Facebook Polls = SoMoneyRightNow!

Issue 11 of SoHotRightNow! looks at Facebook's new monetisation plan, with Facebook Polls.

Facebook holds a plentiful amount of personal information about its 150 million users and according to the Telegrah, it plans to exploit this by creating the world's largest market research databases and make some serious money in the process.

Although this may sound like an invasion of your privacy (you're probably right!), what it also means is that companies will be able to target specific groups of individuals that meet a particular criteria. For example, 20-25 year old female mobile phone users that use Pre-Paid in Sydney, Australia. Can you see the potential for marketers yet?

What makes this market research plan so powerful is that unlike conventional focus groups that are expensive and take a long time to conduct, with Facebook Polls results are received in real-time.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Randi Zuckerberg, Facebook's Global Markets Director said "I had tonnes of people saying 'this could be so incredible for our business'. It takes a very long time to do a focus group, and businesses often don't have the luxury of time. I think they liked the instant responses".

Polls will be less intrusive than the typical Telemarketing calls you receive during dinner time that most people try to avoid. Instead, they will appear in your Facebook News Feed as simple poll questions. The poll's will therefore be highly visible to users, but participation in the polls will be voluntary.

This money spinner comes at a good time for Facebook as it faces the effects of the economic downturn, with many advertisers cutting back on their advertising spend. eMarketer predicts US advertising spend will drop by 20% this year.

Research company IDC said "advertisers are turning their backs on social networking sites because they have a lower "click-through rate" than traditional online ads. Only 57% of social network site users clicked on an advertisement and made a purchase last year, compared to 79% on the internet at large.

Ultimately, whether you like it or not, Facebook is here to stay and will continue to make an impression on global society this year. It will also continue to provide many opportunities to marketers and advertisers along the way.

To read more...
Facebook's Monetization Plan? Polls. And Lots Of Them
Networking site cashes in on friends

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