Well, it’s official. Facebook is taking aim at Google. And if a patent that they just applied for goes through, it was drastically reshape the entire concept of digital advertising.
Buckle up. It’s time to go down a wormhole.
Our agency has been creating Facebook Dark Posts for more than two years now. Finally, other agencies are starting to hear about them and experiment with them. It’s about time.
Another powerful tool that Facebook offers is remarketing. People visit your website…hit Facebook… and POW – there’s an ad for your brand trailing them.
But this patent indicates that Facebook is looking to take on Google directly, integrating the big data it possesses in a way that serves up ads OUTSIDE of Facebook.
Huh?
Let’s break this down simply.
You’re searching around for a new camera. You look at a few camera review sites. You go on Facebook – bam, the ad.
But wait.
Now you ask questions about the camera to your friends. Maybe read a few articles on there. Then you leave Facebook and search around on some other sites – maybe they are news sites, YouTube, or other social websites. All of this search data, along with the buyer profile, is there. It’s a super profile of data about the user, and those advertising with Facebook can now target these users on third party websites. And not just with ads…but also with “sponsored articles” and app downloads. Facebook literally has your profile information and browsing history, a broad analysis of your purchase history and the content that you’ve viewed, and information about your conversations, interactions, friends, comments, photos and more. Facebook has your soul.
Why Should You Care?
Ladies and gentlemen, data doesn’t get any better right now than it does through Facebook. The social giant is a search engine monster that’s aggregated massive amounts of information through your voluntarily input information, the three largest data collection agencies in the world and your own surfing habits.
The patent that they’ve applied for covers both desktop and mobile. It serves up both ads and content (much like Outbrain does right now). And it does it in an exponentially more targeted way than Google’s AdSense or DoubleClick can.
If Facebook secures the patent (you can read the application here) and everything goes through as it appears, this WILL shift the face of digital advertising.
The only question remaining…will you be ready for what’s next?
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