Create incentives with Facebook Credits

deal united extends its portfolio by Credits Rewards. As of today with Credits Rewards online service providers can offer their customers Facebook Credits also outside the social network. Credits Rewards, in its turn, provides the technical realization.

Credits Rewards enables online providers to use Facebook Credits as an incentive to make purchases, competitions, surveys and user registrations more attractive to customers. The promotion can be implemented in a multitude of ways, such as directly via Facebook, on company websites and through newsletters. Credits Rewards ensures the prompt delivery of Facebook Credits to the actual Facebook customer account.

As an official distributer of Facebook Credits deal united is one of only three dealers worldwide. In Germany deal united is currently the only authorised provider to supply online service provider with Facebook Credits for their customers.

Together with the launch of Credits Rewards, the official homepage www.creditsrewards.com will go live today as well. The homepage contains all important information about the product. At the same time online service providers will be able to get in touch with the Credits Rewards team.

Dr. Jarg Temme, CEO at deal united, says “The demand for Facebook Credits is immense. Opportunities for users to purchase virtual currency by using Facebook Credits are on the rise. We are very proud to be the only German distributor of Facebook Credits. Our product Credits Rewards enables online service providers to be a part of the increasing Facebook Credits trend worldwide.”

Facebook Credits are used as a virtual currency on the social network Facebook. Currently, Facebook Credits can be used for purchasing virtual products such as online games currency, music downloads, gift cards, tickets and coupons only. Nevertheless, additional applications for Facebook Credits such as watching concerts online or customer lotteries continue to increase.

Experts and leaders in the online industry are taking Berlin by storm this week for the Social Gaming Summit on May 25 and the Virtual Goods Summit on May 26. Visitors at the Social Gaming Summit will learn about strategies for monetization and success in social games. Topics at the Virtual Goods Summit will focus on recent growth and trends in virtual economies, as well as how the virtual goods market continues expanding into new territory like social networks and community sites

deal united CSO Jürgen Weichert will be participating in a panel discussion at the Virtual Goods Summit. The talk, “Measuring the Health of Your Virtual Economy,” will delve into issues that affect virtual economies and provide insight on how to gauge the wellbeing of a particular virtual currency. Moderated by SponsorPay CRO Janis Zech and featuring a selection of experts from across the industry, like GamesAnalytics COO Mark Robinson and Stephanie Kaiser, Product Lead of Monster World, this panel has the makings of a vigorous discussion.

If you’d like to meet up with Jürgen at the Social Gaming Summit or Virtual Goods Summit, call him at +49 (0) 17 05 77 00 02. deal united Sales Manager Melanie Richter and Senior Sales Manager Torsten Bongartz will also be out and about at the events. You can contact Melanie at +49 (0) 162 33 05 958 and Torsten at +49 (0) 17 05 77 00 04. Or just send an email to merchant@dealunited.com.

deal united tips our hats to game publisher Ubisoft for their success at the German Computer Games Award 2011 on March 30. Ubisoft’s Die Siedler Online won the prize for “Best Browser Game,” while Yves Guillemot, Chairman and CEO the company, took home the prestigious LARA of Honour –  a distinction reserved for an individual who has significantly impacted the history of computer or video games.

We also get to enjoy a slice of the pie here at deal united, since Ubisoft recently integrated PAY.BY.SHOPPING into their award-winning game. Users can now earn gemstones for Die Siedler Online by shopping and purchasing in deal united partners’ online stores. Start building your own empire at www.diesiedleronline.de and collect some precious stones courtesy of deal united and our shopping partners.

Note: Game available in German language only.

The Games Convention Online conference in Leipzig is not just a tradeshow for online and mobile games; it’s a place for professionals to learn from professionals, network and exchange. As mentioned in an earlier entry, Dr. Jarg Temme, CEO of deal united, will show game publishers how to increase conversion with cross-selling. His lecture “Online games and successfull conversion” will be held on July 8 from 2:30 to 3 p.m. in Leipzig’s congress centre room No. 4. To interview or meet him, please contact info@dealunited.com or +49 (0) 89 381 535 868 to make an appointment.

