Ning opens new doors to revenue and involvement.
First based on the freemium model to lure social media users, Ning closed its free services in 2010, puzzling over 2.3 million users at the time. A good lesson for those who live under the impression that “free” lasts forever.
The move, however, didn’t kill the network. The old Ning sold to Glam, which now reports the release of the next generation Ning platform, with advanced new features, new social tools, out-of-the box mobile experience, built-in premium advertising and scalability for building very large and engaged social networks.
The new platform has been in works since Glam acquired Ning in December 2011. This Ning platform release includes several powerful new capabilities including:
- Social Aggregator with deeper integration opportunities and advanced tools to make Ning a social aggregator and hub for everything on the social web,
- Social Mobile with a configurable HTML optimized solution that enables Ning Creators to extend their community reach across all mobile interfaces, including smartphones and tablets,
- Glam Social Ads on Ning that enable Ning Creators to add Glam’s social brand advertising for brands to deliver engaging marketing campaigns within Ning diverse social communities,
- and Ning VIP, which offers scalability, customization and support for large scale social networks.
In addition to the new Ning platform, Glam also announced Glam Social, powered by Ning, for businesses and brands to manage their own social communities and fan pages.
The new platform features are scheduled to roll-out to existing and new Ning creators over the next few weeks and Glam Social will be available to brands and businesses in Q3 with subscription plans starting at $24.95 a month. A free 30-day trial is also available.