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August 31 2020
By Jim Richardson
One of the challenges currently facing Museums is how to monetise their online activities, so many working on the digital side of our cultural institutions will be interested to see Facebook launching the ability to charge for Facebook Live events on the social network.
Museums can choose to host their event on Facebook Live or provide their customers with a link to an outside platform upon payment. Facebook are also said to be testing Paid Online Events for Messenger Rooms as a more exclusive and interactive option for special events.
In order to qualify for Paid Online Events, Pages must meet certain Partner Standards, including originality and authenticity. Museums can check the eligibility of their Pages prior to scheduling a paid event on the platform.
Museums are already producing live events with some using this as a new revenue stream. The advantage of Facebook is that most cultural institutions already have a large online following on the platform, so hosting events here does make a lot of sense.
Facebook are making the option of hosting your online events on the platform more tempting by not charging for the service for ‘at least a year’. Providing a good option for museums to try the service within financial risk.
However, the company can only provide a fee waiver for events booked through Facebook Pay via the Android app or on the web. Apple declined to waive the 30 percent App Store fee for mobile payments.
Find out more about Facebook Online events here.
About the author – Jim Richardson
Jim Richardson is the founder of MuseumNext. He has worked with the museum sector on digital and innovation projects for more than twenty years and now spends his time championing best practice through MuseumNext.
