Elon Musk, the new lord of Twitter, announced a new fee of $8 per month for users with a verification … [+]
OBSERVATIONS FROM NOW FINTECH SNARK
Do you have a little blue tick next to your name on Twitter? Congratulations! You must be so proud.
Unfortunately for you, going forward, that little ego you have is going to cost you $8 a month according to Elon Musk, the new god of Twitter.
It’s not all bad, though, as Musk revealed that users who pay the monthly fee will get priority in replies, mentions and searches, the ability to post long video and audio tweets, and only have to suffer half as many ads as they do. of us who will not pay for the privilege of the blue dot.
Musk also indicated that pricing will be adjusted by country “in proportion to purchasing power parity,” which I can only guess means Americans will be paying at the lower end of the price range.
The move was inevitable in light of a Wall Street Journal report that Twitter has suffered “a massive decline in revenue” due to advertisers reducing their use of the social media platform.
A better revenue plan for Twitter
Musk’s plan to charge Twitter a monthly fee with the blue brand is a no-brainer and will have minimal impact on the platform’s revenue. The supposed benefits of being “blue-tagged” aren’t strong enough to make most people pay.
In all likelihood, most non-celebrities and non-politicians will simply ditch their blue badge and go back to being everyday Twitter users.
The key to a successful pricing policy is alignment – aligning cost with value. In this light, what is the value that many Twitter users are looking for?
Exposure and scope.
For many people, Twitter is simply a way to see what’s up with other people and share their thoughts with family, friends and colleagues.
But for many other people, Twitter is a way to reach an audience, whether you’re a Donald Trump, Kanye West, or Elon Musk, a company looking to publicize its products, or a fintech influencer looking to promote posts. your blog. (like yours truly).
These are the users who will pay (or should pay) to use Twitter.
So here’s my advice to Elon Musk on how to create a value-driven fee structure: Charge users according to the number of followers they have.
Example: For users with less than 50,000 followers, Twitter is free. For users with 50,000 to 100,000 followers, Twitter costs $3 to $5 per month. Do you have 100k to 250k followers? It will cost you $10 to $25 per month.
What about celebrities and politicians with millions of followers? They have to pay $100 to $500 per month to spread their messages to their follower base.
The follower ratio of many politicians and celebrities clearly shows that they are not using Twitter to engage with other people – they are using the platform to promote their views or messages – and should pay for the privilege.
Advertisers pay Twitter to reach people who may or may not know about the company—celebrities, politicians, businesses, and even really famous people have to pay, too.
But wait a minute, I hear you say – what if a really popular person or company doesn’t want 1 million followers and the cost it will bring? Good. Then they cover their followers at the cost level they are willing to pay.
What about Twitter users who want to follow someone who has reached their follower limit?
They can enter a waiting list, waiting for current followers to unfollow that person or account. And if Elon Musk wants to, he can charge people who might be willing to pay for a higher spot on that waiting list if someone really wants to follow a Kardashian that may have limited her follower base. .
A more equal approach
Charging users by the number of followers they have won’t solve Twitter’s declining ad revenue problem, but it’s a more fair and value-based approach to generating fees than Musk’s current plan.
And I bet it will reduce the volume of complaints that the Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator is currently fielding.
