Facebook has made no secret of the challenges to its mobile business model, but it continues to seek ways to challenge Google in mobile advertising. Its latest plan is to introduce advertisements that target smartphone users based on the applications and games they like.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook plans to track users’ mobile activities with Facebook Connect, which enables consumers to log into millions of apps and websites with their social network identity. The social giant will use the data it collects to target adverts precisely, charging marketers every time an app is installed. Charging by app installations should attract significantly higher fees than conventional mobile ad impressions, since Facebook is not just examining what apps consumers like, but how they behave within them.
The campaigns will also be integrated into a customer’s mobile News Feed, which streams updates from friends and contacts, so that products can be promoted within the group of contacts. The new system could debut by the end of this month.
However, there are sure to be privacy concerns about this new style of mobile advertising, because it tracks a broader range of user behavior than existing ad networks, which just monitor promotions on which consumers click.
Last month, Facebook became the seventh company to sign California’s Joint Statement of Principles to strengthen mobile app privacy protection, but it would not comment on the latest plans, or whether it would offer opt-outs or other defences.