• November 7, 2007

With all the hype and secrecy surrounding a New York fashion show, social networking site Facebook unveiled its new advertising program at a high-toned affair on Manhattan's West Side. The new system includes a feature dubbed Beacon that lets marketers ask Facebook members visiting their Web sites whether they want to tell friends on Facebook about a purchase or other action on their sites. The new Facebook Pages allow marketers to create their own branded pages on the site, which can include all the features familiar on personal Facebook pages--including photos, third-party applications, discussion boards and Flash animation.

The more intriguing part of the new platform is the Social Ads--small, banner-like ads tied to Facebook users' activities and placed on their profile page mini-feeds and the News feeds of friends on Facebook. (Members use feeds to keep each other posted on their activities.)

So, for example, a friend of "Tim" might receive an update in their news feed that Tim just bought an iPhone, and include Tim's photo as well as a small Apple ad with an image of an iPhone and a link to the Apple site.

Marketers can target Social Ads through a new self-serve interface on Facebook according to more than a dozen demographic and behavioral criteria--including country, age, gender, political views, movies, and relationship status. Ads are sold via auction on a cost-per-click and CPM basis. -- Mark Walsh