Facebook Uses Bandwidth Targeting To Improve Mobile Ads
Facebook has implemented a new form of advertising called Bandwidth Targeting, which gives “advertisers the ability to send ads based on the quality of a user’s network connection, moderating type of ad to whether a user is on a 2G, 3G or 4G / faster connection.” This feature has been activated in order to allow Facebook to increase its ad revenue outside of the U.S. In developing countries, Facebook is experience faster growth rate than here in the U.S, however ad revenue continues to be at its highest in the U.S. By using this feature, advertisers can control the quality of their ads and better implement them in developing countries where internet connections may not be as developed. Additionally, this new form of targeting will allow advertisers to expand they’re creative forms by allowing them to implement videos or images based on the user’s network connection. Similarly, this targeting will allow Facebook to offer its ad services to more companies, specifically to those in developing countries.
Bandwidth targeting will provide advertisers the benefit of gaining exposure for their products and services by using Facebook ads. Every advertisers has a group of people they want to target and by allowing the advertisers to specify their ads based on network connection, these advertisers will be able to provide a better user experience from their ads. Because of this increase in user experience, the advertisers’ overall seller networks/graphs will increase and possibly create new nodes in their network, representative of the new countries they will now be able to implement useful ads in.
Additionally, by providing this new form of targeting ads, Facebook ad services will become more appealing to a larger number of advertisers. Facebook may need to modify their ad slot selling method in order to accommodate the new advertisers that would join in order to take advantage of the new feature. Specifically, advertisers in developing countries will now be able to supply lower quality ads to their possible buyers, but may not be able to compete for an ad slot with larger companies. Therefore, Facebook may need to modify their ad slot auctioning strategy in order to successfully implement bandwidth targeting and use it to its maximum potential. Because this strategy may bring an influx of advertisers that want to utilize Facebook ads, Facebook may be able to create new market clearing prices for their ad slots that are at a decreased price, while still continuing to provide advertisement opportunities that produce overall profit growth for their company.
Sources:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/27/facebook-turns-on-bandwidth-targeting-to-match-mobile-ads-to-network-quality/