While the transfer will come in useful for celebrities, companies or influencers, Indian customers could discover the tag costly, analysts stated.
Meta’s chief govt Mark Zuckerberg stated in a Facebook put up on Sunday that the service – referred to as Meta Verified – is a pilot and would first roll out in Australia and New Zealand later this week earlier than being expanded to the remainder of the world.
“The pricing is quite steep,” Mitesh Kothari, co-founder and chief working officer of White Rivers Media, instructed ET. “Unless we know the complete list of justified benefits, it will be difficult to see value for individuals.”
Read | Meta Verified: Check price, features, eligibility, other details
For mid- to high-level content creators, small businesses and brands that thrive on their social media presence and authenticity on these platforms, it will be looked at as an investment and for smaller creators, it will be deemed aspirational, he added.
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The subscription starts at $11.99 (Rs 992) per month on the web and $14.99 (Rs 1,240) per month on iOS platforms.This, in effect, is higher than the Twitter Blue subscription which offers a blue tick to subscribers for Rs 650 and Rs 900 per month on website and mobile, respectively.
Meta Verified lets users verify their accounts with a government ID which will give them a blue badge and ‘extra impersonation protection’.
Zuckerberg said the feature is about increasing authenticity and security across services.
For a celebrity or influencer of any kind, the verified badge is not an option but a necessity, some said, and spending around Rs 1,250 is justified to ensure that they maintain their credibility and reputation.
“These are people who cannot take the chance of losing their verified badges because there’s a lot at stake for them as there are so many fake accounts and impersonators ready to vilify them. It is important that they retain their verified tag to ensure their brand image or work does not suffer. It is a very sensible way for Meta to monetize what was otherwise provided for free,” stated a social media govt of an Indian agency who didn’t want to be named.
Industry watchers stated most Indian customers would keep aloof as not everyone seems to be scrambling to get a blue tick.
“Out of the over 500 million Facebook and Instagram users in India, only a few thousands might be concerned about this policy,” stated Vishal Sengar, founder and CEO of Brand Provoke. “Having said that, Meta might end up generating large revenue from startups, small businesses and new influencers and pages that are hoping to build a brand.”
Kothari said the move is a means to counteract Apple’s privacy push, which Meta has said will cost the company a whopping $10 billion.
“With Apple’s policy change and thus revenue from advertising going down, it makes sense for the platform to explore an alternative revenue stream,” he said.
Sengar added that tech giants like Apple, Google and Twitter are gaining from subscription models and so it was a natural progression for Meta, too, and called it a “safe bet” for tech companies to grow.
He, however, said he was unsure how it would benefit individual users.
The tech giants must understand that not everyone can pay for such subscriptions (in countries like India) just to prove that they are not using fake accounts, he said.
“There will be people who will want to get that shiny blue tick and might end up paying for this subscription, but I am not sure if they will enjoy the same credibility that comes with current verified accounts,” Sengar stated.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com