "Super Follows" concept last year. Paywalls on social media sites look to be becoming more common as corporations add more monetization opportunities through memberships.

Is it feasible that producers may save their greatest content for customers in order to entice them to join TikTok, and how will this effect the algorithm?

It's unclear how TikTok would include direct-to-creator payments into its already-successful business plan with paid memberships. The app's strange algorithm, which shows content on users' "For You" pages, provides it a significant advantage over the competitors.

Producers can use it to engage with their audience and, perhaps, convert them into subscribers. If artists save their best work for subscribers, however, that content is unlikely to be available to feed the algorithm, resulting in decreased engagement because it isn't visible to non-subscribers.

Of course, this isn't unique to TikTok subscriptions; all digital platforms attempting to assist content creators and influencers in monetizing their content must strike a balance between engagement and allowing creators to directly monetize their content must strike a balance between engagement and allowing creators to directly monetize their content.

Additionally, creators must be able to predict what kind of content users are willing to pay for, as well as what kind of content will best help them promote their own work.

TikTok's trial of a paid memberships feature comes on the heels of Instagram's announcement on Wednesday that it would introduce a similar service in the United States, but only for a select group of influencers and artists.

Subscribers to Instagram will pay a monthly fee to obtain access to exclusive content from their favorite producers, such as Stories and Live videos. The various tiers will be priced from $0.99 to $99.99 a month, depending on the creator's discretion, and a purple badge will be displayed in the comments section to indicate a subscriber's status to the creator/influencer. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, has declared that it will not take a cut of author subscription money until at least next year.

Thanks to the app's content providers, subscribers will be able to see exclusive Instagram Stories—photos or videos that disappear after 24 hours—and Instagram Live, a real-time video feed.

Instagram's sister network, Facebook, announced subscriptions in 2020, but said it wouldn't start charging creators until at least 2023. According to Meta, the same will be true for Instagram subscriptions.

The cost of an Instagram monthly subscription, according to Meta, ranges from $0.99 to $99.99. For supplemental material on Twitter, producers can charge between $2.99 and $9.99 per month. If the pricing is right, TikTok may be in the greatest position to allow producers to charge for unique content. We'll have to wait and see if it becomes a viable alternative for content creators, as well as which types of creators find it most profitable.

What are your thoughts on social networking that requires a subscription? Please let us know in the comments section below!

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