Facebook Explores ‘Tip Jar’ Concept For Posts

The social network may be issuing a slew of new ways for its users to make money from their Facebook posts.

According to The Verge, Facebook distributed a survey to its users this week that hinted at ways to earn money or promote causes on the social network, such as a tip jar, branded content and receiving a portion of ad revenue from posts.

While it’s not clear if and when Facebook may make these types of features available to users, it was noted that the survey also gauged respondents’ interest in a “sponsor marketplace” to connect user to advertisers and a “call-to-action” button to request donations.

“It’s still very early, but we’re committed to creating sustainable, long-term monetization models for our partners, and we’re listening to feedback,” a Facebook spokeswoman commented to The Verge on Tuesday (April 19).

Last week, the tech giant was rumored to be making a big commerce splash with the launch of new features that would commerce-enable its Messenger app.

The new tools will be powered by Facebook’s chatbot technology, which will enable its 900 million users to order goods and services within the app. After opening its Messenger API to outside developers, Facebook is reportedly working with a host of merchants to provide new in-app capabilities, as well as establishing partnerships with companies like Uber and Lyft that have worked on in-app integration to enable ride-hailing from within Messenger.

As part of its broader mobile commerce strategy, the Menlo Park-based company is also developing its virtual assistant, M, which would compete with Apple’s Siri and would be capable of performing a wide set of tasks, such as making travel arrangements and providing restaurant suggestions.