Social media behemoth Facebook has announced four new upgrades to its advertising suite aimed at increasing the reach and attention of brands on its platform in light of increasing mobile connections.
The site is looking to build on its 25% growth in advertisers since February 2015, a number that now stands at 2.5 million.
Firstly, there is the introduction of Target Rating Points (TRPs) buying. Building on statistics that show TV and Facebook advertising works extremely well together, Facebook is giving marketers the opportunity to buy video ads using TRPs as the metric.
Facebook confirmed that it has been testing this system in Australia with Nestle, with results to come within weeks.
"TV ad campaigns supplemented by Facebook advertising provide an ideal combination for marketers to both reach large audiences and build their brands," said Facebook's ad product marketing director Graham Mudd.
"Now we're making it even easier to extend and augment TV campaigns through the introduction of TRP Buying, so advertisers can plan, buy and measure Facebook ads using the same guarantees and Nielsen verification they're used to with TV."
Facebook partner Mediavest also spoke to the value of this upgrade.
“The TRP buying tool has given us the ability to plan and activate with accuracy for clients like Heineken who was a key participant in the initial tests," said Mediavest's digital and innovation SVP Donna Sharp.
"The tool offers Mediavest teams integration with the same metrics and systems we apply to TV and cross-screen video planning but additionally security in delivery.
"We look forward to rolling out this tool against additional clients after successful tests across brands."
To increase visibility, a new brand awareness optimisation utility is being made available, which allows advertisers to better assess - and optimise - their reach and attention figures. Mudd is clear this is of serious benefit to marketers.
“Increasing brand awareness is the first step toward building and maintaining a strong brand and ultimately driving business results. Our research has found that maximising reach while boosting attention, or the time people spend viewing an ad, produces the most effective results , so we’re excited to launch a new way to effortlessly optimise campaigns in exactly this way," said Mudd.
Facebook has also launched a new partnership with Millward Brown Digital to allow advertisers to carry out mobile polling to assess effectiveness and produce brand lift insights on their site and Instagram. Mobile polling was originally launched in collaboration with Nielsen earlier this year.
Lastly, the successful 'Carousel' format is being extended with the addition of video ads, aimed at increasing the attractiveness of brand storytelling. Facebook put in place '360' interactive videos earlier this year, which increased engagement by making the ads interactive, making for a less passive viewing experience.
Facebook also made some steps into broadcasting, most notably with its pre-premiere showing of the X Factor's first episode to a select audience online. This brought in 100,000 views.
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