Thursday, March 28

Facebook Tests “Paid Subscriptions” for Private Groups

Facebook is testing a subscription feature that will very soon let group administrators charge members for providing exclusive content on its platform, allowing them to potentially profit off their membership.

The company announced on Wednesday that the pilot programme will focus on a small number of groups which will include subscription only offshoots of Grown and Flown Parents, and Cooking On A Budget: Recipes & Meal Planning, Declutter my Home among others.

It would be like a membership fee to get entry into the exclusive club. The current price which is being speculated is $30/month which can change after the official rollback. In addition, the social media giant will also offer built-in tools directly through iOS and Android.

Alex Deve, product director of Groups, said in a blog post,

We hear from group admins that they’re looking for ways to help them earn money to deepen engagement with their members and continue to support their communities.

It is interesting to note that Subscription group service was debut on Facebook in 2018 where video creators could showcase their exclusive content. The group “Declutter My Home” started by Sarah Mueller has been quite popular as a way to inspire and motivate others to tidy up their apartment or house.

Notably, facebook will not take a share of the subscription fees as it will be handled via the in-app purchasing tools on iOS and Android. Moreover, being a testing feature as of now, it will not be available to every Facebook group admin. Moreover, the company has not officially confirmed if the feature will be rolled out to everyone.