Behavioral Study Shows $10/Month Would Maximize Revenue

Veylinx, a behavioral research platform, has released the results of new research into social media users’ willingness to pay for account verification (aka a “blue check mark”). Veylinx studied the behavior of over 400 Twitter users (who log in at least once a week) to reveal how much they would pay for a blue check mark next to their account name.

The research discovered that demand is strong—and that the company could potentially charge even more than the proposed $8/month fee. According to the research, 23 percent of Twitter users are willing to pay $8 each month for a verified account. However, the study found that $10 is the price that actually maximizes revenue, with 21 percent of users willing to pay that amount monthly.

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Unlike typical market research, Veylinx measures actual purchase behavior instead of intent. Using their own money, participants placed a single sealed bid on a monthly verification subscription. The results reveal participants’ actual willingness to pay instead of their hypothetical willingness to pay.

“It’s ironic that Elon Musk is revamping the Twitter verification system without verifying who would use it and what they would be willing to pay,” said Veylinx founder and CEO Anouar El Haji. “If he’s seeking to create a new revenue stream, behavioral research is far more useful for predicting demand than online polls.”

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Unsurprisingly, a wide gap in demand for a blue check mark exists between the Twitter owner’s supporters and his detractors. Thirty-two percent of people with a favorable opinion of him are willing to pay the $8/month fee for Twitter verification—but only 5 percent of people who view him unfavorably are willing to pay that same amount.

According to the study, the new ownership and proposed fees don’t seem likely to reduce site traffic in the near term. Thirty-seven percent plan to use Twitter more during the next three months, 8 percent plan to use Twitter less, and only 2 percent plan to stop using it completely. Overall, 56 percent of users expect that the move to expand and charge for Twitter verification will have a positive impact on the social network.