Content measurement continues to be a major challenge for marketers, and Facebook admitted on Monday that it hasn’t done enough to give the brands on its platform transparent and relevant metrics.
A report published by Kantar Millward Brown last week found that 79 per cent of marketers believe that it is now “tough” to evaluate their content campaigns. During a speech at the IAB Digital Upfronts event, Facebook exec Ian Edwards admitted that the tech giant still falls short of offering the high-quality measurements that brands expect but claimed that it is making “incredible strides.”
Facebook has been criticised on several occasions during the last 12 months after reporting measurement errors across its product range, which included one mistake related to its video carousel ads in May that cost advertisers money. Edwards said it is working hard to give advertisers and publishers better solutions.
He said: “At the moment, the process around measurement is first focusing on who sees the ads and for how long. Then, it’s about focusing on how that ad changes perceptions of a brand. And finally, we study the outcomes – so someone being exposed versus someone not being exposed to an ad and the impact on purchase behaviour offline and online.”
Edwards concluded his speech by urging brands to create more mobile-optimised content for the festive period, as recent data shows that ads on smartphones now drive 200 more clicks compared to desktop. He added: “Last year, mobile officially became the most important channel for Christmas advertising. It’s where you need to be to win.”
Facebook also announced on Monday that it will be adding a further 1,000 employees to its brand safety programme as it tries to improve the process of reviewing and removing fake content and malicious ads. The social giant came under fire again last week after the discovery that an organisation linked to Russia bought thousands of ads in the run-up to the US Presidential Election last year.
Facebook also outlined its plans to increase machine learning investment to gain a better understanding of content flagging and removal procedures and to roll out new policies designed to make it harder for third parties to buy ads related to federal elections.
