Facebook testing new ‘pay to promote post’ tool

The first Facebook user to be exposed to the site's latest content sharing feature was so skeptical, he or she thought it was a con. In fact, it took a statement from a Facebook spokesperson to confirm the new "pay to promote post" feature is indeed genuine.

"We're constantly testing new features across the site," revealed the spokesperson on BBC.com. "This particular test is simply to gauge people's interest in this method of sharing with their friends."

Facebook has begun testing the "pay to promote" feature among users in New Zealand. For a small fee, users can ensure that the content they share will be more visible to friends, colleagues and family. The goal is to determine if users are interested in "paying to flag up their information."

"We're going to see a lot more ideas like this where they are testing out different ways to try to make money," shares internet analyst Ian Maude.

According to the spokesperson, Facebook is currently testing several different methods of highlighting posts.

"These would see a range of charges being levied to make posts more visible," explains BBC. "Comments on the tests suggest the highest price being charged was £1.25 ($2) while others cost 25p (40 cents) or 50p (80 cents)."

Payments can be made via PayPal or credit card. And while certain details were revealed — for example, some of the methods being tested would incur a charge while others would be free of charge — the spokesperson would not comment on the duration of the "pay to promote" test, or whether such testing would spread to other countries.

A recent slowdown in revenue, coupled with Facebook's imminent IPO, are believed to have galvanized a new focus on ways to make money.

"In the last few years their overall revenue has grown much more quickly than their audience," says Maude, who is quick to mention how Facebook's rapid growth has slowed down dramatically in the last six months.

"He's (Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg) always said he wants to make money to run the company not run the company to make money."

Would you be interested in paying a fee for sharing content among your Facebook friends? Let us know in the comments below.

(Reuters photo)