Facebook is seeking more face-time with marketers with the full roll out of its new ad format, “Engagement Ads.”
The Palo Alto, Calif., company started testing the ad module in August, and made it available to all advertisers earlier this month, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The new ads appear on the homepage next to the “News Feed,” and prompt members to leave comments on an ad, RSVP to an event, sign up as a “fan” of a product through Facebook’s “Pages” feature, or use an ad as a way to send a brand-related virtual gift to a friend.
The WSJ reported yesterday that Ben & Jerry’s recently sponsored an RSVP event where members could respond “yes” or “no” to its election day offer of free ice cream for anyone who voted.
Facebook has employed several advertising methods in the past, including low-budget graphical “fliers” that advertisers could buy to promote events. According to the WSJ article, the company has been building its own sales force since 2005, including the hiring of ad sales executives from companies including Yahoo. It has also been meeting with media agencies like Starcom MediaVest Group to pitch products and generate awareness of its free research tools.
Facebook Ads launched last year with three segments: a way for businesses to build pages on Facebook to connect with their audiences; an ad system that facilitates the spread of brand messages virally through Facebook Social Ads; and an interface for marketers to gain relevant insights into people’s activity on the social media site..
During a keynote speech at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco last week, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company had made progress selling its Social Ads, which broadcast users’ behavior to friends. For example, if they watch the preview of a movie, and comment on it, that information will be broadcast to their friends on the service.
Social Ads is a revamped version of Facebook’s notable ad venture Beacon, which attracted criticism when it launched last year. When Facebook users shopped online, Beacon told friends and businesses what they looked at or bought.
Though Facebook says 70 of the U.S.’s 100 largest advertisers have advertised on its site since 2007, its share of total U.S. online display ad views was just 1.1% according to market research firm comScore Inc., reports WSJ.
Despite this, Facebook’s revenue is still expected to more than double to between $300 and $350 million this year.
