Facebook On Mobile Now Makes It Easier To Get To IAPs

The day has finally arrived. Facebook is now making it easier for app developers to get money from users the moment they install something from Facebook's mobile app. Or to be more specific, Facebook will now let developers immediately take users to a specific in-app purchase after they installed an app instead of taking them to the usual landing page. The stated intention is to ease the user's burden by taking them directly to content that interests them instead of having to search for it themselves.

The feature will be useful for apps that have specific ad campaigns going on. In Facebook's example, a travel app might be trying to promote a San Francisco trip as an in-app purchase. When an interested user taps on the ad in Facebook, they will, at first, be directed to the app's install page as normal. However, once the app is installed, the screen will jump right into that specific IAP shown in the Facebook ad.

This is definitely a small convenience for users who frequently pay attention to these kinds of ads on Facebook. After all, it removes a few steps from the entire process if they're interested in a particular feature of the app in question. Others will, of course, see this is as another dangerous tool in the hands of advertisers eager to squeeze a few more dollars out of your wallets. It could be worse, though. Facebook could have also started the purchase process on the user's behalf, with the user left with nothing to do except tap OK. And we all know how few people read the fine print.

For app developers, they have little to do to get this new feature. It reuses the same functionality that Facebook provides in its re-engagement ads. These ads are more like reminders of the apps that you already do have installed on your device, just in case you've forgotten they're there.

SOURCE: Facebook