SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook Inc.’s popular online hangout so far has proved to be a better place for promoting fun and games than peddling products.
But a new application aims to inject more commerce into the social playground by paying Facebook members who help merchants sell to their friends.
The program, called Market Lodge, revolves around the notion that consumers are more likely to buy merchandise or services recommended by someone they know and trust.
Market Lodge, made by a Colorado startup called bSocial Networks Inc., will pay Facebook members a 10 percent commission on all sales made on their recommendations.
Facebook tried to capitalize on the bonds of friendship last year by introducing a marketing system that includes broadcasting product endorsements among people who know one another.
The strategy hasn’t paid off yet, largely because many of Facebook’s users rebelled against a feature called “Beacon” that tracked and shared information about their purchases and other actions made on other websites.
Conifer-based bSocial is betting that Facebook’s roughly 67 million users will be more receptive to an approach that dangles a financial incentive for participating.
Facebook members who decide to use Market Lodge can customize their own stores, selecting from more than 1,200 products sold by about 50 different merchants.
