Social media advertising seems to be keeping Facebook busy, trying to find new and interesting ways of eliciting customer response. Now, Mashable reports that Facebook is experimenting with a new type of ad that invites users to comment on a question posed by an advertiser. The move is a part of Facebook’s initiative to work closer with advertising agencies and creatives.
As per Advertising Age, the unit works by having the brand pose a question on its Facebook page, aiming to be a conversation-starter. The same question will also be posed in a traditional display ad on the right hand side of the Facebook screen. If users choose to respond to the brand’s question, the conversation will move into the user’s news feed, where it has the opportunity to be commented on by the user’s friends.
Brands hope to spark a lively, poignant or funny conversation that will have a life of its own. Comments from users and their friends have the ability to become corresponding sponsored stories.
Hallmark plans to ask, “How do you make summertime a special occasion?” Allstate’s “Mayhem” campaign will ask users, “What’s the worst thing your kid’s ever done in the car?”
Leo Burnett, Chicago came up with this winning idea at an AdExpo held by Facebook last year. At the expo, Facebook gathered advertising agencies and challenged them to create a new way for Facebook users to engage with brands. Out of the 100 ideas submitted, Leo Burnett’s was selected.
Leo Burnett’s chief innovation officer, Mark Renshaw, underlines how this approach is different. “Unlike in other advertising, we’re not telling people how to think about the brand,” Mr. Renshaw said. “We’re just asking them to participate in the conversation.”
The unit will only be available to premium accounts, and not in the self-serve product. The price is ‘the same as comparable to other Facebook ad units.’ The other seven ad units in Facebook are – Like, Poll, Sampling, Event, Video, Comment, Application and Standard.
Facebook’s VP- Global Agency Relations, Blake Chandlee says, “This unit allows a brand to introduce a conversation that can scale very quickly across our audience. This is a perfect example of how brands and agencies need to approach Facebook differently.
There have been vigorous attempts on Facebook’s part to build a relationship with advertising agencies. In April, Facebook launched a stand-alone community site, Facebook Studio, where ad-agency creatives, PR firms and media-strategy can share ideas, comment on campaigns and learn what it takes to create a successful page for a brand. Along with the Facebook Studio site, Facebook is holding events called ‘Studio Live, the first of which happened in New York last month.
Everyone seems to be wanting a share of social media advertising. Last week microblogging site Twitter announced that it planned to include promoted tweets in user’s timelines and LinkedIn too announced new ad units that mentioned users’ follows and recommendations.