Facebook will increase the distribution of its 'Sponsored Story' adverts by dropping them into the real-time ticker that sits in the upper right-hand part of a user's homepage.
Launched in January, Sponsored Stories promote friends' interaction with brands, such as likes or check-ins.
The ticker itself was launched in August, but it was discovered that teenagers hadn’t warmed to the new interface – with some even dubbing it a “scrolling stalker".
Yet Facebook has stated that Sponsored Stories are twice as engaging as normal adverts, and statistics from Nielsen show that people are 68% more likely to remember seeing them - and twice as likely to remember the advert’s message.
So while there's no argument that this format is effective, placing them in the ticker may raise eyebrows as some users find it to be an annoyance.
Facebook said that any changes to the site's interface were usually the result of investigation into what users and advertisers want. However, it hasn't always got this right (Facebook Deals being one high profile example), so it remains to be seen whether people find the ads to be useful - or simply irritating.
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Senior PPC Analyst at Epiphany Solutions
11:34AM on 21st November 2011
It'll be interesting to see what kind of impact this has. I can only assume it's as a result of some sort of eye-tracking/attention study which has shown a lot of users are taking an active interest in the ticker. Therefore, moving an ad unit up there in theory should generate more interest and clicks.
I also wonder if Facebook will ever trial a dedicated advert unit in the central newsfeed or in a user's Timeline, or could this be a step too far for some users?
Director at Musicademy
12:40PM on 21st November 2011
Any chance of a reference on that Neilsen stat please? (From one of your MSc students who needs to academically reference for any assignment!!)
Reporter at Econsultancy
1:08PM on 21st November 2011
Hi Marie, the Nielsen stat was given to me by a contact at Facebook when researching this story - I don't have the exact report it came from I'm afraid.
Senior Research Analyst at Econsultancy
10:34AM on 22nd November 2011
Hi Marie, as far as I remember it's a Nielsen/Facebook study from April 2010 - Advertising Effectiveness: Understanding the Value of a Social Media Impression. Hope this helps.