Everyone’s favorite timesuck
Facebook is most always finding new enhancements to add to it’s already extremely popular website and has found yet another way to separate itself from the competition: monetizing your posts.
A user survey released this week hinted at various ways users like you could make money or promote a cause by including a tip jar, branded content, and receiving a cut of the ad revenue Facebook earns from posts. The survey also asked for user feedback on a “call to action” button that would allow followers to make donations, and a “marketplace” to pair users with advertisers.
What else is new?
Just a few of the changes Facebook is considering to add to its growing arsenal of user targeted features: In February the company began letting anyone publish Instant Articles (a feature that uploads material in an easy to consume format), and in March acquired the video filter app MSQRD.
Whether or not this “profit for post” change will be available to everyone though, is still unclear, as the language of the survey seems to be targeting verified users only.
Facebook is the first amongst its immediate competitors (Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram) to allow profit for posting, but isn’t the first social media platform to offer revenue opportunities to its users. YouTube launched a revenue sharing program for verified users in 2007, and Twitch, a streaming platform for gamers, lets select partners make money in various ways. With Facebook’s already massive lead in following, this money-for-post idea could be exactly what it needs to maintain and grow its popularity.
Why the change?
Social platforms have been able to grow tremendously with user content, while paying nearly nothing for it, which has left some upset. Critics have criticized these platforms for not sharing the wealth, and instead keeping it for themselves.
As a result Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships for Facebook, responded with Facebook’s interest in creating revenue-sharing deals prior to the survey; even if it is only targeted at those with a large following.
Now that there are surveys floating around backing up Rose’s claim, we should be seeing something imminent soon.
Post for Profit sounds like an amazing feature, especially for company owners and brands alike, but is still only in survey phase, and could very well never make it past that point. Approval of this feature however, will give the company the edge it needs to maintain its social media dominance, and its users a piece of the pie we deserve.
