Facebook is opening up its best performing ad units, including auto-play video and carousel ads, to other developers under its Audience Network ad program.
If you’re not familiar, the Audience Network was announced way back at Facebook’s F8 conference in April 2014, and it basically allows the company to target users using its collection of information while they’re using other apps. App developers benefit from advanced targeting without needing to hire their own ad team.
When a user visits an audience network app, they’re shown personalized ads which are targeted based on their public Facebook information. Facebook get a cut for doing the targeting, while the developer gets the rest of the money.
Today’s update includes four ad types: both click-to-play and auto-play video, multi-image carousel ads, and Dynamic Product Ads which target users based on their shopping habits.
The change should help both Facebook and advertisers; Facebook says apps on its Audience Network already perform seven times better than traditional banner ads; the video support would likely only boost that number further.
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On Facebook’s end, TechCrunch points out that the better Facebook can make its Audience Network ads, the less it needs to show on its own platform, leading to a less cluttered experience.That would go against the traditional mantra we experience on social platforms; with Facebook showing less ads than it currently does.
➤ Facebook Brings Auto-Play Video Ads To Apps In Its Mobile Ad Network [TechCrunch]
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