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.

Like deal united? Now you can “Like” us on Facebook, too! Visit our Facebook page to stay up-do-date on the latest deals and events at deal united.

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.

The paragons for every new social community: MySpace, StudiVZ (Germany) and Facebook

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.