 

You can also meet deal united CSO Jürgen Weichert, Senior Sales Manager Torsten Bongratz and Junior Sales manager Melanie Richter at the GCO in Leipizig. To meet with them please contact merchant@dealunited.com.

 

Games Convention Online 2010 in Leipzig, Germany: On July 8, deal united shows game publishers how they can increase conversion rates with cross selling.

How can you make more money with online games? Jarg Temme, deal united CEO, answers this question at this year’s Games Convention Online (GCO) in Leipzig. He’ll show game publishers how to increase conversion with cross-selling in his lecture “Online games and successful conversion.”

Pay4You: Online Shops Give Away Virtual Money

deal united, the reward platform for monetization of virtual goods, develops cross-selling campaigns for game publishers with renowned advertising partners like OTTO and myToys.de. If players shop at one of those partners’ online stores and buy something, they get a certain amount of virtual money free of charge. “Our advertising partners reimburse the game provider for the free product. Every player that comes into the shop via one of the online games and makes a purchase gets free virtual currency as a bonus from the online shops,” explains Jarg Temme, deal united CEO. “Pay4You campaigns are designed to increase player loyalty and game revenue.”

“The fact that most gamers do not want to invest money in games is a challenge every provider faces today, “Temme says. “Gamers are used to free deals, and despite the fact that the game would be more fun, they do not want to spend money on additional features for their characters. Our cooperation with renowned online shops helps to motivate players to pay for those features.”

Gamers find out about deals via in-game messages, pop-unders, banners and buttons. Pay4You is suitable for seasonal events as well as for long term campaigns. “Special promotions for Mother’s Day or right now for the football World Cup are very popular. Game publishers always freely determine how long their campaigns and cooperations with our advertising partners should run,” says Temme.

Arrange Interviews at GCO

The lecture „Online games and successful conversion“ will be held on July 8, 2010 from 2:30 to 3 p.m. in Leipzig’s congress center, room No. 4. The Games Convention Online 2010 takes place from July 8-10 at the exhibition centre. To interview or meet with Jarg Temme at the event, please contact info@dealunited.com to make an appointment.

About deal united:
deal united has been using innovative marketing models to successfully improve conversion rates for merchants  since 2008. This is achieved by targeting users of free online services who are potential yet hesitant buyers. deal united offers this user group purchase incentives, giving them free products, software or vouchers as a bonus when they buy online from our advertising partners. We partner with well-known brands like GAP, myToys, Neckermann and OTTO to offer users the best deals. In 2010, deal united was awarded the Red Herring Global Award as one of the most innovative private startups in the technology sector.

When you think “social media,” the first thing to pop into your mind is probably Facebook, but this internet giant isn’t the only act in town. The number of social communities has exploded since the appearance of social media pioneers, resulting in a wide range of different networks: Communities for students (the German Studi/SchülerVZ), friends (MySpace), business partners (Xing) and even people looking for dates. But it didn’t stop there; the next wave of development featured “special interest” communities for various enthusiasts in subjects from photography (Flickr) to games (GameFriends) and literature (Wonderlands).

With such a specific “niche” approach, these networks will most likely not attract as many users in the beginning as other communities that focus on general interests have. Users on Facebook and MySpace can post photographs or generate blogs on any number of topics, but members of special interest sites are limited as to what content is appropriate. The value of such hobby-oriented communities should not be understated, however. It might be difficult for users on general interest sites to connect with others who share a similar passion for art or cooking, so they may open an account in a more specialized community as well to fill that need — and just as members of book clubs and soccer teams enjoy socializing with people outside those groups, so do most members of special interest communities also like to interact on general interest sites as well.

