It’s turning out to be a great year for Mark Zuckerberg – and maybe social marketers – already. News broke on Sunday that the social network received an investment from Goldman Sachs that nearly matches its 500 million-member user base.
The New York Times was the first to report that Facebook raised $500 million – $450 million from Goldman (deemed one of the nation’s savviest investment firms) and another $50 million from a Russian investment firm. Rumor has it that this foreshadows Facebook’s intention to go public in 2012, with the company valued at approximately $50 billion.
Marketers may be more interested in how these funds will be used to fuel the growth of the social platform. For one, the company may be boosting its display ad offerings. As Brafton has reported, the social site accounts for one in four display ad impressions.
There is even more buzz about the potential for Facebook to develop a search portal. There are ample search engines in the market that pride themselves on offering social data, relying on Facebook plugins. For example, Bing offers Facebook Like data in social results and Blekko now offers a social search slashtag to users who login through Facebook. Some think Facebook’s new money will make it move away from these partnerships to work on its own search portal.
Another theory taking the web comes from eWeek, suggesting that Facebook may buy the social browser RockMelt to take on Google Chrome. As Brafton has reported, RockMelt builds an entire internet experience around Facebook and other social sites.
No matter how these funds are used, Goldman’s investment is just another piece of evidence that 2011 may prove the year of Facebook for internet marketers. It’s already clear the social site is a top priority among online consumers. As Brafton reported at the end of 2010, Hitwise data reveals Facebook-related queries were four of the top 10 search phrases on the web.
