OK, maybe you don’t have time to play those games on Facebook. BUT – your customers might. AppBank launched today a new Facebook application development tool that allows even the least technical among us to create Facebook applications, such as:
- Personality Quizzes
- Trivia / Knowledge quizzes
- Name Decoder
- Gifts
You install the development tool from Appbank on your Facebook profile, then you’re up and away creating applications.
Applications can not only drive people to your site, but can also earn you money, as relevant advertising appears on your application page which you then earn money from (in a very similar way people who allow Google Ads on their web pages make money from these ads.)
I wanted to see how easy it was to use this tool, so I created a music trivia quiz called “know music?”. You can take it here if you’re a Facebook user: http://apps.facebook.com/knowmusic_lqahpf/.
My verdict?
- It was pretty simple to use, but if you have a faint heart when it comes to doing technical things on your computer, there are a few steps at the end of the application creation process that might daunt you. I also had to separately upload my brand image outside of the tool because it wasn’t appearing next to my Facebook application.
- One of the cool things you can do is to add images and video assets to each question – I didn’t do this for my quiz, but I’m sure it will make the quiz more entertaining to users.
A few pointers, though, before you go creating your own application
- Before you create your “real” application, try creating a few dummy ones just to get the feel for this application development tool.
- When you’ve finally selected the application you want to create, make sure you’ve already created your questions and any additional assets (including Youtube videos and images)
- It’s important to have a brand image for your application. Make sure it’s square and can be read when shrunk down to a 1″ X 1″ size. (I created my image using a text box in Word, printing to .pdf, then cropping the .pdf file and saving as a .jpg file using the Preview application – all very easy when you have an Apple!)
How could businesses use this service?
- A winery could create a wine appreciation quiz
- Bed and breakfast accommodations could build a “How well do you know Lake County” quiz
- Gift “Heart Cakes” if you’re a bakery
Let me know what application you’ve created here and your review of the Facebook application developer tool from Appbank.
