Facebook says it will begin displaying ads to desktop users even when they’re using ad blocking software.
At the same time, it’s rolling out new ad controls that give users the ability to remove specific interests from their ad preferences and to disable ads from companies that have added them to Custom Audiences.
At first glance, Facebook’s stance vis-à-vis ad blocking looks to be a net positive for marketers active on the social network.
If Facebook can thwart desktop ad blockers, marketers won’t have to worry that their ability to reach users through Facebook ads is being compromised.
At the same time, by allowing users to remove interests, Facebook could ironically help marketers using interest-based targeting improve the efficacy of their campaigns.
After all, if a user is so opposed to being targeted based on a specific interest (i.e. travel) that she removes it using Facebook’s ad controls, a marketer is arguably better off not paying to reach that consumer based on that interest.
But one of Facebook’s new ad controls could prove more problematic for marketers. For many marketers, retargeting through Custom Audiences is highly effective. If users opt out of this en masse, some marketers could find it more difficult to employ Facebook to run successful retargeting campaigns, hampering their Facebook ROI.
The big question is whether users will take advantage of Facebook’s ad controls in sizable numbers.
Given the large number of settings Facebook already provides that aren’t immediately apparent, it’s probably a safe bet that the number of desktop users who are forced to view ads will exceed the number of users who take full advantage of Facebook’s new ad controls.
Courtesy of SearchEngineWatch