 

In order to build a stable community with a specific approach, operators should keep a few things in mind:

1. Audience
Make sure you address the right audience and offer something that attracts attention and interest. For example, if you start a literature community you could either focus on a single genre (fantasy, crime, poetry) or combine two or more. To attract as many hobby writers and literature fans as possible, you might also want to offer something of social value, like opportunities for exchange (forums) or self-expression (blogging, individual profile design). On hobby sites, you may also want to consider the needs and interests of both professionals and amateurs. Professionals, on a photography site for example, will want to display their work while amateurs will want to get tips and feedback from the more experienced.

2. Entertainment

Whether it’s watching a movie, going out, shopping and or interacting in an internet community, people seek entertainment. Contests (like photo of the week) and events (e.g. photocommunity) are helpful, but in the long run it’s the small things that count. Creative social networks thrive mostly on user interaction and self-expression. Blogs and forums, shout boxes and galleries are all essential for success. The networks with staying power are the ones that nurture users’ interests and offer useful outlets for their creativity.

3. Monetization
The first steps to monetization are attracting the interest of your target group and generating traffic to your online community. Once you have a usership, you can then Monetization is not just important for branches like software and gaming, but also for online services such as social networks. There are a few basic approaches to generate turnover. One is advertising, but the problem with that is: Most users are annoyed with advertising banners and ignore them. The other is to offer special features like premium memberships or virtual products.  Here you need to make sure, that the label “premium” really does offer special features and not just minor upgrades and you have to make it very easy for users to upgrade. Always explain the advantages of a premium membership or the purchase of virtual currency and offer real advantages in turn.

deal united has concluded its latest round of financing with outstanding results. Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and Venture Incubator have invested a hearty seven-figure sum in the Munich-based online rewards platform. deal united helps providers of software, online games, social networks and online shops to optimize monetization. We have already established ourselves as Europe’s leading online rewards platform for monetization of digital and virtual goods.

deal united’s concept is aimed at improving turnover and conversion rates for online merchants. Only around one percent of people using a software test version are actually willing to purchase the full version — the majority decide to stick with the free downloads. The monetization rate is similarly low for social networks and the sale of premium features or virtual currency in online games. By integrating deal united’s solutions into their websites, online businesses can convert users into paying customers by offering them attractive rewards such as vouchers or free products (e.g. software or virtual currency). This is made possible through cooperation with top advertising partners.

“The deal united concept has already proven very successful and has been implemented by many well-known partners,” said Jan Borgstädt, Principal at Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. “The approach has had great success in the areas of software, gaming, social networks and retail. deal united is able to provide solutions to these markets of the future which have a particularly strong demand for new monetizing concepts.”

Daniel Gutenberg, General Partner at Venture Incubator, also sees a bright future ahead for deal united. “Through the use of innovative marketing solutions, deal united has created a cross-selling arrangement which benefits all stakeholders — even the end user. In our opinion, this is one of the great strengths of the deal united solution.”

Jarg Temme, deal united CEO, is extremely pleased that the company can expand internationally following the latest round of financing from new investors. “Venture Incubator is a strong partner for us with a lot of experience in eCommerce, and we can benefit greatly from this expertise in the future. As Europe’s leading media and services company, we are also thrilled that Bertlesmann Digital Media Investments is on board with us and that they have seen the potential of our business. Our full focus in now on  international expansion and on extending our position as Europe’s leading provider of ad-funded solutions for monetizing digital goods.”

deal united currently offers two successful marketing solutions for online businesses: Pay4You and Incentive Deal.

With Pay4You, the customer gets a free product like software, virtual currency or membership in a social network if they buy merchandise or coupons from one of deal united’s advertising partners. With Incentive Deal, shoppers who are undecided about purchasing are offered a shopping voucher to use with one of deal united’s advertising partners if they decide to go ahead with their original purchase. This is an added incentive to purchase a previously viewed product or increase the value of their shopping cart.

