Facebook has long struggled with increasing revenues via advertising. The social network is now pinning its hopes on an experimental mobile ad platform that could very well put mobile advertising on third party apps within its reach.
The social network is currently testing a new mobile ad network that would help advertisers and companies leverage on Facebook's advertising capabilities to post ads in mobile apps.
"To improve the relevancy of the ads people see, provide even greater reach for Facebook advertisers and help mobile developers better monetize their apps, we're running a small test to show Facebook ads in mobile apps," says Facebook. "Our aim is to demonstrate even greater reach with the same power of Facebook targeting for advertisers both on and off Facebook."
While Facebook has previously said that they were planning a mobile ad network service similar to what Google currently offers, this is the first time the company has announced something more concrete. In fact, Facebook plans to go a step further by providing targeted and relevant ads for smartphone and tablet apps.
"While we have run similar tests in the past, this current test is more like a mobile ad network in that we are working directly with a small number of advertisers and publishers rather than an outside ad-serving platform," the company adds.
While the tests are currently being conducted by a small number of advertisers and Facebook partner companies, more details about the new ad network will be released in the near future. Depending on how the initial tests turn out, Google may be coming up against stiff competition in the coming months.
Since Facebook launched ads and sponsored posts in its social media site, many people have been complaining about sponsored posts littering their feeds. However, the company's new mobile ad platform may help increase revenues without further antagonizing users with increasing the number of in-feed ads.
Following Facebook's IPO problems, many investors have been wary of the company. However, steadily increasing revenues may bolster investors' trust in the company. Compared to other companies like Apple and Google, Facebook progress in the mobile front line has been rather sluggish. With its new mobile ad network, the company may finally make some headway in the mobile industry.
