Dive Brief:
- Facebook is taking its Audience Network ad platform beyond third-party apps to the mobile web, allowing more publishers access to the platform.
- The expansion also means that native ads, which currently make up more than 80% of Audience Network impressions, according to Facebook, will also be available through the mobile web in a variety of formats
- Before the expansion, Facebook worked with Hearst, Elite Daily, USA Today Sports Media Group, Time Inc., and other mobile web publishers in a closed beta run.
Dive Insight:
"The Audience Network for mobile web showcases Facebook’s unique approach to providing value for publishers and advertisers and is already becoming one of our top monetization partners on mobile web," Answers.com CEO Rich Dredge was quoted saying in a Facebook blog post. Answers.com was one of the beta partners.
"With the company’s massive reach and unrivaled audience targeting capabilities, this new offering will be a game-changer for the digital publishing industry," Dredge said.
In a Facebook Developer News blog post, author Mike Murphy pointed out comScore research has found digital media consumption in mobile web browsers increased 53% from 2013 to 2015, and 93% of news sites' mobile audience comes via the mobile web rather than an app.
"With no SDK integration required, getting started with the Audience Network for mobile web is quick and easy. Once a publisher is approved, they simply add a JavaScript tag to their HTML page source code and then they can start creating placements right away; publishers can even go live the same day they are approved," Murphy wrote.
Facebook’s Audience Network has 2.5 million advertisers, and in Q4 2015 it hit a billion dollar annual run rate.
