An advertisement has to be really well made and relevant for the average social media user to pay attention to it. If it looks like spam or is pushing a product we have absolutely no interest in, we ignore it like the plague. Facebook knows this and is giving more power to the consumer by introducing ad preferences. However, this isn’t doomsday for social media marketers. Instead, it’s actually good news.
In Facebook’s announcement, they explained that the new ad preferences feature allows its 1.6 billion users to narrow down the type of ads they receive. With just a few clicks (or taps for mobile users), users can weed through some annoying subjects and narrow down their interests and hobbies. Imagine that, ads you actually enjoy!
At the first sight of this news, marketers may begin to sweat bullets. They gave consumers the ability to control the ads? What kind of chaos is this? Yet in truth, this will help deliver the right message to the right person. When companies create a Facebook ad, they already have the ability to specifically pick and choose who gets to see the ad. From a marketer’s standpoint, there are plenty of options so the right person sees your message. Ad preferences will allow that scope to be even narrower, which only leaves the people who would buy your product or service to see it. There’s no point in wasting time, some people just won’t be interested. You might be thinking that a smaller scope is a bad thing. While your reach will be narrower, the possibility of someone actually clicking on the ad will be greater. It’s about quality leads over quantity.
Because of this further filtering, Facebook has another treat. Ad Blocks no longer work on Facebook’s desktop version. Since users have the option to see content they enjoy, there isn’t an excuse anymore to not see ads. Once again, social media marketers should be cheering.
Facebook has never denied that they need advertising to live. It’s what makes their employees happy and their websites free. Without ads, there would be trouble on the horizon for marketer and consumers alike. No one wants a Facebook monthly fee. Because of that, ads will always be a necessary element to all social media platforms. Now, the required experience of advertising seems to be a little less painful.
What do you think of ad preferences? Comment below!
