As the centre of gravity for social media switches to mobile, Facebook is in countdown mode to a major mobile strategy launch in March. In the Facebook mobile social media strategy watch out for heavyweight location based services, augmented reality layers and hopefully some open Facebook location APIs. And our extra bet is that the Facebook mobile social media strategy will include a head-on attack to knock Twitter and FourSquare out of the net and off the iPhone…
Two people with the knowledge of the company’s plans told Business Week that Facebook will be entering the mobile ad market by the end of March 2012.
The sources also said the company was planning to enter the mobile ad space this year but the plans got delayed.
The move will give the market-leading social network a fresh source of revenue ahead of a possible initial public offering.
An idea being considered is putting Facebook’s Sponsored Stories ads, which feature friends’ interactions with brands, within the mobile News Feed, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the plans aren’t public.
The News Feed lets users view status updates, photos and other content.
Facebook, which has more than 800 million users, is increasing its focus on mobile technology with the aim of taking advantage of the shift to smartphones and tablets.
The company expects its next 1 billion users to come mainly from mobile devices rather than desktop computers. More than 350 million users already access Facebook through mobile devices, according to the site.
The company had originally expected to roll out the advertising service on mobile devices earlier this year, and the plan could be delayed again, one of the people said.
Facebook’s revenue is expected to rise to as much as $6.9 billion in 2012, from $4.27 billion this year, according to eMarketer.
The research firm said almost 90% of Facebook revenue comes from advertising revenue. It also makes money from its Credits business, which earns a commission on transactions in certain applications, such as games.