DailyTech - Brand Ads to Pop Up in Facebook News Feed -- Even If You Don't "Like" It

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Internet Brand Ads to Pop Up in Facebook News Feed -- Even If You Don't "Like" It
Tiffany Kaiser - August 15, 2012 1:54 PM

15 comment(s) - last by mrwassman.. on Aug 15 at 7:05 PM

(Source: gearaffiti.com)

Facebook will be testing brand ad promotion in the News Feeds of non-fans

Brand advertisements will not only appear in your Facebook News Feed if you "like" their page -- they may just invade your feed even if you don’t “like” them pretty soon.

Facebook recently announced that it plans to test the promotion of brands' ads on non-fan's News Feeds. The idea behind the move, as you might've guessed, is to increase ad revenue.

Before now, a Facebook user had to "like" a brand's Facebook page in order to see its updates and advertisements on their News Feed. Another way to see brand ads was when a friend liked or commented on a brand page that they liked.

"These ads will look like other Page post ads in News Feed and be labeled as sponsored," said Annie Ta, Facebook spokeswoman. "We think this will make it easier for businesses to reach more people. This is a small test, and we're constantly gathering feedback from people on how to improve our ad experience."

Facebook takes its ads very seriously -- probably because ads like Sponsored Stories, which rolled out in January 2012, bring in about $1 million per day alone in revenue. Also, Facebook is likely looking to help brands better advertise their products so that the social network can dip into more moolah. Back in May of this year, General Motors axed $10 million in Facebook advertisements because the automaker said they were "ineffective." Just a shot in the dark here, but Facebook probably doesn't want anymore of that.

The company mentioned in a recent earnings call that ads with social context tend to engage Facebookers better than traditional display ads, but this new move would stray from that since the social aspect of a friend "liking" the page isn't required. They will appear more like traditional advertisements on the News Feed.

The date of testing hasn't yet been confirmed, but it will be applied to both desktop and mobile platforms. The mobile end of this makes sense, considering the social network is looking to launch its own smartphone in mid 2013 and has been looking for new ways to increase ad revenue in the mobile realm.

Source: Adweek

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Facebook Blackout

By chris2618 on 8/15/2012 3:13:21 PM , Rating: 1

It may take some organizing but like the internet blackouts, for 24 hours everyone stops using facebook. Its would cause minimal disturbance to the addicts and it would be easy enough for normal people as well.

Lets but a provisional time of the blackout at 11:00(GMT) 11/11/2012

That way it can also coincides with remembrance day in alot of countries and Veterans day in America.

RE: Facebook Blackout

By invidious on 8/15/2012 3:19:08 PM , Rating: 3

The only way to send them a message is to deactivate our accounts.

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RE: Facebook Blackout

By TSS on 8/15/2012 5:23:02 PM , Rating: 2

I'm pretty sure at this point zuckerberg has made his money. By all means you should still deactivate your account and delete all content on your FB before that. But it won't send any message.

That time has come and gone long ago.

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RE: Facebook Blackout

By hughlle on 8/15/2012 5:29:46 PM , Rating: 2

Alternatively you could delete your account...

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RE: Facebook Blackout

By schmandel on 8/15/2012 6:22:12 PM , Rating: 2

It was never clear to me that Facebook's recent identification of fake id accounts including purging. Of the 15 accounts for which I still have ids and passwords, only one was purged. These aren't empty accounts, they are obviously fictional and sown with search polluting content upon creation.
---

The closest you can get to deleting your Facebook account is this, but I doubt the data is ever really purged.

How to Permanently Delete a Facebook Account
http://www.wikihow.com/Permanently-Delete-a-Facebo...

My FB short is doing nicely thank you. Current targets are $14, then $10.

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RE: Facebook Blackout

By Adam M on 8/15/2012 5:59:40 PM , Rating: 2

Between a certain friend who shares way too much about his political views and the ever increasing "sponsored" posts, I don't have any clue what my actual friends are doing. If they post anything it is almost immediately flushed out by ads or rhetoric. I suppose that Facebook has the right to try and make a profit, just as I have the right to NOT CLICK ON A DAMN THING that might make them profit. I was a reluctant late adopter of Facebook but that doesn't mean that I ever liked it. The service was just a means to an end and once the fad dies and the site a long with it, I will move to the next means to an end.

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simple response i guess....

By mackx on 8/15/2012 2:22:17 PM , Rating: 2

report spam/abusive content. if enough do that it'll screw them up.

on a different track - maybe more people will take up adblockers for facebook due to this.

RE: simple response i guess....

By Natch on 8/15/2012 2:36:18 PM , Rating: 2

Or do like I do, and completely ignore them. Much like the fact that Facebook still hasn't figured out that, simply because I know (or are friends with) someone, doesn't mean that I know every person that they know, and every person that they know, etc, etc. I used to X those out, but it gets ridiculous (especially after you've added someone), and it's not worth my time.

But hey, so long as advertisers are dumb enough to believe that I'm willing to pay attention to their ads, and sponsor sites for me to use for free, more power to 'em!

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RE: simple response i guess....

By wickyman on 8/15/2012 2:55:05 PM , Rating: 3

I block all ads on all sites and have been doing so for years. I have no problem using affiliated links to major retailers that I use. Like if I read a review of a new video card or SSD and the site provides a link to Newegg, if I am going to buy it I will use that link. But otherwise, I have every right to block ads and will continue to do so. I find it even more important to block ads on mobile browsers such as for the Android and iOS tablets/phones where screen real estate is at a premium, bandwidth is expensive, and there is no use wasting your limited resources in loading ads.

Also, on topic of those annoying "people you may know" and other such "features" Facebook provides, you can set a rule in various plugins for Firefox or Chrome to block those whole sections as well.

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RE: simple response i guess....

By Type-S on 8/15/2012 7:02:45 PM , Rating: 2

Except it won't adds in the traditional sense, it'll be like any other post someone makes and is put into your news feed.

Though I don't doubt someone will go through the work of making a plug-in that will be able to filter your news feed as it loads. A traditional ad blocker isn't going to do much.

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My advice...

By SublimeSimplicity on 8/15/2012 2:25:03 PM , Rating: 2

If you don't like it, learn to love it.

RE: My advice...

By geddarkstorm on 8/15/2012 2:51:23 PM , Rating: 2

Nike keeps telling me to "just do it".

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Honestly. . .

By Type-S on 8/15/2012 6:54:06 PM , Rating: 2

. . . who cares?

If you don't like it, don't use facebook. Facebook is not an essential service. You most likely have a cellphone with all the contacts you care to keep in contact with that you can text, call or email. If its photo sharing, so go straight to their albums. A huge majority of facebook posts are ridiculous, idiotic or re-hashed humour.

No one's forcing you to use it, no one's asking for you to pay for it.

Facebook is a company, a now publicly traded (lol oh how badly that went for people buying into the hype) who's first priority is generating revenue. First-world nations are information, service and financial services driven now. Facebook is like a pandora's box of information, and you're only fooling yourself if you think they're not gonna crack that box wide open.