The social networking giant may be making yet another aggressive move to outdo Twitter.
According to a Wall Street Journal report that is making the circuit of all of the mobile marketing media, sources who have knowledge from their positions close to the issue are stating that Facebook is working on incorporating hashtags into its service.
This type of marker is currently associated with use on Twitter, one of the social network’s main competitors.
The report said that the hashtag markers will be a part of its group conversation designations. The implications that this could have on mobile marketing opportunities are practically countless, as it will help to establish more solid links among people, groups, topics, and other areas.
It has not yet been made clear how or when mobile marketing and hashtags will be implemented.
However, the sources suggested that Facebook hashtags aren’t something that will be introduced immediately, only that this mobile marketing effort has been added to the list for future efforts. This will not be the first time that a Facebook owned company will use the designation technique, but it would be the first time that it would occur on the social network, itself.
For instance, Instagram, a company owned by Facebook, already uses hashtags not as mobile marketing, but as a technique that allows users to organize the images that they have in their accounts.
At the moment, according to the report, Facebook is simply “testing whether to follow Twitter’s lead and allow users to click on a hashtag to pull up all posts about similar topics or events so it can quickly index conversations around trending topics and build those conversations up, giving users more reason to stay logged in and see more ads.”
Mobile marketing has become a top priority for Facebook, which is starting to recover from its disappointing IPO performance through just that ecosystem. The company has made considerable investments into the channel and is now seeing the returns on those efforts. It is believed that this will only continue to be the direction taken by the largest social network in the world.
Facebook sets sights on mobile technology
Facebook has become one of the world’s most used social networks and has shown aptitude in adapting to the evolution of the Internet and the advent of mobile technology. Even amid scandals concerning user security and privacy, Facebook has managed to retain its position in the world of social media. In order to continue being considered a leading social network, Facebook is having to become more mobile; accessible to those that access the network solely from a smartphone or tablet. As such, Facebook has begun reaching out to mobile developers.
Social networking is becoming increasingly mobile
Over the coming months, Facebook will be hosting a series of events that are designed with mobile developers in mind. More than half of the network’s 1 billion active users access the network through mobile devices. Facebook notes that mobile advertisements made up 23% of its advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of 2012, up 14% over the previous quarter of the same year. Becoming more mobile friendly holds major potential for Facebook that the network is eager to take advantage of.
Events will allow Facebook to engage mobile developers
Through its upcoming series of events, which will be held around the world in major cities like New York, London, and Seoul, Facebook will reach out to mobile developers that are interested in social media. The network will help developers make use of its software development kits in order to create innovative services that are designed to promote social interaction with Facebook users, including large businesses. The events are also a good chance for developers to get face time with Facebook leaders, giving them an opportunity to find work within the company.
Social networking becoming more competitive as consumers become more mobile
In recent years, Facebook has been losing much of its clout to rival social networks, such as Twitter and Instagram, despite the fact that the company owns the latter. The current generation of consumers appears to be more interested in mobile technology, and Twitter is one of the social media networks that is best suited for the mobile space. In order to compete, Facebook is prepared to make drastic changes to its network, putting more emphasis on mobile consumers. How this will be received by the large number of people that do not access the social network from a mobile device has yet to be seen.
