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Social Network Advertising
Online Advertising With Facebook Social Ads: New Opportunities and Challenges
 Social networking sites may be among the most popular and fastest growing Internet platforms in terms of monthly visitors, but advertising on social networks has proven to be a difficult nut to crack when ads are not engaging and highly relevant to the users’ interest. This fact is supported by a recent study from Prospectiv, which reveals that most users of social media networking web sites like Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Bebo and Friendster are fine with ads as long as they are offers and promotions that are targeted to their interests.
Based on this and other research it is fair to say that most people will tolerate advertising on social networking web sites as long as it is relevant, informative and entertaining and fits within the community atmosphere and does not interrupt the conversations they are having with their friends. To have any chance of success with advertising on social networks, advertising messages must be delivered without intrusion.
Paid Ad Systems for Facebook and MySpace
Facebook offers a “do-it-yourself” ad platform through the Social Ads program where advertisers can serve ads to Facebook members in reserved ad space based on information in their profiles and in the Facebook Newsfeed based “friend activities”.
Myspace has launched a similar do-it-your-self platform called MyAds. The MyAds platform is currently in beta testing and is part of MySpace’s larger HyperTargeting ad system, which was introduced in November of 2007. The SelfServe ad platform could be made widely available in late summer or early autumn of this year. Like Facebook’s Social Ads, the MySpace MyAds ad system gives users the customized tools to upload ads and select target audiences based on geographic, demographic and user interest criteria and then track the results.
Facebook Social Ads Program
Facebook is a social network web site launched on February 4, 2004. Facebook provides free access to users who can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profile to inform friends about themselves.
Originally created as a way for students at a particular college or university to find and connect with each other, Facebook is now accessible to everyone over the age of 13 with an email address.
With its self-serve Social Ads program Facebook has taken an approach to paid ad serving that is non-intrusive with relevant ad targeting. They have leveraged the general profile data they have for each user, such as geographic location, male or female effectively and are using precise targeting technology to target the members of the Facebook community.
Facebook Demographics
A large and growing portion of the most valuable demographics are spending more of their time and attention on Facebook and less on other media channels. Not only are US college students and teenagers fully engaged in Facebook, but adults and professionals now constitute a substantial portion of the Facebook user base as well.
In terms of web site traffic Facebook is the number 2 social network in the US with around 36 million unique visitors as of May, 2008.
Facebook Ads
Facebook Social Ads are a part of Facebook’s Social Ads program, which is a complete self-serve auction-based system similar to the Google AdWords content system. A Facebook Social Ad is primarily used for branding and direct marketing of products and services on Facebook. The Social Ad account set-up provides real time feedback on the size of a target audience and a suggested daily ad budget to show an ad continuously.
Ad Targeting and Placement
Facebook Social Ads offer effective targeting capabilities, which allow advertisers to limit the Facebook audience that sees a social ad by age, sex, location, keywords, education level, workplaces, political views, and relationship status.
Social Ads appear in two places: in a user’s News Feed as sponsored content or beneath the Application window in the ad space along the left column of a Facebook page. In addition, Social Ads may also be targeted to friends of users who have recently engaged with a company or brand via a Facebook Page.
Payment Models and Advertising Cost
With Social Ads, Facebook offers advertisers the option to pay for targeted advertising on a PPC (pay-per-click) or CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) basis, whichever they prefer.
PPC advertising allows Facebook advertisers to specify a certain amount that they are willing to pay each time a user actually clicks on a Facebook ad. Pay per view or CPM (cost per thousand impressions) advertising allows advertisers to specify how much they are willing to pay for 1000 views (or impressions) of an ad.
Advertisers that choose the PPC payment model are bidding for ad placement with other advertisers through an auction-based system. If an ad wins, Facebook displays the ad in the reserved ad space along the left column of a Facebook page, as a sponsored ad in the News Feed, or both. Advertisers can specify a daily budget that they are willing to spend and the amount they are charged will never exceed the daily budget.
A typical click-through rate for Facebook Social Ads can vary greatly and range from 0.1 to 0.03 percent depending on the product or services that is advertised and the target audience.
Ad Formats and Ad Creation
Facebook Social ads include a title, an image, body copy and an option to include Social Actions. Social ads are limited to 25 characters for the title and 135 characters for the body text. A Facebook ad can include an image of maximum 110 pixels wide x 80 pixels tall with an aspect ratio of 4:3 or 16:9. Image files size is limited to 5 megabytes. Animated or flash images or not supported. Social ads can link to a Facebook Page, Facebook Application or an external web site.
Although we have experienced mixed results with Facebook Social Ad system, some campaigns have performed well. Due to its nature (people are there not for the content but to socialize with their friend) social network advertising is much different than traditional online advertising. It requires different creative, precise targeting to the interest of the network users, frequent testing and the outcome is often unpredictable. Despite the difficulties in persuading users to click on ads the enormous scale of social networking web sites cannot be avoided and will continue to attract direct-response advertisers and brand marketers through network buys.
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Past Presentations
495/MetroWest Business Expo
Sheraton Framingham Hotel
Pre-Expo Keynote Presentation
“A Strategic Approach to Integrated Marketing”
Presenter: Louise Rijk, Vice-President of Marketing and Sales
Click here to play the video.
Bentley College, 2008 - Waltham, MA
“Planning and Integrating a Targeted Internet Marketing Campaign”
Click here to play the video.
WebmasterWorld Pubcon 2007 - Las Vegas, NV
“Planning and Integrating a Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) Campaign”
Click here to play the video.
BizAction 2007 - Washington DC
"Email, Social Media and Search in the Overall Marketing Mix"
Click here to play the audio.
128 Business Expo 2007
"Blogging and Podcasting For Business"
Click here to play the video.
495/Metrowest Business Expo
Pre-Expo Keynote
"The Rise of the Internet as a Mass Advertising Medium"
Click here to play the video.
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If you would like more information on Internet Marketing, Consulting, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing and Email Marketing, please
click here.
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Copyright © 1996-2008. Advanced Media Productions, Inc.
Advanced Media Productions, Inc.
251 West Central St., Suite 28, Natick, Massachusetts 01760, USA
Tel: 508-647-5151 Fax: 508-647-5150
E-mail: info@advmediaproductions.com
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