Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Makes a Move with Developers, Introduces Mobile Ads
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s mobile user base seems to be growing at a rapid pace. The new mobile ads are an effective way to monetize this base. It is a significant area that is being monitored by investors as Facebook’s mobile monetization has been comparatively small. In its latest quarter, Facebook has recorded 543 million mobile users, up 67%, out of total users of 955 million, up 29%.
The new mobile ad modules that are going to appear under ‘Try these games’ in News Feed, will take users to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store so that users can place their purchases. Facebook has said that it has directed people to Google Play and Apple App Store for 146 million times in the last 30 days from News Feed, bookmarks, recently-launched App centre and the Timeline.
Mobile ads may not be an attraction among users, but it will definitely help in keeping the service free.
Developers can gain from these mobile ads as it offers a new way to get more distribution apart from the banner ads. Advertisers can target the ads to ages, geographies, gender and then set a budget. The social networking has already started to test the new ads with some partners.
Facebook had initially rolled out its Sponsored Stories ads on mobile but the site is now rolling such features out slowly. It helps to see how it works with users. Developer ads will constitute a separate module of ads. The move makes perfect sense as Facebook already has connections with several app developers. However, distribution seems to be one of the biggest hurdles that developers are usually confronted with. Facebook can gain some good will from developers through the launch of developer ads. So, the question arises. How big a revenue does this promise? Well, that is still unclear.