New Delhi: There is a possibility that you might have to pay a nominal fee to promote your posts on Facebook. The social networking giant, reportedly, is testing a new "highlight" feature that lets users pay a nominal fee to promote their posts, thereby making those posts more prominent in friends' news feeds.
"The feature is being trialled and was chanced across by a Facebook user in Whangarei who initially assumed it might be a scam," reported Stuff. The Whangarei man said that he was given the option of paying to highlight status updates and picture posts with a yellow background when he came across this new feature.
Facebook spokeswoman Mia Garlick, in a conversation with Stuff, confirmed the tests: "We're constantly testing new features across the site. This particular test is simply to gauge people's interest in this method of sharing with their friends," adding, "Facebook was trialling the feature at a range of different price points, including offering it free." This means that during the trial users may be asked to pay different amounts, or nothing, to use the new service.
According to The Verge, an American technology website: Facebook last year earned $1.14 billion in revenue, about 85 per cent of which is from ads.
And if Facebook rolls out this new feature to users' profiles, then this would be the first time that the company attempts to monetise posts.
We really doubt the success of this new "Highlight" feature that Facebook is considering, but if it proves to be a success, then it can be predicted that no one can stop Facebook from raking in a huge sum through this service.
How does this new feature work?
Only those who are in the test group will be able to see this feature. On posting a status update, the "Highlight" option will appear next to the Like and comment buttons. If you click, you will be prompted with the (picture above).
As Facebook is testing the feature at a range of different price points, you will either get a free Highlight, or you will be asked to make a payment of $2 to make your posts more visible on the site.
Reportedly, Highlighted posts may appear higher in the news feed and stay visible for a longer period.
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