How Facebook May Have Leapfrogged Google AdWords

If you haven’t heard by now, Facebook recently released “Sponsored Stories” earlier this week. This marks the culmination of advertising and social. I don’t mean social in the sense that “yes, it’s on a social media platform”. I mean it in the truest sense of the word: friendly relations.

This new feature allows advertisers to display their brands via your friend’s endorsement. Another theme that relates to this new format is customization. Facebook, like AdWords, has always allowed the advertiser to “drill down” to the particular segments that they see fit for their brand. But now, Sponsored Stories allows advertisers to get to the user’s most trusted source- their friends.

For me personally, I feel much more inclined to buy a product that my friend willingly “liked” or “checked into” on Facebook than I am to buy a ticket to an action movie simply because I listed “Die Hard” in my favorite movies on Facebook (the way ads had been targeted up to this point).

In general, this connection to the consumer’s most trusted source is a breakthrough and will likely influence how other social networks choose to run their advertisements.

Let us know if and how your company plans on utilizing “Sponsored Stories” by commenting below.