On May 5, 2011 Facebook rolled out a new pilot program designed to increase its historically low click through rate for ad banners. Though currently unnamed, the point of this project is to encourage users, especially those currently playing FB’s many online games, to view sponsors’ advertisements.
How It Works
When a user clicks on an ad, which offers them the option to “Earn Free Credits,” they will be given one Facebook Credit (equivalent to 10 cents) per view. These credits can then be used to purchase virtual products for these games as well as magazine subscriptions and the new Groupon-inspired Facebook Deals page.
Initially, the ads will appear mainly within the games themselves, under the assumption that those invested in FB games are more likely to spend the time viewing these ads as a chance to enhance their gaming experience. It is unclear whether the program will expand farther and it is currently being slowly revealed in classic FB fashion.
Who It Benefits
Ostensibly, the idea is to benefit the FB user by allowing him to earn “free” credits and get advertising deals, but that is far too simplistic. With well-known Facebook players such as Zynga and Digital Chocolate among the first to sign up for this program there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.
The idea here is to take advertising to a new level away from the “interruptive” form most commonly associated with pop-up ads, commercials and “words from out sponsor” that we are all accustomed to nowadays.
FB users are on the site for a purpose, so giving them incentive to view banner ads solves the problem of low-click through while helping to make money all around. According to one TG Daily blogger, Lydia Leavitt, TrialPlay (who offers Facebook Credits) has found a way “monetize games beyond selling in-game virtual goods”—this is an elaborate way to say they are increasing profits and capturing the slick minds of modern digital consumers.
Will It Work?
I titled this article “Why Facebook Paying Users to View Ads Could Work” for a reason. It’s really too soon to tell. However, the merit is there.
As an avid FB game player and the “friend” of many in real and virtual life as well I can honestly say that I know a lot of people who would jump at the chance to get a “free” leg up in these virtual games—especially those sponsored by Zynga who is notorious for giving preferential treatment to those with “FarmVille Cash” or the like, over the coins earned during regular game play.
In addition, there are certainly “computer geeks” out there who will run ads on one machine to rack up credits while playing the game on another. So the clicks here are really endless in their scope.
As for the Facebook Deals page and its contributions to this program, that is another issue altogether. If Facebook Deals can get anywhere near the volume of deals available through Groupon this is a real possibility. It’s all about what pops up in the coming months.
The Bottom Line
Let’s break it down this way. At last count Facebook had more than 500 million active viewers, 50% of which log on daily. If FB can tap into even 1% of these users through this program there is a lot of money to be made. It all boils down to marketing the program and keeping the users interested and incentivized. Something Facebook has seemed to dominate in the past.
Did you know: Facebook has a free people search option. If you look at the 3rd option on this article, you’ll find the ‘friend browser’ option which is awesome for looking for long-lost friends.