The big question that Facebook itself raised about its prospects in the recent IPO filing may get partially answered in short order. Whither mobile? According to an
FT report on Monday, the social network is already speaking with agencies about including
“featured stories” by brands in users’ news feeds, accessible on devices. FT says to expect the new model in early March.
The rollout is being timed in advance of
the expected May IPO, no doubt to assuage worries that Facebook could eat its own business model by encouraging users to go mobile. In its SEC filing weeks ago, the company admitted that it saw
virtually no revenue from a mobile expansion of its traffic that was outpacing Web growth.
The marginal ads that now fuel much of the Web site’s admittedly impressive revenue growth are
impractical on a smartphone. There is also some question as to whether users who are so devoted and reliant on Facebook for personal communications will tolerate more intrusive styles of advertising
like full-page interstitials or rich media overlays. And so inserting sponsor messages within the core feed seems the likely first step, albeit not without risk.
David Berkowitz, VP Emerging
Media, 360i, says that whatever form Facebook mobile marketing takes, it is high time. The company revealed that 425 million of its over 800 million members are accessing the service regularly via
devices now. “I was surprised to see Facebook reach the 100-million-user milestone and not have ads,” says Berkowitz. “I’m floored that Facebook has waited this long, assuming
something’s coming soon.”
There was some confusion last week around what exactly Facebook was up to with agencies, when DigiDay reported that Razorfish was testing cross-platform
rich media ads. Mobile lead Paul Gelb, who was quoted in the piece, clarified his position in his Twitter feed later: “Razorfish is NOT working with
Facebook on any mobile media ad buying. Rather, in the interview I was referring to rich media featured stories, not paid ads.”
Well, we will see soon enough -- but it sounds as if
Facebook is aiming for something like a Promoted Tweet. Posts related to the brand could have their visibility enhanced by being placed in a content well that on mobile has never seen promotions. WebProNews outlined late last week some changes to the specs for Sponsored Stories that Facebook was making
as well, although no mention has been made of extending them to mobile platforms as yet.
The question is whether people experience their personal News Feed in quite the same way that
Twitter followers experience their feed. After all, one is a broadcast medium to which any and all feeds can be added freely. For most people, their Facebook feed is a collection of acquaintances and
maybe even friends and family. Or perhaps more likely, we are so inured now to advertising in every imaginable open space -- personal and public --that complaining about sponsor messages in a Facebook
feed is splitting hairs.
It has always been hard to tell whether Facebook was neglecting, avoiding or deliberately delaying its mobile monetization strategy. The imminent IPO forces the
issue.