You may have noticed a new section to Facebook pages
recently – “Info & Ads”.
This new section added by Facebook is another addition to continuing its
transparency efforts regarding Pages and ads. In this new section, you’ll be
able to find all the ads that a Page has run across Facebook, Instagram and
Messenger, as well as Facebook’s partner networks.
This means that anyone can go to your Page and see all of
the ads you’ve run, whether or not they are part of the original target
audience for the ads. There will also be an option to flag an ad if it’s
suspicious by clicking on the “Report Ad” button.
“The vast majority of ads on Facebook are run by legitimate
organizations — whether it’s a small business looking for new customers, an
advocacy group raising money for their cause, or a politician running for
office. But we’ve seen that bad actors can misuse our products, too,” writes
Facebook’s director of product management, Rob Leathern, and its product
marketing director, Emma Rodgers, the company’s news blog.
What Does This Mean
for Businesses?
With all
of the controversy surrounding Facebook and their advertising policies, it
makes sense for Facebook to be more forthcoming to consumers about the ads they
are, or aren’t, showing.
However, as a business, you select specific targeting
parameters for your ads for a reason, so does it hurt that anyone will be able to see your ads? It
depends.
Sure, you won’t be able to hide if you’re offering different
pricing, but there’s a new opportunity for people who might not have been in
your original target who could be interested in your offer. It could open up
new leads for your business.
Plus, this new section doesn’t just display your ads. Facebook
also is sharing detailed information on the Page, including its creation date
and if there have been any recent name changes to the Page. Facebook says it
has plans to add more Page information soon.
Facebook’s Not Alone
in Ad Transparency
Facebook isn’t the only advertising platform that has taken
steps to protect their platforms against malicious behavior. Twitter has also
made big changes to their ad policies and has added a new Ad Transparency
Center – a searchable database of ads much like Facebook’s ad archive, making
it possible for anyone to see ads that have run on the app during the last
seven days.
Overall, these changes are to help protect the platforms,
but it also is a way for consumers to be more aware of advertising – and that’s
important for business owners and marketers to understand.
So before you start your next ad campaign on these social
channels, you should call Sales & Marketing Technologies today to speak
with an expert digital marketer to ensure your advertising strategy is solid
and presentable to all.
To schedule a free
strategy session, call us today at 407-682-2222.