Facebook rolls out new Ads API for heavy-duty social marketers

For those who live and die by Facebook advertising and marketing, Facebook has taken the wraps off a new Ads API.

Part of the social network’s suite of Marketing APIs, the new offering is being positioned as “a scalable alternative to the Facebook Advertising Manager tool.” It’s best suited for use by ad agencies, marketing tools companies, and others who heavily reply on Facebook ads in their marketing campaigns.

“The Ads API doesn’t provide new functionality, but it helps people do things at scale,” a Facebook spokesperson told VentureBeat. “Developers and marketing companies will likely be the ones to build on the Ads API, but this opens up the opportunity for businesses of all sizes to use it.”

The Marketing APIs also include a Pages API and an Insights API. Together, the APIs will “help the overall online marketing ecosystem grow,” said Facebook’s rep.

The Ads API beta included more than 20 companies that have already used the Ads API to service thousands of advertisers.

To give you an idea of who might find the APIs useful, the Facebook spokesperson told VentureBeat that Efficient Frontier, Context Optional and Nanigans have been using the new Ads API. All three of these companies specialize in managing and optimizing Facebook ad campaigns; for non-devs and companies with simpler campaigns, Facebook’s ad management tools are still the best bet for keeping track of Facebook ad performance.

Interested devs can check out the documentation and apply for access online.

Next Story: Joyus takes infomercials to a new level with buy button  analytics
Previous Story: Rich folks are suckers for digital media (and online ads)

Tags: development, facebook ads, marketing

Companies: Facebook

Share and Enjoy

Facebook marketing raises funds for nonprofit

Google+ is the social network du jour, but a recent case study presented by eMarketer should remind businesses that Facebook is still a viable way to foster engagement – and generate funds. Nonprofit Look Good … Feel Better partnered with skincare company Clarisonic and leveraged fan engagement to raise money for brease cancer awareness.

In its webinar, Strategies for Turning Likes into Loyalty, eMarketer reports that for every new “Like,” Clarisonic donated $1 to breast cancer awareness on behalf of Look Good … Feel Better. Over the course of the campaign, Clarisonic jumped from 38,310 fans to 69,786 fans, representing an 82 percent increase.

The company’s daily page views rose 433 percent, from 421 views per day to 2,247 views per day. Simultaneously, engagement skyrocketed. The resulting rise in Likes helped raise $30,000 for Look Good … Feel Better, and it generated more exposure for Clarisonic’s branded posts. Ultimately, the skincare company acquired 75,000 fans.

Look Good … Feel Better benefited from the campaign, and its success shows that Clarisonic understood the topics and issues that were relevant to its fan base. Tailoring social (and site) content to meet prospects’ informational interests and needs should be a content marketing priority this year. (As Brafton has reported, just 3 percent of B2B marketers believe they “wow” consumers with relevant information, and budgets in search and social content marketing are poised to rise.)

Additionally, eMarketer points out that using Facebook as a marketing channel for this campaign was highly effective because 80 percent of consumers say the social giant is their network of choice for connecting with brands. Marketers looking to achieve similar success should keep in mind that a study shows shorter posts foster more engagement.

Want to receive Brafton news automatically?

Join our daily or weekly email list!

Share and Enjoy