Facebook is cracking down on adverts that are masquerading as new posts to make the user experience more enjoyable. This will, more than likely, force corporations to turn over more cash for real ads.
According to a Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) representative, their goal regarding News Feeds is to provide people with what they really want to see. When Facebook users were asked what they wanted to see, they responded and told us that they wanted to see information about Pages they took an interest in as well as more personal stories from family and friends. They are less interested in promotional content.
A typical Facebook user when logs on to the site he or she is likely to have over 1,500 new items on the news feed. This is much more than an average person usually reads or takes notice of. With an increase in online advertising companies have taken to social media networks to promote their products and services. As a result of which users have started complaining that their news feed gets cluttered with ads for items that they have no interest in and because of this feedback, Facebook is now working to provide their 1.35 user based with a more relative selection of ads.
What was discovered, through research, is that the content that users see is from Pages that they have liked, which are not all about advertising. To make sure that Facebook users do not get frustrated because of this bombardment from advertisers the company has introduced a few rules for advertising on its website.
Advertisers who use the following means to force themselves on the users will find themselves in the “cut list”;
- Posts that push users to enter contests, but offer no real context.
- Posts that are designed for people to install an application or purchase a product.
- Posts that recycle and reuse exact content from previous ads.
The New York Times was assured that high quality brands, like Red Bull and Harley-Davidson will still be able to reach their fan base. According to Rebecca Lieb, an analyst for digital advertising, if you want to sound like a reputable advertiser – buy ads.
George Takei, the Star Trek actor and a Facebook user who has a fan base of over 8 million, said that he understands that Facebook needs to make money, but he thinks that this new development will turn fans off. In fact, Takei, and some other Facebook page owners think that their posts will be slashed by these new algorithms, which are due to take effect January 2015.
Facebook is pleased that they are taking proactive steps to make your News Feed free of spam posts. They want to meet the demands of their users and offer them more updates of their personal friends and less about Pages that they do not care about.
During the third quarter, Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) advertising revenue totaled close to $3 billion, which was a 64% increase when compared to the previous quarter. Their prices for ads have gone up by 274% in the last 12 months.