Facebook is trying out some new ways to cater to advertisers and gain back the faith of investors. The social network will start allowing a select few pages to promote ads beyond their fan base. The ads encourage users to like the page, allowing advertisers to reach more than just their fans.
The ad looks just like something you’d see in your news feed if you had already been a fan of the page, except in the top right corner is the call to action: Like Page.
Read more details on this new feature at allfacebook.
With this new module, the social network is showing some users two Sponsored Stories at a time. This increases Facebook’s mobile inventory, but it’s unclear how it might affect clickthrough rates. Two ads are now competing next to each other, but the unit includes a large thumbs-up symbol. It’s unknown whether this format is being tested only for premium advertisers working with Facebook directly or whether any mobile Sponsored Story is eligible to be shown here.
Using the Social Sidebar, searchers can gain input from those they know. This allows you to get the best of both worlds: search results, as well as input from friends, all in one place.
Similar to the current Like button, if you like an article using the Recommendations Bar, the story is published on your timeline and appears in your friends’ news feed.
