Facebook Trials New Ad Format!

We cannot really fault Facebook for the way it has managed to make E-commerce something that is easy to do.

Finding things in your feeds that Facebook thought you might like is pretty snazzy stuff. And it’s worked well so far.

Times change though, and as a testament to the huge power that Facebook wields online, it is now testing out two new ad options, one of which could very well be the definition of convenience.

Buying on your feed, not off it

The first big change (presuming the testing doesn’t yield horrendous results) is that you will now be able to buy products and services directly from your feed. Facebook will do its job by suggesting products or services to you based on your interests. You will see them in your feed, and then be prompted to place an order. But rather than going anywhere else when you press the button, you will stay in the feed. It will be a purchase, and you’ll get a reminder from Facebook to inform you of the purchase.

It’s called a Dynamic Ad, and it allows users to buy direct from their feeds. The way it works for businesses using the service shows just how effective it is. The Dynamic Ad literally shows the right product to a user, based on their behaviour around your website, or other engagement. Literally picking up the right product from your catalogue and then allowing it to be bought in the user’s feed is about as dynamic as you can get. It’s bound to make some businesses very happy.

The whole thing boils down to a simple section of the feed showing a relevant ad, and then allowing you to ‘checkout on Facebook’. One click and you’re done.

The convenience aspect needs to be perfect, because users need to have a payment option setup with their Facebook account. This could be an issue for the areas of the population that still feel Facebook has been unfair and dishonest in recent times. No one will ever forget Cambridge Analytica scandal and this new ad option will probably chime best with those who feel they can trust Facebook.

Instagram

Facebook (which owns Instagram) has also been working through a kind of complicated process with the organic shopping ads available in Instagram feeds.

This feature has been around a while now. It may not be the runaway success brands want, but it still does allow people to click on products in an image and then be sent to a website or store to buy.

The new twist on this may not sound ground-breaking, but it is making Instagram seem more like a store than a social network. The whole thing revolves around payment. If you are a business and you want to have tags on your products in Instagram images, you can take it a step further (again, presuming the thing becomes real for everyone) and pay for promotion of your ads. This makes it more intrusive, and it’s no wonder that Instagram has been taking this slowly. The platform is very popular, especially among younger people. This is one way, at least, of finding out if the demographic don’t mind more aggressive ads in their feeds.

We will see.

If you would like to get your hands on some amazing social media metrics, get in touch. We will give you a free week of the best social media support you can possibly imagine. And we have fancy charts too.