New Facebook Ads May be Straw that Breaks the Camel’s Back
Since its planned IPO, Facebook has been maneuvering to find ways to become the prize advertisers want it to be. In this regard it struggles, like any social network, between the hard place of keeping its membership base happy and the rock that is the demands made by its investors for a return on their money.
Enter the latest idea, sponsored stories (that’s Facebook for ads) that are referenced not just from the 'Likes' of the individual member, but also from the 'Likes' of their friends. The idea is that there is now greater potential for an ad to go viral, seen by friends (and friends of friends) who if they 'Like' what they see will then push it into an ever widening audience, thus allowing the advertised company to make sales - and Facebook to make some money from ever increasing exposure (clicks or impressions).
In theory this is a sound idea. Where social media is concerned, however, in the step which takes us from theory into practice - something is frequently lost in translation. This case is no exception.
Facebook may have been incredibly successful to date in building up detailed knowledge of its members’ social graph, but the assumption that it is enough for a friend of yours to 'Like' something for you to also like it and, even more importantly, make a purchase, is a stretch that’s hard to swallow.
Social networks like Pinterest prove that when it comes to making purchases the interest graph is much more important. It is in the interest graph space that online consumers make their most purchases, and it is the interest graph that’s of real value when it comes to interpreting what people like and what people buy.
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