Weblog

Sarah Shearman states that despite having 600m ‘friends’ across the globe, Facebook has, of late, been turning its attention to the befriending of brands.

Glimpses into its strategy of recruiting brands by developing a platform that allows for more advertiser creativity emerged earlier this year, when Facebook held its ‘Influencer Summit’. It flew in top creatives and executives from UK ad agencies to its offices in Palo Alto, California, to discuss exactly what brands want from the platform and how they can work together.

The facebook portal invites brands and agencies to upload their best Facebook campaigns, that allow them to throw down the gauntlet for members of the creative industry to discuss their effectiveness, choosing whether or not to ‘like’ the work.

Sarah Shearman states that popular campaigns featured on the portal include Coca-Cola’s ‘Like Machine’ and Reinert Sausages’ ‘Wurst Face-App’.

She furthers to say that while Facebook Studio could be viewed as a mouthpiece for marketers to blow their own trumpets, Facebook wants it to be a valuable resource for creating effective campaigns, even featuring tutorials through its ‘learning lab’ tab.

David Parfect, Facebook’s agency sales group head, says ‘we are always listening to feedback from brands and trying to make any changes on the site easier to understand,’ he explains. ‘Facebook is giving brands the opportunity to see what more the platform has to offer, beyond just buying an engagement ad.’

The latest figures from the Internet Advertising Bureau shows brands increasing their marketing spend on Facebook, with social media accounting for a 200% surge in display advertising growth. But it is the wider opportunities beyond paid-for media that are capturing brands’ attention and shaping Facebook’s strategy.

Sarah Shearman (Brand Repubic) states, the launch of Facebook Studio is a very positive step. It is a community within a community, bringing together the best talent in social media and allowing them to interact and gain inspiration from one another.

Ultimately, this will enable facebook to push the standards of our creative higher, resulting in a more engaging social media space.