Twitter is making it easier for its users to make money using the platform, as the social media giant announced a Super Follow function where users charge their followers or fans for certain content on their handle. This is expected to be unveiled soon and in 2021.
According to reports, the Super Follow Function comes after huge criticism faced by the company.
“Why don’t we start with why folks don’t believe in us,” said Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey at their virtual presentation. “It comes down to three critiques: we’re slow, we’re not innovative, and we’re not trusted.”
Plans were announced on 25 February to permit people to charge for additional content, such as newsletters, videos and discounts.
The fee would be paid monthly to obtain access to these offerings.
This comes after other sites, like Patreon, Substack and OnlyFans who offer a subscription-based model for their content creator’s output, cashing in on their audience. Twitter users and investors have pushed for the site to offer a similar service.
In a statement, Twitter said, “Exploring audience funding opportunities like Super Follows will allow creators and publishers to be directly supported by their audience and will incentivize them to continue creating content that their audience loves,”
A move like this will allow Twitter to diversify their income, relying less on advertisements. Google and Facebook currently operate a dominant share of this market.
The Super Follow is not being launched until later in the year but they have teased more upcoming features, such as Revue, a newsletter function and “Twitter Spaces” inspired by audio chat site Clubhouse.