Google Beware: Facebook Takes Local Advertising Gloves Off, ILM REPORT
Facebook is on a mission, a BIG local advertising crusade.On the heels of the launch of its social ads product, Facebook made its debut performance at the Kelsey Interactive Local Media Conference, with Chamath Palihapitiya, VP, Product Marketing & Operations, keynoting this morning in Los Angeles.
The Palihapitiya Powerpoint demo of Facebook’s new advertiisng products for sale was prefaced by a dramatic portrayal of how Facebook believes it is en (quick) route to be THE world’s online (commercial) social graph.
Google famously claims to organize the “world’s information to make it universally accessible.” Facebook now boasts it has unlocked the world’s social graph to make people’s connections available, to advertisers. Facebook is confident, extremely confident of its future. Palihapitiya on Facebook’s traction and growth trajectory:
55 million ative users (logged-in within last 30 days),
250,000 new accounts daily,
Over 50% of users return daily,
70 billion page views monthly,
A trillion page views end of year run rate,
40 page views daily per user on average.
Bottom Facebook line? Two hundred million Facebookers by same time, next year!
The Facebook advertising beauty of it all? The world’s social graph is open for business, with 55 million people worldwide available for targeting by (almost) every intimate (real) detail of people and their connections. Facebook sells access to its 55 million users by juicy, personal demographic and psychographic traits: Age, gender, work, hobbies, political preferences…
Facebook’s VP of marketing offered up a juicy carrot to the hundreds of local media executives attending his keynote: Access our 55 million Facebookers free of charge, thanks to the new Facebook business profile page service.
During the Q & A, I asked Palihapitya about Facebook‘s plans for marketing the free profile product:
A keynoter yesterday, I believe it was Jay Herratti of Citysearch, shared he had a Facebook account but he was not sure what he is supposed to do with it.
My two-part question: 1) Existing free online SME tools struggle to gain critical mass, including Google’s suite of products. How does Facebook aim to build small business usage?
2) Are the 55 million Facebookers accessible to free users of Facebook’s business profile tool, or is the purchase of social ads necessary?
Palihapitiya told me he is confident of rapid adoption, 250,000 business profile pages already have been created within weeks of launch, he said (without specifying sizes of businesses subscribing or indicating the percentage of pre-populated pages prior to product launch).
To accelerate ramp-up, Facebook hopes to partner with media companies and ad sales firms (similar strategy used by Google). Palihapitiya also indicated he would be continuing industry reach out efforts, such as his Kelsey keynote.
Regarding access to 55 million Facebookers, Palihapitiya told me there are some search and fan building tools built into the new multi-faceted Facebook ad platform. Nevertheless, the CPC and CPM Facebook social ads are what guarantee scalable access to Facebookers.
Sound familiar? Google organic SERPs are “free,” but high-cost, bid-up-your-own ad rates, AdWords is the only guaranteed way to access Google searchers.
MORE FROM KELSEY CONFERENCE: Citysearch’s Herratti on Social Media and Merchant Reputation: ILM INTERVIEW and
Local Advertising Online: SMEs Hold the Billion Dollar Keys, ILM ANALYSIS
Google Apps & Maps: Enterprise and Local Business STILL Missing
The Future of Local IS (Google) Search: ILM REPORT and
Local is Global: $134 billion in Yellow Pages, Classifieds and Internet Advertising, ILM REPORT and
Jason Calacanis: ‘I Am Wrong About Local Too,” ILM REPORT
ALSO: Sony Jeopardy! Union and Studio Egos in the Way? WGA STRIKE INTERVIEWS