These days, it seems like Facebook is trying everything within its power to generate revenue. While the social media giant does rake in more than $1 billion annually thanks to advertising, it never hurts to find additional revenue sources (as Facebook execs well know). One possible way to do this might be to open up sponsored stories to the average Facebook fan – something that advertisers have long been able to do via the social network.

Right now, Facebook is testing out this new initiative and it has many Facebook fans excited, to say the least. How will the “highlights” work and how much will it cost to highlight one of your posts? If you want to know how you can spring to the top of a news feed, here’s what Facebook is telling the public for the time being.

Minimal Costs Reach All Users

Let’s say, for example, that you are running in a race for charity. You need to raise money to run, but your own friends are simply not in the donating mood. If Facebook goes ahead with allowing user highlights, you could send your posting plea to the top of everyone’s newsfeed list. There, at the top of a list, your post will sit, highlighted, important, and sponsored. How much will it cost to sponsor a post through the Facebook network?

Keep in mind that Facebook wants to appeal to the average user with the new highlight initiative. Therefore, the social network can’t charge too much to provide this service to regular users. Right now, it looks like sponsoring a post will cost around $1-$2 per post, though I’m sure that this rate will change in accordance with the types of posts and the number of times you want to feature a post. As mentioned, Facebook is just testing the idea right now, so it’s hard to place any certainty on pricing for the time being.

A Good Idea or An Annoying One?

Presumably, Facebook isn’t going to restrict the types of posts that users can pay to highlight. This means that anything from a random thought you have to the type of music that you want the world to know you listen to will be fair game. There are many instances where sponsored posts could be educational, beneficial, and an all-around great idea. On the flip side, there are many (more?) instances where these types of posts will be chalked up to nothing more than mere annoyances. With this in mind, it might be a good idea for Facebook to consider restricting anonymous and useless highlighted posts. Then again, this would alienate a portion of the Facebook user market, and that would certainly not be a good thing.

If Facebook is to roll out this new feature, would you consider paying a few dollars to have one of your posts highlighted? I can certainly see how this new feature would benefit someone looking to gain an audience. Only, I do have to wonder whether or not people will become agitated over the many sponsored posts sitting in a newsfeed and simply leave the network altogether – were this to happen, Google Plus is ready and willing to catch the overflow.