More than 500 online businesses, including Avira, Deutsche Telekom AG (Softwareload), DivX, GData, libri.de, Owlient, Red Moon and Upjers, have successfully implemented these free solutions for monetization. The partnerhips extend from German-speaking countries to other European countries including Great Britain, France, Spain and Italy. In terms of advertising partners, deal united works with well-known companies such as buecher.de, myToys, Neckermann, OTTO and Tchibo. deal united provides these companies with targeted new customers on a cost-per-order basis.

About deal united:

Since 2008, deal united has been linking merchants, advertisers and internet users in a mutually profitable way that supplies merchants with revenue, advertisers with new customers and users with the opportunity to get virtual credits or actual products for free. In collaboration with over 500 merchants — from game developers to online shops — and more than 2,000 advertisers, deal united reaches millions of users.

About Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI):

BDMI is a strategic venture investor focused on innovative digital media technologies, products and distribution channels across the globe. They look for opportunities to accelerate growth through BDMI’s financial and management resources and close connectivity with one or more Bertelsmann divisions. BDMI is a subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG. With consolidated revenues of over €15.4 billion (U.S. $21.4 billion), Bertelsmann AG is an international media corporation encompassing television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), media services (Arvato) and media clubs (Direct Group) in more than 50 countries. For further information, visit www.bdmifund.com

About Venture Incubator:

VI Partners is a Swiss venture capital firm that supports university offshoots and other promising startup companies with capital, coaching, consulting and networks. Via their current “Venture Incubator” fund, VI Partners invests “Smart Money” to turn promising technology-based ideas for products and services into successful businesses. Venture Incubator was established by McKinsey & Company and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ), and started operations in 2001. It now manages an investment fund of 101 million Swiss francs with investors representing 10 blue chip enterprises from industry and finance. Website: www.vipartners.ch

In the games industry, the term “conversion optimization” might sound pretty alien at first. “Conversion” is usually associated with web shops and usability, not with gamers and “free to play” games. In reality, however, the majority of browser games publishers overlook one important fact: It’s not the number of registered users that creates revenue that counts, but rather the amount of those players who are willing to pay for features like virtual currency or premium accounts.

Most browser games have minimalistic graphical details, require no software and are free to play. Gamers have the opportunity to ascend the levels faster or gain special equipment if they buy virtual currency with real money, but they don’t have to. For games publishers who have garnered a large, loyal playership, the need for revenue is the next hurdle, and one of the biggest questions is: how do I get players to pay for my features? Suddenly “conversion optimization” isn’t as alien to browser games as it might seem.

Studies show that the average conversion rate for web shops hovers at about two percent. That means that 98 percent of visitors leave the shop without making a purchase. As a similar rate is observed for software download portals, one would be within reason to assume that this average conversion rate applies to online games as well, especially since games publishers face practically the same problems as other online traders in different industries. So, what can be done?

 

4 ways browser games can increase conversion rates:

Know Your Audience

Take a look at your target customers. The average browser games player is about 20+ years old and plays while at work or university. Thus, most players use the game to escape from boredom, but don’t play it in their free time. This essentially means that they don’t want to spend extra time advancing through levels on online games — an unwillingness that can work in your favor if you suggest to your players that they can be more successful in a shorter amount of time by buying virtual currency.

Know Your Market

In order to bind users to your game, you have to make it interesting. For example, creating “military strategy game No. 1000″ is not really innovative. You’ll get players, but you won’t gain customers willing to spend money on that game. Again, know your audience: If you invent a new strategy game, why should players who probably have a Playstation with tons of games at home spend money on your game? Most of the successful browser games are those with a unique approach like building your own garden (Molehill Empire) or tending horses (Howrse).

Use Bonuses

Several studies show that most online shoppers are only satisfied if they are offered bonuses like vouchers, discounts and free products. Online games can easily adapt this marketing strategy by making special offers like free play time, discounts on virtual currency or in- and off-game competitions. With deal united’s concept, you can offer a lot of them for free and create incremental revenue as well.

