Facebook slowly approaching mobile advertising effectiveness

Facebook slowly approaching mobile advertising effectiveness 

Facebook has seen significant growth in its mobile user base during 2012, with the site now boasting 680 million mobile users worldwide.

Mobile advertising revenue grew accordingly, with Facebook recording earnings of $304 million in Q4. Mobile ad receipts now make up nearly a quarter of the company’s total advertising income and this is set to grow even further.

So how does Facebook Mobile Advertising work?

Sponsored Stories

Sponsored Stories posts appear in separate clearly denoted segments in the Facebook mobile News Feed.They appear as either ‘Pages You May Like’ posts or as stories of other users liking photos, claiming prizes and offers.With a low cost-per-click rate, Sponsored Stories are a tool favored by many marketers looking for a cost-effective means of advertising on mobile.

Mobile Ads for Apps

Released in beta in August 2012, Facebooks Mobile Ads for Apps allows developers advertise their apps in a way similar to the above sponsored stories. However, the mobile ad provides a direct link to the App Store or Google Play so that interested customers can press on the ad and be brought directly to the app download page.

Facebook are claiming a 50% higher click-through rate and 10 x reach from Ads for Apps and are receiving very positive feedback from new users.

Page Post Ads

Page Posts appear directly in the News Feed and are similar to Sponsored Stories but tend to be more interactive, containing more photos, videos etc.

Page Posts also don’t require a social context, meaning a friend does not have had to have liked the page before it appears in their News Feed.

Summary

With Facebook putting mobile innovation firmly at the forefront of its expansion plans, mobile ad revenue is only going to grow, cementing Facebooks social media dominance in mobile as well as desktop platforms.

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