Pay-to-play social media isn’t new. It’s been around since 2011 when Facebook organic reach got dead and buried. The end of free social media isn’t a novel concept either.
As marketers, we already knew that there is very little left to do on social media without an advertising budget. So what are we even talking about today?
Well, we’re talking about a different breed of pay-to-play, the kind that doesn’t affect just businesses. First, let’s see how we got here.
The apocalypse of the advertising model: Apple and stricter privacy laws
If you use an iPhone, you’ve probably already seen this pop-up message: “Do you really want this app tracking your behavior across the web?”
Meta and Apple have been in a cold war for over a year now, since the started preventing the former from tracking users’ behavior online. This made Meta’s business model obsolete overnight: if you can’t target iPhone users properly, you’re gonna lose advertisers’ budgets.
Privacy laws are also growing stricter, with the US catching up to their EU counterparts in terms of data protection and regulating how businesses can use their customers’ data.
And there’s more:
- Social media user growth is slower than ever, especially on the big, traditional platforms.
- De-centralized social networks gather more and more users.
- There’s talk of a more siloed social media presence: younger users are OK with being on a lot of social media platforms, one for each of there interests.
- Apps like Gobo, that gathers all your social media profiles under a single digital roof, are gaining more traction.
With slower user acquisition (even on the free model) and trouble with running targeted ads, social media platforms can only capitalize on existing users.
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Why is this pay-to-play model different?
Meta Verified ($14.99/month) and Twitter Blue ($8/month) have been talked about to death in the past few months. While Meta Verified is an option for creators and businesses (somewhat in line with the Meta business model), Twitter Blue promises increased organic reach for verified account holders.
This is where things get murky.
In the “traditional” advertising model, if you wanted extra traction for your posts or tweets you’d pay and your content would be promoted to an audience of your choice. More importantly, it would have the ad/promoted label slapped on it.
This is transparency 101: letting users know what kind of content they consume.
We’ve been down this street before: when the influencer industry caught wings, it took a while for (some) countries to force them to label their paid partnerships. A lot of promotional content still flies under the radar on every platform.
The lines between ads and “regular” content have been irrevocably blurred.
At this point, it’s already hard to tell which product recommendations are paid and which are not. When some users pay for reach, it will be even harder to spot authenticity.
Social media becomes more like “regular” media and less social
Our feeds are more and more cluttered by professionally-created content Have you noticed that it’s getting harder and harder to see your best friend’s dogs on Instagram or your ex’s new car on Twitter?
Creators engage with each other, while regular users stand on the bylines and watch their feed as if it were a reality show with a ton of product placement. Everyone’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians of their choice, but less so with friends, family, and peers.
Once the growth driver of social media platforms, users that have no commercial interest of their own are cast aside by algorithms and subscriptions plans. But can we assume they are fine in their new roles of passive consumers?
I highly doubt it.
With or without a commercial interest to drive us on social media, we all want a tiny place in the spotlight. He who has never counted the likes on a Facebook post, let him cast the first stone.
We enjoy to see awws and ooohs under our cat photos, a tinge of envy from our followers when we post holiday pics, or, heck even hearts under the photo of our new haircut.
Creator-focused or not, the new social media economy needs to account for people who don’t monetize their profiles. Otherwise, we’ll all just be moving money between each other (it might be the very definition of economics, but it’s also unsustainable when clustered to each platform).
Of course, some people applaud pay-to-play social media. Let’s meet them.
Who’s eager to pay fees to use social media? The answer will NOT shock you.
“Younger users (< 35 years), college-educated users, and politically conservative users each have higher expectations; perceive higher quality, value, and potential satisfaction; and are the most likely to purchase the subscription services”, according to research by
“Males have high expectations of Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat’s fee-based services while both genders expect about the same from Instagram. The expectations based on income groups are only significantly different for Instagram (higher-income users expect more).”
Well-educated, young, conservative males are willing to pay and have high expectations out of their investment. Like I said, no surprises here: this is the demographic that’s always been in favor of premium everything.
And yes, we all know businesses need money to survive and to cater to their free or paid users.
If you monetize your social media profile in any way or if you’re simply not opposed to paying for a better experience, this view may resonate with you.
However, I urge you to consider a few things:
- Shedding a couple hundreds dollars a month is next-to-nothing, especially if you run a business. But only in the Western world.
- Pay-to-play has significant ethical ramifications and is bound to silence a lot of voices, from smaller media outlets to individuals who can’t afford to pay.
- Paying for reach erodes audiences’ trust. Not necessarily in you, the verified account holder, but in the platform itself. Think about it: we are less likely to buy from an ad than from an organic post. When these lines are blurred, trust is off the table.
I’d love to know your take on this: are you for or against paid social media? Why? Reply to this email and let me know!
How to factor in pay-to-play social media in your own business
Don’t rely on platforms you can’t control
I may sound like a broken record, but I have to say it again: don’t build your house on someone else’s land. Don’t let any social media platform be your only way to get in touch with your audience.
Use them as a way to get a foot in the door, then move the audience to a platform you own.
Build a strong community of peers
My friend Alison Knott is one of the smartest (and funniest!) marketers I know. Her approach to using her peers’ expertise is genius.
Alison put together a guide on how to increase your website conversion rate. She’s an expert on this topic, so she could have written it all herself. But neah, that’s too common.
Instead, she reached out to 22 other experts in the field and asked them for their top advice on conversion rate optimization. [Yes, I’m featured in her guide and I’m SO proud of it. You can download it here if you’re curious about my thoughts on CRO].
Why is this a genius move?
- 22 minds are more powerful than one
- When Alison launched the guide, we all shared it with our audiences, which got her a lot of eyeballs on it.
- It’s a very powerful lead magnet, which means Alison doesn’t need to rely on algorithms she can’t control to reach her audience.
Moral of the story: be like Alison, get creative with your lead magnets. Keep your peers close, they aren’t just your competitors, they can be your biggest levers.
Experiment with various social media networks
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, especially now when most baskets are shaky. Pay to play if you feel like it can help you gain more traction but, ideally, keep a consistent presence on more than one social media platform.
I know we all have a favorite. But if your business depends (even in the slightest) on increasing your audience using a third-party platform, learn the ins and outs of more than one.
Build your own network
Instead of relying on algorithms you can’t control, build a tiny but mighty network of peers and friends who can refer you and have your back in general. Alison’s example above is just one approach. You can also:
- Cross-promote your business through friends
- Rely on each other for strategy advice
- Build your own group/community (on Slack or a social media platform)
Whatever you do, make sure you have access to their contact information outside platforms you can’t control.
Get creative with your use of social media. Whether you want to pay for ads/reach, getting to your audience on social media is growing more problematic by the day. Happy experimenting!
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Adriana’s Picks
- Twitter re-launched its creator program. You can now subscribe to your favorite creators (including Elon, yey!) and pay to see their content.
- Sendible is my go-to for social media scheduling and reporting. I’ve been using it for 8 years for my own profiles and for my agency’s clients. Give it a go, it’s free to test!
- Revisit your passwords and make them more complex. AI can crack them easily!
That’s it from me today!
See you next Thursday!
Here to make you think,
Adriana
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