On September 30, 2023, it became known that Meta is introducing a new subscription. Its purpose is to please European regulators. But what exactly is this product, how will it affect the market, users, Meta itself, and us? Let’s figure it out.
And right away, a spoiler. The subscription is only available in EU countries. A second spoiler – it’s quite possible that if you’ve been pouring European traffic from Instagram, the following information might be useful to you: on “Silpo” websites, you can always fill out a form to apply for a job. Or you can switch to another GEO, which we discussed in more detail here Why It’s Important to Be Able to Choose GEO? or here CRYPTO IN 2023: TOP GEOs.
What’s This Meta’s New Subscription?
Let’s start from the beginning, actually. What’s this subscription that’s causing all the fuss? From now on, if you don’t want to see personalized ads on Facebook or Instagram pages, you just need to pay for it: €10 for browser versions, and €13 for mobile apps (additional fees from Google Play and AppStore apply).
It’s worth noting that such a subscription is only available in EU countries. After all, it’s the European regulators who have been scrutinizing the biggest social networks and not only in recent years, expressing concerns about the safety of users’ personal data privacy. To dismiss accusations, Meta had to do something. As a result – we have a subscription, which is essentially an ad opt-out.
Currently, we don’t even have approximate figures regarding the number of “paid users.” This creates certain problems when planning advertising campaigns. But we can already roughly understand how attractive this subscription is to the target audience, to assess its prospects. Because it depends on whether we can count on being able to pour from FB and Insta in the future, as before. Or maybe nothing really happened?
Does the Meta’s New Subscription Mean that Pouring Traffic Through Facebook and Instagram Is No Longer Relevant?
Clearly, the new changes could cause many affiliates to miss reaching the European client using Meta’s advertising platforms. However, it’s still too early to draw such conclusions. Because it’s still unknown how many consumers will respond positively to the offer to buy AdBlock for €10, if it can be installed for free on Chrome.
And it’s precisely this that everyone who vainly thinks Europeans will rush to throw money through the monitor at Zuckerberg should pay attention to. For comparison, let’s look at YouTube Premium. Currently, it costs 99 UAH (and the price for a family subscription is 150 UAH). For such a price, the user gets:
- No ads when watching content (if the blogger didn’t click on integrations, here’s a remark);
- The ability to download liked videos;
- Background viewing on mobile devices;
- YouTube Music Premium, which in its functionality, is almost a separate service;
- And so on.
Comparing it with Netflix, or conditionally Xbox Game Pass, would be somewhat inappropriate. But there, Meta’s subscription looks even more lackluster. So it’s quite possible that this offer won’t find its audience.
Moreover, we should also not forget that we are talking about only one, though extensive, GEO. Namely – Europe. The United States, Canada, Asia, and others – still operate without changes. And if you’re used to working with targeted or contextual advertising in countries that are not members of the European Union, then these innovations will not affect you at all.
How Much Will Meta Lose by Implementing the Subscription (Ad Opt-out)?
We should also talk about money, as this aspect will affect what course of events we can expect in the future. For Meta, advertising is the key source of income, accounting for 98% of all revenue.
A small portion of these funds comes from the European market. After all, European users are the most expensive. Literally, obviously. Looking at the number of active EU users and the profit generated from this market, each lead costs $19. This is significantly more than the cost of the subscription. It’s even more than the cost of a user from any other GEO (on average, Meta earns $11 per person).
Clearly, the loss that the innovations could lead to might prompt Meta either to other options for promoting ads to users or even to abandon the idea of the subscription altogether. Moreover, we haven’t seen any reaction from European regulators at all. And it’s quite possible that the alternative proposed by Zuckerberg’s corporation will not find positive feedback among officials.
What’s the Bottom Line?
It’s difficult to predict how this whole story will end at this point. Obviously, the Meta’s New Subscription can harm all affiliates working with the European market by purchasing ads from Meta. How significant the potential damage will be is unknown. Based on our comparison of the price and value of the subscription, which we mentioned above, the likelihood that payment services will collapse due to queues is extremely low. But we will likely observe the exact figures, most probably, in Meta’s next report to investors.
If you’ve already managed to assess how much the Meta subscription (unsubscription) could affect working with contextual or targeting advertising on Instagram and Facebook, welcome to our Telegram community. Subscription in Meta – from $10, subscribing to us – priceless. We would also appreciate likes and shares.
With respect, Your Geek!
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