Facebook Ad Vs. Social Ad
Facebook transformed its Flyers advertising service into Facebook Ads and Social Ads in 2007. Facebook Ads and Social Ads took advantage of the information Facebook gathered from users' profiles and interactions with the website in ways no other website could to target ads to consumers' interests. The ads proved so popular that Facebook served more ads than any other website by the first quarter of 2010, according to comScore, a market research company. Competition continues to drive up the price of advertising on Facebook, so make the most of your advertising budget by choosing the type of Facebook ad that meets your needs.
Other People Are Reading
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Ad Content
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Facebook ads and sponsored stories differ in their content. Sponsored stories turn customer's interactions with your Facebook page or business into advertisements. Friends are alerted when people they know like your Facebook page, check into your business or use your application. Facebook ads simply promote a product or service without mentioning a friend's use of your company's services. Social ads link to your application or Facebook page; standard Facebook ads may link to external websites.
Targeted Audience
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Facebook's advertising services offer several ways you can specify who sees your ad. By targeting your audience appropriately, you only pay to advertise to people likely to be interested in your service or product. Standard Facebook ads lets you choose your audience based on information in users' profiles: their age, gender, relationship status, location and a variety of other personal factors. Social ads are targeted based on how users or their friends interact with your company's Facebook page or application.
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Price
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Sponsored stories and Facebook ads use the same pricing model. Advertisers specify an amount they are willing to pay for their targeted audience, and Facebook displays the ads with the highest bids. Facebook allows advertisers to pay for ads based on impressions (ad displays) or clicks, and ads using both payment models compete against each other for ad space. Facebook suggests an amount advertisers should bid for ads based on the targeted audience the advertiser specifies when creating the ads.
Privacy Considerations
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Social ads rely on information collected as people "like" Facebook pages, check in to businesses and use applications. Although customers may choose to share those actions over Facebook, they may not approve of your company turning their personal actions into advertisements. For example, people can "like" your Facebook page but hide that action so it doesn't appear in their employers' news feeds; use caution when creating social ads if your product or service is controversial. Facebook Ads don't pose the same concerns because they don't use customers as brand ambassadors. However, privacy-conscious customers might still be bothered by ads that are targeted to them based on information they haven't shared publicly.
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References
- Facebook Help Center: Sponsored Stories for Businesses and Organizations
- Facebook: Social Ads
- Facebook: Facebook for Business
- comScore: Americans Received 1 Trillion Display Ads in Q1 2010 as Online Advertising Market Rebounds from 2009 Recession
- Small Business Arena: Facebook Flyers Becomes Facebook Ads
