Advertisement: The ace in Facebook’s sleeve gets out after IPO – Part 2

Given that advertisement on Facebook is not akin to traditional promotion on television or paper, but the hits marketers get through the social network are big numbers. But that brings us to the next point in discussion.

Marketing on Facebook is a new concept to the masses and companies are experimenting on this concept. If it pans out, Facebook might become the single largest platform for strong advertisement.

“Brands are experimenting on social media to see what’s most effective, and what metrics best measure that,” says Jonathan Weitz, a partner with the boutique media consulting firm Interactive Broadband Consulting Group.

People have an average of 130 Facebook friends, so when they “Like” a brand that endorsement spreads instantly to the news feeds of many of those friends.

Last year’s example in front of everybody. Mars Chocolate North America, for instance, seeded demand before last year’s launch of M&M’s Pretzel by offering samples through a virtual vending machine to 40,000 fans, who each could spread the offer to two of their friends. In less than 48 hours 120,000 samples flew out the door.

Though advertisement on the network packs a muscle in letting people know of the brands and products/services, users do not do much in the following steps. Various researches have shown that Facebook users feel uneasy in shopping on the network.

There is still a fundamental disconnect between what people are doing on Facebook and what marketers want from them,” said Kurt Abrahamson, CEO of ShareThis, which helps advertisers reach target audiences through content sharing buttons on many websites. “Whether Facebook can become the brand mecca they want to be remains to be seen.”

“Facebook needs to come up with something more beautiful,” Cory Treffiletti, cofounder of digital marketing firm Amplify Social, said in the same story.

One caveat in the way of successful advertisement to the brands and companies is the lack of information provided by Facebook. Due to the tightened rules and regulations from Federal Trade Commission, the social network is bound to restrict marketer’s access to users’ information and cookies that tell a lot about trends. After last year’s incident, when FTC warned FB on the lack of privacy checks on the website, it seems impossible for the company to release any or such information to marketers, especially for the purpose of sales.

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Posted by Usman Khalid on May 16 2012. Filed under Business, Sci-Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.