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Getting the most out of Facebook ads

June 26, 2012 | Online Marketing

Click rate may be a standard metric across the web, but successful advertisers on Facebook are starting to focus less on driving clicks and more on understanding what happens after the click.

When General Motors pulled its advertising from Facebook, many took it as an indication that the social network’s ad products didn’t work. But in reality, the pullout tells a different story.

In 2011, major marketers dramatically increased their spending on Facebook, buying up the site’s so-called “Premium” ad inventory—ads on users’ homepages and in other exclusive spots—in a quest to acquire “likes.” This year, some marketers have reduced spending on these Premium ads so they can reassess the ads’ effectiveness. As a result, Facebook has seen weaker-than-expected revenues in 2012. However, the company has another side to its ad business, and that self-serve platform, Marketplace, is gaining new prominence.

“The importance of Marketplace is often underestimated,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst and author of the new report, “Facebook Advertising: Why the Marketplace Ad Platform Deserves a Second Look.” “Because the clickthrough rates on these ads are minuscule and because their limited creative palette will never win them awards, Marketplace ads get little respect. Yet when Marketplace targeting and bidding are done correctly, advertisers can be highly successful.”

Read also "Ten examples of Facebook ads that work (and why)"

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