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Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#31

Post by cm2187 »

burkaman wrote: post #12
chirau wrote: post #7

Contrary to popular opinion, people want to see ads. A good ad is very much appreciated. This is why magazines still make money. This is why the SuperBowl is popular amongst non-football fans. Unfortunately, most ads are spammy which is why internet ads have earned this terrible reputation.

Super Bowl is sort of a good point, but what do you mean by magazines? Given a choice between a magazine with and without ads, are you saying some people would choose the one with ads? I don't think anybody seeks out ads, especially when they're paying for something. Super Bowl ads are only popular because they're essentially comedy skits and short films, they're basically free, and they're part of a cultural event t…

In the 90s I actually liked ads in computer magazines. That was the only way to keep an eye on prices and new products, before the internet.

Now with the internet I do not even read magazines anymore...

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#32

Post by rajitdasgupta »

chirau wrote: post #7

Contrary to popular opinion, people want to see ads. A good ad is very much appreciated. This is why magazines still make money. This is why the SuperBowl is popular amongst non-football fans. Unfortunately, most ads are spammy which is why internet ads have earned this terrible reputation.

As someone who advertises on Facebook - I'd say that FB takes a lot of care to ensure that the ads it displays do not take away from the User Experience, both in terms of content relevancy and design (FB applies penalties on neewsfeed ads which have >20% text on the image). Further, since pricing is dynamic - crappy ads get expensive to run really fast. That's how this system is so much better than the constant spam you were used to seeing in Web 2.0.

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#33

Post by e28eta »

wtracy wrote: post #13

Any ideas how Facebook acquires information about things like home ownership? I don't recall filling that out as part of my profile. Do they perhaps match users' identities to public records? Is it possible to look up home ownership given just a name, demographic information, and contact information?

"Facebook offers marketers the option to target ads according to data compiled by firms like Experian, Acxiom and Epsilon, which have historically fueled mailing lists and other sorts of offline efforts. These firms build their profiles over a period of years, gathering data from government and public records, consumer contests, warranties and surveys, and private commercial sources — like loyalty card purchase histories or magazine subscription lists."

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#34

Post by Silhouette »

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about this article is how much data from other sources Facebook apparently has access to now. How do these "data brokers" have such detailed information about things like purchasing power and spending habits to share with Facebook in the first place?

It seems to me that a lot of that must come from either retailers or financial services, and in either case questions should be asked about how much people understand about what data is being collected for purposes other than simply making the intended purchase and what is done with that data.

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#35

Post by frik »

chirau wrote: post #7

Contrary to popular opinion, people want to see ads. A good ad is very much appreciated. This is why magazines still make money. This is why the SuperBowl is popular amongst non-football fans. Unfortunately, most ads are spammy which is why internet ads have earned this terrible reputation.

Ads that are related to the page content yes, as they might be even useful (eg book suggestion). But ads about things I already bought on another website five days ago - personalised ads are both scary and useless, every single time - you are right, they are spammy and ad-networks haven't learned a bit and just followed Google with that trend ten years ago.

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#36

Post by ACow_Adonis »

chirau wrote: post #7

Contrary to popular opinion, people want to see ads. A good ad is very much appreciated. This is why magazines still make money. This is why the SuperBowl is popular amongst non-football fans. Unfortunately, most ads are spammy which is why internet ads have earned this terrible reputation.

SOME people want to see ads.

And the glorious thing is that by giving people the option of opting out, you would be able to cater to the desires of both people.

But now let us be honest.

Giving people what they want is the last thing advertisers care about...

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#37

Post by 20years »

newsat13 wrote: post #2

Does anyone know of any startups or upcoming projects that are trying to compete with Facebook (i.e building a social network?). I still haven't managed to wrap my head around how exactly facebook makes money. Do so many people actually click on ads? And this somehow makes billions? I find it very hard to imagine (for myself).

Yes people do click on Facebook ads and they convert extremely well when utilizing Facebooks targeting correctly. I have ran very targeted ads on FB that have achieved a 20% CTR and 10x ROI. This was for a product appealing to 8 to 12 year olds. I targeted Moms with kids in this age range in specific locations and who fell within a certain income.

Other small business ads such as local coffee shops, restaurants, etc. that advertise deals/coupons also convert very well and get shared like crazy.

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#38

Post by Gargoyle »

Terribledactyl wrote: post #27
burkaman wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Super Bowl is sort of a good point, but what do you mean by magazines? Given a choice between a magazine with and without ads, are you saying some people would choose the one with ads? I don't think anybody seeks out ads, especially when they're paying for something. Super Bowl ads are only popular because they're essentially comedy skits and short films, they're basically free, and they're part of a cultural event t…

This is just my take on "luxury" items, but in magazines seeing new clothes/jewelry/perfume/watch/phone serves both as "news" (hey, this new thing exists) and a sort of fantasy (look how good things could be with this, because those items are almost certainly attached to someone/somewhere attractive)

And then there's stuff like Artforum, which has to be over half ads, but the ads are at least as important to the readers as the content. They tell you where the buzz is, or at least where gallery owners want it to be. In a market that's all about signaling, that's important.

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#39

Post by mrob »

chirau wrote: post #7

Contrary to popular opinion, people want to see ads. A good ad is very much appreciated. This is why magazines still make money. This is why the SuperBowl is popular amongst non-football fans. Unfortunately, most ads are spammy which is why internet ads have earned this terrible reputation.

SuperBowl ads are an unusual case because they are so expensive, and everyone knows they are expensive. This means they are honest signals of success. If a company shows a SuperBowl ad you know they're rich enough to afford a SuperBowl ad, so they must be doing something right. Targeted internet ads don't have this feature - they are automatically priced and could be extremely cheap. You never know how much somebody paid for them so they have no signalling value.

Re: Data points that Facebook uses to target ads

#40

Post by white-flame »

mrob wrote: post #39
chirau wrote: post #7

Contrary to popular opinion, people want to see ads. A good ad is very much appreciated. This is why magazines still make money. This is why the SuperBowl is popular amongst non-football fans. Unfortunately, most ads are spammy which is why internet ads have earned this terrible reputation.

SuperBowl ads are an unusual case because they are so expensive, and everyone knows they are expensive. This means they are honest signals of success. If a company shows a SuperBowl ad you know they're rich enough to afford a SuperBowl ad, so they must be doing something right. Targeted internet ads don't have this feature - they are automatically priced and could be extremely cheap. You never know how much somebody…

I think you're reading a bit too far into things. People watch Superbowl ads because they're a once-a-year spectacle, regardless of the company situation, and you don't need to be a sports fan for them. Post-superbowl discussion about the commercials often involves statements like "They spent millions of dollars on that?", not "Wow, that company had enough to put together a superbowl ad!"

As always, people will remember the content of particular bits of entertaining advertisement, regardless of whether or not they remember the actual product or company being advertised.

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