Paying for Instagram or TikTok?

Not another monthly subscription!

Don’t freak out yet! But ask yourself… Would you want an ad-free experience?

Popular social media platforms, such as Meta (Facebook and Instagram), TikTok, and X, are exploring subscription-based models offering ad-free experiences. As per a Wall Street Journal report, Meta aims to launch a model called "SNA" or "subscription no ads" for European users, where they can choose between ad-supported access or an ad-free version for roughly $5 a month.

TikTok has also started testing an ad-free paid product in a selected market outside the U.S. While each platform has its own rationale, the industry's move towards subscription models is driven by challenges such as a maturing digital advertising market, slowing user growth, and competition. Platforms like YouTube and Twitter have tried this approach in the past with mixed results. The success of this model hinges on users seeing value in paying for content they previously accessed for free.

What does this mean for your audience? They will have the choice to gain an ad-free experience.

What does this mean for you if you are paying for ad space? If this rolls out, you may want to find other ways to maximize your videos and make sure they are captivating and share-worthy. Use your stories to promote and sell your products.

🎥 What's Trending

With over 108 million views, and only 10 seconds long, you can see why people are staying to watch the entire video. What is most interesting is the 40 thousand comments, each weighing in on the high-stakes of the video. The satisfying ending of the video makes it easy to not only watch all the way through, but rewatch multiple times.

Your takeaway: Capture attention on the front end of your video with a visual that tells a clear story. How are you driving curiosity with this imagery? And are you delivering a satisfying end to your content? Is the ending something worth talking about and rewatching?