Facebook has started testing out monthly subscription fees for Facebook Groups, and in a move to help its creators, YouTube is rebranding its Subscription feature. Meanwhile, Instagram has launched its new IGTV offering the long sought-after lengthy videos. These are the stories making news in social media this week.
Facebook Introduce Fees for Facebook Groups
There are thousands upon thousands of Facebook groups that provide safe space for anything from emotional support to sharing an obsession with your favorite sports teams. The admins of these
groups often have rules and regulations to keep their groups running smoothly. Facebook will test out subscriptions with a small number of groups starting with parenting and cooking-based group. This new change comes after it received feedback from group admins who wanted more from the company and have a desire to invest more time into their communities.
Previously, admins had an additional group for subscribers alongside their existing group and depended on additional tools to collect and track payments. The new subscription groups will eliminate the use of a 3rd party with a built-in tool that will track and collect payments and save them time. This is aligned with Facebook’s overall goal of supporting video creators and leaders to financially support the work they do to keep their communities thriving.
Instagram’s New IGTV Has Launched
The rumors are true! On June 20th, Instagram officially launched IGTV, its new stand-alone app where you can watch long-form, vertical videos. Whether you are a popular influencer or an everyday user, IGTV can be accessed and used by everyone.
The full-screen videos posted on IGTV will also be seen by users on the Instagram app, so brands’ followers don’t have to have the app in order to watch your longer videos. Exploring IGTV content is fairly easy – you can do a search or explore the aggregated content Instagram has put together with For You, Following, and Popular tabs. This is a huge change in how brands can share their content. Learn more about how you can incorporate Instagram videos into your marketing strategies by reading the blog: Instagram Stories: How To Turn Small Squares Into Big Stories.
YouTube Subscriptions Rebranded to Channel Memberships
YouTube is introducing its own paid-subscription feature for creators similar to the popular Patreon. Patreon is a membership platform that makes it easy for creators to get paid by charging fans to view the content published. YouTube’s feature offers creators and channel owners the opportunity to start their own fan club. Fans would pay $4.99 to join and pay additional for perks and exclusive content. YouTube is rebranding the feature, previously called Subscriptions, to Channel Membership and the only requirement is that owners/creators have at least 100,000 subscribers.
In addition to Channel Memberships, YouTube creators will also be able to design their own merchandise through Teespring and sell it on a shelf under their videos. YouTube will more than likely expand from the $4.99 flat rate, according to The Verge, introducing $1 and $20 tiers that offer various perks. What do you think of the Channel Memberships? Will other companies start following suit?
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