Lifestyle

Money To Be Made In Facebook's New Platform - Elite Daily

by Ryan Babikian

Facebook has now released its new marketplace – and to the ambitious entrepreneur this is just another platform to utilize. In a world where you must always be looking for the "loophole" and how to make money, the value of Facebook’s new platform to consumers means nothing to you.

So, only in terms of its entrepreneurial value, let's check out Facebook’s App Center, which is launching tonight with more than 600 social apps, including Nike+ GPS, Ubisoft Ghost Recon Commander, Stitcher Radio, Draw Something and Pinterest.

This is the way it works: each person will have a personalized experience in the App Center with recommendations based on the apps they and their friends use – that can be games or fashion, food, fitness, travel or other lifestyle apps.

You will only see high quality apps in the App Center based on user ratings and engagement. The App Center is available on mobile  phones via the Facebook apps for iOS and Android, or by accessing Facebook.com on mobile.

Stats:

  • More than 230 million people play games on Facebook every month
  • More than 130 games on Facebook have more than 1 million monthly active users.
  • More than 4,500 timeline apps have launched since f8 in September 2011.
  • Facebook drove people to the Apple App Store 83 million times in May.
  • Facebook drove people to iOS apps 134 million times in May (someone who already has the app and is directed back to it from Facebook.)

TechCrunch points out:

The platform drove people to Apple’s App Store 83 million times last month. On top of that, it sent people back to iOS apps they had already downloaded 134 million times. Facebook was also integrated into seven of the top 10 grossing iOS apps and six of the top 10 Android apps. The company’s emerging power on mobile platforms has been very visible in the surprising rise of apps like SocialCam and Viddy"

What does all of this mean? Facebook has passed on short-term revenue opportunities in exchange for reach and relevance right now. Facebook is not going to be able to tap into Apple’s or Android’s 30% cut of in-app purchases unless it negotiates a special agreement with either company.

That said, today’s app center launch and Facebook’s big push into distribution for mobile apps is positive for the company. It shows that the Facebook platform matters more than ever for mobile developers, which is a big step forward from last year. With Facebook’s expected integration into Apple’s iOS 6, they will become even more of a necessity.

As of May, seven of the top ten grossing iOS apps and six of the top 10 Android apps have integrated with Facebook. If you are an entrepreneur, or if you are founding a venture, Facebook has now provides you with a new means of establishing yourself. It is also a currently trending market opportunity right now. Together, these two things mean that there is a lot of money on the table, and it is open to all.

Elite's Advice: Build a product and embark on an endeavor on Facebook's new platform – and do it fast. This market is just ripe enough, and if you are smart, then you will make money off of Facebook before Facebook makes money off you when it figures out how to efficiently monetize social media.

Elite.