Google be warned; Facebook is after your customers. In 2015, the social network was used by half the world’s online population, with a burgeoning ad ecosystem and ever-more engaging media tools to keep users glued to their newsfeeds. As part of our review of the year, we look back at the key trends that shaped Facebook marketing in 2015, including the changing role of the ‘like’ button, the growth of social video and smarter ad tools.
Key trends to check your 2016 plans against:
Biggest 10 headlines of the year:
New dad Zuckerberg to give away 99% of Facebook shares
Mark Zuckerberg plans to give away 99% of his $45bn Facebook fortune as he announced the birth of his first child.
Priscilla and I are so happy to welcome our daughter Max into this world!For her birth, we wrote a letter to her about…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Facebook brings free ‘basic’ internet to Africa with Airtel deal
Facebook is expanding its reach in Africa, giving free internet access to 17 countries in Africa via a deal with telco Airtel Africa.
New Instagram API ads ‘get 2.5 times more clicks than average’
Last month, Instagram switched on its advertising API (application programming interface), letting mobile marketers buy ads and plan marketing in a more automated way. Four weeks on, how are the ads comparing to industry benchmarks? New research from ad tech firm Kenshoo uncovers some surprising results…
Facebook offers ‘location aware’ ads 1ft from stores
Facebook ads are about to get even more personal, telling marketers more about the people who pass by their shops and whether those potential customers have seen their ads ont the social network.
Facebook adds six new emojis to ‘Like’ options
Following speculation about how Facebook would add a new ‘dislike button’, the social network has revealed it is testing six additional emojis to its ‘like’ button, dubbed ‘Reactions’.
Today we're launching a test of Reactions — a more expressive Like button. The Like button has been a part of Facebook for a long time. Billions of Likes are made every day, and Liking things is a simple way to express yourself.For many years though, people have asked us to add a "dislike" button. Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy. These are important moments where you need the power to share more than ever, and a Like might not be the best way to express yourself.At a recent Townhall Q&A, I shared with our community that we've spent a lot of time thinking about the best way to give you better options for expressing yourself, while keeping the experience simple and respectful. Today we're starting to test this.Reactions gives you new ways to express love, awe, humor and sadness. It's not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy — in addition to delight and warmth. You’ll be able to express these reactions by long pressing or hovering over the Like button. We’re starting to test Reactions in Ireland and Spain and will learn from this before we bring the experience to everyone. We hope you like this – or can better express how you’re feeling!
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, 8 October 2015
Facebook takes on YouTube with dedicated video platform
Facebook is testing new features aimed at getting people to watch more videos, as the social network looks to rival YouTube as the dominant hub for web videos.
Facebook starts collecting ‘like’ data on third party sites
Facebook will start collecting data on users’ web viewing for the company’s ad-targeting systems next month, in a bid to serve more relevant ads on the social network’s pages. But privacy campaigners say its opt-out policy doesn’t go far enough…
Facebook buy button to turn brand Pages into ecommerce sites
After many attempts to break into ecommerce Facebook is testing another buy button- this time letting businesses turn their pages into e-commerce sites.
Facebook quits charging for ‘likes’ in ad price shake-up
Facebook is changing the way it calculates cost-per-click for advertisers, no longer using ‘likes’ and instead focusing on charging for clicks to websites and apps.
Facebook ‘Instant Articles’ lets mobile readers skip load times
Facebook has launched “Instant Articles”, a program that hosts publishers’ content in its app’s News Feed so users don’t have to click out and wait for websites to load.
Introducing Instant Articles, a new tool for publishers to create fast, interactive articles on Facebook.
Posted by Facebook Media on Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Facebook used by half of world’s online population
Half of the world’s estimated online population now check in to the social networking giant Facebook at least once a month.
Facebook Messenger gets mobile payments
Facebook is expanding into mobile payments by letting users exchange money through its Messenger app.