After unleashing its new Timeline format, all signs point toward Facebook changing how they format their ads.
We wrote about how to use Facebook’s paid ads here:
Facebook Ads / Sponsored Stories
As the release of the new Facebook format grows, they will continue to
capitalize on the popularity of photos and storytelling. In a letter to investors,Mark Zuckerberg describes his vision for the future of Facebook:
“We hope to improve how people connect to businesses and the economy. We think a more open and connected world will help create a stronger economy with more authentic businesses that build better products and services. As people share more, they have access to more opinions from the people they trust about the products and services they use. This makes it easier to discover the best products and improve the quality and efficiency of their lives.”
Zuckerberg also stated: “We hope to strengthen how people relate to each other. Even if our mission sounds big, it starts small — with the relationship between two people. Personal relationships are the fundamental unit of our society. Relationships are how we discover new ideas, understand our world and ultimately derive long-term happiness. At Facebook, we build tools to help people connect with the people they want and share what they want, and by doing this we are extending people’s capacity to build and maintain relationships.”
This should drive home the point that rather than sell to your Facebook fans, you should be building a relationship with them. Although you can use Facebook ads to help build your brand’s popularity, you should focus on posting content that compels your fans to comment and re-share to help spread the word about your company.
Regardless of the format, one thing remains clear: Facebook will continue to capitalize on paid ads to allow you to boost your brand on their site. You should continue to ask your in-store (or online) customers to join you on Facebook. However, if you have expectations of marketing to new customers on Facebook, you should expect to include paid Facebook ads in your budget.
