Dive Brief:
- Facebook plans to release new metrics and measurement tools for marketers on a monthly basis in a bid to increase transparency and understanding about how advertising works on its platform, according to a report in Adweek.
- Released yesterday, the first series includes metrics for how ads increase website traffic, measuring how many people click on ads and then visit a landing page. The second step is particularly important with mobile ads, according to Facebook, because slow-loading mobile pages discourage people who click on ads from going on to actually visit the mobile site.
- An expected feature is called "pre-impression activity breakdown," per Adweek, which lets marketers know if someone who clicks on an ad has previous experience with a brand. Adweek also pointed to three new reporting metrics for Pages: follows over time coupled with where the followers came from, along with their demographics for organic and paid follows; how many people previewed a page without clicking on it and how many times someone recommends a page to their friends.
Dive Insight:
Facebook has long been criticized by advertisers for its insular approach to marketing measurement and metrics, but a series of significant metrics mistakes by the platform last year, coupled with mounting pressure from major brands including P&G, have slightly opened up its walled garden. The latest play to offer a monthly series of new metrics is another indicator that Facebook wants to accommodate a growing industry demand to clean up the digital media supply chain and provide greater transparency into how the marketing channel works.
While some might appreciate the deeper insights gleaned from these tools, one of the standing complaints about digital is the lack of unification, standardization and simplicity found on other channels like TV — a problem not necessarily addressed by a consistent deluge of more metrics. Some of the new offerings also appear to serve Facebook's own products. The landing page tracker rolled out yesterday, for example, emphasizes the value of fast-loading, mobile-optimized web pages, which are offered via Facebook's own Instant Articles for publishers.
Still, Facebook's commitment to working more closely with marketers and other third parties is clear. The platform recently opened up visibility into campaigns before they run and deepened its relationship with measurement partners including Integral Ad Science.
