Facebook has launched a new comment ad, aimed at leveraging word-of-mouth marketing. If users comment on info posted on brands’ Facebook pages, that interaction will then appear in the user’s newsfeed and a related ad or “sponsored story” will appear on their wall.
“If people choose to engage with the ad and comment, the story can be amplified by the brand – with the aim of driving further conversations amongst friends. It allows brands to achieve greater recall and brand engagement,” a Facebook spokeswoman told the U.K. Telegraph.
Leo Burnett came up with the proposal, which was developed following an open day which Facebook held for agencies late last year, inviting them to pitch new ideas. Facebook said it now plans to assemble a council of 12 brands and agencies that will meet several times a year to come up with new ideas and present them at industry events at its Palo Alto, CA HQ starting in the fall.
RBR-TVBR observation: A great idea to cast a wider net for ideas—it’s not a “review” per se, but basically free advice given from a panel of experts, where each one gets a chance to implement their idea, if chosen. But as we’ve said before, social media can slice both ways. Consumers can tear down a brand with negative comments, and there are always those paid to do so as well, albeit not common.
