Facebook and Social Ads

Facebook introduced its much anticipated advertising model on Tuesday of this week. Facebook ads put a different twist on serving ads over the Internet. Ad messages from marketers appearing on Facebook will be delivered by Facebook members as a type of referral to their friends. The concept has been branded “Social Ads” by the company. Also, businesses can create Facebook pages, and Facebook users can sign up to become “fans” of the business. Fans will be the transmitters of ad messages to friends they believe would be interested in learning about a particular advertiser.

The potential benefits to advertisers are two-fold. First, companies that use Facebook ads can obtain an extensive amount of information on audience characteristics, both demographic and psychographic data. Second, credibility of ad messages could be enhanced because of the implicit (or explicit) endorsement of one’s friend rather than an ad coming directly from the marketer. Word-of-mouth is powerful; there are no better messengers for a brand than users who are convinced that the brand delivers value! Link

Author: Don Roy

Don Roy is a marketing educator, blogger, and author. His thirty-year career began with roles in retail management, B2B sales, and franchise management. For the past 27 years, Don has shared his passion for marketing as a marketing professor. Don's teaching and research interests include brands, sports marketing, and social media marketing. Don has authored over 20 articles in scholarly journals, co-authored two textbooks, and self-published three books on personal branding. Don is an avid hockey fan and enjoys running. He and his wife, Sara, have three sons. View all posts by Don Roy