Improve Usability

Web shops must be customer friendly to be successful. Confusing structures and blinking buttons never help; they just confuse, distract and annoy the user. The same applies for games. Make your website structure and menu as clear and easy-to-navigate as possible. If you have special offers, place them in a visible, prominent area and inform your users about every special event and campaign.

Softwareload is the software download portal offered by Deutsche Telekom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies. The portal enables internet users to download the software of their choice directly onto their PCs quickly and easily. It features a broad range of programs — all classified into several main categories.

Softwareload and deal united began working together in autumn of 2009, focusing on the German market. We have since expanded our successful partnership to the UK, where users can get a voucher worth £10 for Softwareload for free by shopping online with a deal united advertising partner. Our partners include well-known brands like Price Minister, Lovefilm and Shirtcity. Customers get a great 2-for-1 offer, and Softwareload will increase conversion in UK. What a deal!

Mother’s Day falls on the 9th of May this year in many countries, including Germany, Italy and America. Of course, Mother’s Day is all about the moms, but for many businesses — especially those in the flower and candy industries — Mother’s Day also means major money. Restaurants make a killing, too, and so do jewelers, clothing stores and many other businesses. And now, so can you.

“What? But I’m the **insert online business** market,” you say? Let us explain. You’re trying to sell an online product, perhaps software upgrades or virtual currency for your online game. Through deal united, your users can go shopping online with our advertising partners, buy Mom a gift and get a bonus product — the software or virtual currency — from you for free. The advertiser pays for the free bonus from a portion of the sale. This allows you to make revenue on your products that certain users might not have otherwise bought. In combination with our wide range of well-known advertisers, such as contain flower shops and retail stores with a wide range of gifts for mothers, customers win as well: They buy Mom a gift and get a bonus gift for them to keep, for free!

4 Ways to Boost Mother’s Day Sales with deal united:

1. Shopping Bonus

Several studies show that internet shoppers are only ever satisfied if they get special bonuses like coupons, welcome gifts or discounts. With deal united, you can offer bonuses to your customers without paying a dime — the bonus you offer will be refunded by the advertisers. Especially for holidays like Mother’s Day, this comes in quite handy, as you can appeal to your customers with special messages. This is even useful for online retailers, who can place a special banner in their shop, like: “Mother’s Day Special: Buy Mom a present and get a free coupon now!” You as a retailer then benefit from the holiday by boosting your sales and gaining satisfied customers who are actually likely to spend more than the voucher amount in your shop.

2. Use Email Campaigns to Reactivate Customers

Got inactive customers? You can reactivate them with special offers via emails campaigns. Let them know they’ll get a free gift from you if they make a purchase at one of deal united’s advertisering partners. You’ll reach customers that might not have even thought about shopping online for Mother’s Day, let alone at your shop.

 

 

3. Get Users’ Attention

In order to boost your sales on Mother’s Day, you have to inform your customers about your incredible offers. The easiest and most effective way to do this is by placing a banner in a prominent location on your website. This way, you can be sure that as many customers and visitors will see it as possible. You can also utilize pop-unders. These pop up under the open window, so that when a user closes out of your shop, they see a message from you — it’s an ideal way to remind non-buying visitors that they can get a free gift.

4. Purchase Incentive Vouchers

If you own a web shop offering goods that are completely un-Mother’s Day related, like office supplies, pet food or software, you can still increase your sales with our incentive model, which encourages shoppers to shop in your shop and get a voucher from another shop for free, for example: “Shop now for 50 euros and get a voucher for Valentins worth 20 euros for free!” You’ll boost your sales on Mother’s Day and your customers will have the opportunity to buy a gift as well.

For further information, check out www.dealunited.com/merchants and register free of charge, or contact us at merchant@dealunited.com.