Facebook's Next Target - Television Advertising

Facebook is targeting television for its future advertisements, according to a report by The New York Times.

The social media giant is preparing to go after billions of dollars of TV advertising after successfully getting a sizeable pie in the mobile advertising market, the Times said.

According to the report, TV advertising amounts to $70 billion annually in the U.S. alone, and as much as $200 billion globally - it still remains a huge business. The report also says that amidst the amount of time people spend online, advertisers continue to pour billions into TV commercials even if the technology lacks the ability to track consumer's advertising response.

However, the report also says that the TV advertising landscape has been changing. With providers like DirectTV, it is now able to claim at least 10 percent of ad revenues from what it calls addressable advertising. These are ads delivered over the internet to specific TV.

The Times reports also shows Facebook's three-phase approach. Facebook's video ad strategy includes (1) seeding the market using a small initial campaign, (2) blast the target market with huge advertising spending, and (3) sustain aware through follow-up campaigns.

The Times report the broke down of the approach as follows:       

1.Seed - $50-$100/$200K that will create a hyper-targeted teaser to start generating buzz about your new product or brand campaign with your core target audience (e.g., using Partner Categories, Custom Audiences, Interests, competitor's Interests)
2. Blast - $500K-$1M campaign to generate mass awareness of your new product or brand campaign specific to intended target audience (typically over a 1-3 day period)
3. Sustained media - that will reinforce your message after the initial blast. You should tailor creative to specific audiences to drive the best results. These campaigns can range anywhere from a week to a few months.

Facebook claims that it has advantages over its competition such as cable broadcast and cable companies. It says it has the capability to target specific demographics and results. Facebook also says that people are increasingly spending more time online. According to a Nielsen study, Facebook reaches 70 percent of people whose age ranges between ages 18 and 24 daily. This is ten percent higher than the 60 percent that TV networks get.

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