14 DAY TRIAL // Online classifieds provider OLX has partnered with social networking site hi5 in an effort to build on each other’s large audiences worldwide. OLX, the largest classified ad site in the world, already provides its services to many social networking sites, especially in Latin-America, and the new partnership will allow hi5 users to integrate the ads into their profile.
"Like OLX, hi5 has a strong and growing global presence. [The partnership] provides more social promotion features to OLX users and it provides a new classifieds platform for hi5 users." says Fabrice Grinda, Co-CEO of OLX. "We expect it to also attract new users, who will find a better social networking and online classifieds experience than they can get anywhere else."
OLX claims to already be the largest classified ad site in the world despite having been founded only in 2006. It's now available in 90 countries and brings in 70 million unique visitors each month. While originally intended as a Craigslist competitor, it has seen its biggest growth outside of the US and has a solid presence in Spanish-speaking countries. A large part of its massive growth has been the strategic partnerships with social networks and other social media sites like Friendster or Fotolog.
hi5 is one of the biggest social networks in the world, though largely unknown in the US, with over 60 million unique visitors from 200 countries. Its biggest user base is from Latin America but it also has a strong presence in Europe and Asia and the site is localized in over 50 languages.
The new partnership will allow hi5 users to embed their ads on OLX in their profiles but also view the ads of their friends. They also have the option to notify their friends through the newsfeed channel. The two companies hope that their massive user numbers, though bound to overlap, will spur further growth for both services.
"Classified listings are a valuable service for our users, and a promising incremental revenue stream for our business," said Peter Foster, chief advertising officer at hi5. "OLX's global prominence, broad language support, and localized listings made them a logical choice to serve our diverse global audience."