Starting next year, there is much to expect from CEO Zuckerburg. Might this be another acquisition, like this year’s takeover of Instagram? Might the company’s IPO start actually winning investor’s money? This next year, with over 1 billion users to take advantage of, Zuckerburg will likely begin rolling out five new advertising products starting at the beginning of 2013. Here’s what the five new ad services might be, and here’s how they could change user experience for the world’s largest social network. If you need more information on how to get the best internet for browsing Facebook!
1. TAGLITE CASHES IN ON YOUR LOCATION
This last spring, Facebook bought up the small start-up Taglite. This company sells devices to local merchants as part of their customer loyalty program. These merchants would request their customers ‘tap in’ their mobile phones to the stores database. Then they would use this information to make offers to those customers as a way of driving business. Facebook is expected to take advantage of this by offering deals at locations you have ‘liked’ relative to the position of your smartphone.
2. HAVING A YELP-TYPE RATING SYSTEM?
Some have expected Zuckerburg to acquire Yelp, the store rating company. After all, Facebook has 50 times more market share than the small start-up. Others have suggested his company develop a similar kind of rating system, where users could look at the ratings given by other users to nearby stores on their mobile devices. Such a system would work well with the Taglite location system, since it could offer some public opinions on certain stores, rather than just relying on the individual user’s ‘likes.’
3. INSTAGRAM = PROFIT
One of the first actions taken by the newly acquired Instagram was to rewrite its privacy policy, thereby allowing advertisers to have unlimited access to users’ photos. While consumer’s backlash caused the company to rescind this proposal, Facebook is still likely to find to ways to turn a profit. As with its original website, it will likely sell user data such as age and interests to advertisers of all sorts.
4. ADS, ADS EVERYWHERE
Already with Facebook, the average site user is bombarded with daily rounds of advertisements. But now, with many websites relying on Facebook Connect to stimulate use, the company may just find a way to sell space to marketers on those websites as well. Facebook has already begun the process to form competition against Google’s AdSense. This move poses some risk of consumer backlash, but its benefits (increased revenue without cluttering the home site further) outweigh the risks.
5. AND FINALLY…
Surprisingly enough, Facebook has begun contemplating the integration of shopping into social media. While this last idea may be far off, Zuckerburg has already implemented it to some degree. With their recently added app, Facebook Gifts, users will be able to browse shopping items on the same site they update their profiles to the world. And of course, none of this should come as surprise, now that Facebook actually has an interest in making a profit.
