Facebook is reported to have begun including Sponsored Story advertising in user news feeds, according to a spokesperson who spoke to Inside Facebook today.
The social network has taken a lot of heat since it announced last month that it would begin including ads in news feeds, however it is aiming to keep them relevant by imposing specific conditions on the ads.
Relevance
Companies cannot simply splash out to get a news feed ad placement, it will operate more like a reminder option. The Sponsored Story feature can instead be used to feature posts from a company page in the news feed of users that already like the page.
The measures mean that, for example, only users that already like Ben & Jerry’s page will see Sponsored Stories stories from the company, as below, in their timeline.
Businesses with pages can also use the new ads to recruit new fans by promoting the activity of their fans — who may like a page or post from the page — to their friends. Promotion like this will be marked as “featured” to those who view it, and Facebook is hoping the fact that the activity is between friends will keep it relevant.
Featured Stories will be served to users whose friends have interacted with Ben & Jerry’s page, assuming that the Ben & Jerry’s pays to promote them.
Facebook has promised that it will serve no more than one Sponsored Story to each user per day, as it aims to avoid overloading them with content.
Learning from the past?
The company has learnt from its disastrous introduction of Beacon, which dropped adds into news. Mark Zuckerberg recently reflected on Beacon, describing it as regrettable, and the new formula for in-timeline adverts looks to be a better effort at monetising the most precious part of the social network.
However, we can’t help thinking that the situation could be clearer. It has been suggested that Facebook could instead produce a dedicated ad news reel, rather than mixing things together. With its approach Facebook is clearly aiming at providing better quality (and more expensive) placements for its advertisers, for now at least.
If you’re a marketer wanting to know more, you can visit Facebook’s Sponsored Stories and Feature Stories sections for fuller explanations.
i think its Right Decision for getting more ads
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Likeyou wanted photos and movies on FB, you have them, and the ads... wecome IPO, bye bye users!
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LikeAdam Kubalica Facebook's IPO would mean a need to keep customers, I think you'll see a greater focus on pleasing people rather than chasing cash 100%.
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LikeJon Russell
ads in Timeline and in other places on Facebook are supposed to please me? They already have lots of users, now they need the investors... and they must show them ways of generating profit...
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Likeouch. No more ads, please.
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LikeWow. Someone really needed to proofread this article.
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LikeConversation from Facebook
will it happen in fan page like ours AnimHuT- Creative Blog - but until now didnt see.
Also why people complain is beyond me. It is a free service, if they charged you would be more pissed off. They have to make money in some way. Thats what business' do.
Richard Disapora? The only reason it hasn't got ads like Facebook is because its tiny, if it became huge it would need the revenue stream.
Good design of ads for me
Haven't seen them yet ;)
No I cant.
yes and I hate them. It's been going on for long time. There was a crappy message before they started this which explained how fb earns money.
not yet.
Blech! Diaspora!