Is the Facebook Audience Network FAN-tastic?

“When I set up Facebook campaigns the ads are only shown on Facebook and Instagram right?”

Wrong. Facebook ads are shown on numerous different sites throughout the web on what’s called the Facebook Audience Network (FAN).

Those of you who are familiar with AdWords and Google Search Partners will already know that extending your reach beyond the platform can be a risk simply because you have less control over where your ads appear. So why would you use the FAN?

Well, read about the Facebook audience network below and learn how to use it to your advertising advantage.

The Facebook Audience Network (FAN): a network of thousands of ad placements that Facebook owns. You’re able to select on which of these platforms your ad shows, in an option called ‘placements’ in Facebook ads manager.

Why Use the FAN?

• Less intrusive
• Increases reach
• Maintains targeting
• Cross-device capabilities
• Target users at the right point in the buying journey

It may seem counter-intuitive to use your Facebook advertising pounds on ads that aren’t even seen on the site, but it’s actually extremely smart to show ads on the audience network.

In fact, 40% of the top 500 apps are integrated with the audience network – 80% of which are native ads which draw 6-7 times greater CPMs than traditional banner ads.

Not only will showing ads outside of the social network increase your reach whilst maintaining your targeting settings, but (providing the user is signed into Facebook) allow you cross device targeting. Facebook-powered ads appear on The Huffington Post, Shazam and even the Kardashian’s game apps.

The format of ads is also a lot more native and less intrusive, meaning the user experience is typically not affected negatively, at least compared with Google Responsive ads or overlays.

Plus, people browsing other sites are more likely to be in a buying cycle than those scrolling through their social feed.

So, is Facebook Running Out of Ad Space on its News Feed?

Not quite yet, Facebook has a fair bit to go before it matures as an ad platform due to the sheer scale of its user base. However, we understand where an idea like this may come from.

Is Facebook v. Google an Advertising Arms Race?

We wouldn’t go that far. There are many ways to engage users around the web and these are just two options. There are now hundreds of options for advertisers, from native to programmatic, remarketing to display. However, a little healthy competition isn’t a bad thing.

Facebook provides excellent audience targeting methods (across 1,042 sites) and Google has millions (3,210,392 to be exact) of ad placements around the web, therefore an expertly blended approach could seriously benefit your brand.

Want to learn more about the Facebook audience network or need someone to take the helm? Then read about our Facebook audience network ads services and ping us a message.

(main image: property of Facebook)