Sending Out of Network Facebook Messages

Back in December, Facebook was testing out a new feature that would let you pay to send out of network Facebook Messages. For most users, they thought paying to send Facebook Messages was a hoax.

Over the weekend, I was going to send a Facebook Message to a user who was outside of my network and was immediately prompted with the following message. If I wanted to send a Facebook message to someone outside of my network, I would need to pay. Seriously? Yes, you may have to pay to send a Facebook Message to someone outside of your network.

For those of you who don’t know about paying to send out of network Facebook Messages, here’s how they work.

Sending an out of network Facebook Message

If you want to send a Facebook Message to someone who is outside of your Facebook network, you have two options – send a message to their other folder or pay to send a message to their Inbox.

The Other Folder

Think of the “other” folder as a black hole. These are messages that have been filtered out of your main Inbox. For most Facebook users, they rarely venture over to the “other” folder. In fact, this folder requires users to access their Facebook Messages and then click into the “other” folder to access them.

Sure, the person you intended to message will receive it, but what this means is that most Facebook users (especially those who you don’t know), won’t ever access it because they rarely venture outside of their normal Facebook Messages. Seems like a great idea, right?

So let’s move on to the other option – paying to send an out of network Facebook Message.

Paid Facebook Messages

On the contrary, Facebook users can choose to pay to send out of network Facebook Messages. What this means is that for a small fee, your message will get delivered to a users Inbox and the recipient will receive a notification and see it. So is it worth it?

Personally, I don’t see an issue with paying to send out of network Facebook Messages. LinkedIn charges users to see a more detailed view of which users viewed their profile. I consider this Facebook feature on par.

Is it worth it to pay to send an out of network Facebook Message?

While the cost of sending an out of network Facebook Message is just $1, I expect users who have a large number of followers to cost more. If someone is a celebrity, the cost will also be astronomically higher (we’re not talking $1,000). Maybe $100 per message.

Overall, I like this feature. Not only does it help cut down on the spam people receive, but it also places an importance on building a quality network and on building strong relationships with friends and acquaintances - this way you won’t have to worry about paying to send an out of network Facebook Message.

In addition, if you have something important that needs to be communicated to someone you don’t know on Facebook, if the cost is minimal, it may make sense to pay to send a Facebook Message to someone outside of your network to guarantee that they receive your paid message.

Now that I’ve shared my thoughts on paying to send an out of network Facebook Message, I have a question for you.

Question: Is $1 too expensive to send an out of network Facebook Message? How much would you be willing to pay (if anything) to ensure your message was delivered to someone who was outside of your network? Click here to leave a comment.