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In a push to expand its user base and by taking into account the slow Internet connections emerging markets may have, Facebook rolls out slideshow ads in developing countries.
So far, the social networking giant tried to lure in more users by making Internet connectivity affordable in the world’s most remote places. But low-cost doesn’t always pair with high speeds.
The new type of ads is friendlier to users’ connection and computers. And Facebook needs to expand its advertising reach to those users but in a way that doesn’t discourage them from using its services.
In developed countries the revenue that ads may bring reached a close-to-saturation limit. So growth may only be achieved in emerging markets.
Slideshow ads were first made available on Tuesday, and they will gradually rolled out in all the site’s ad managing systems over the course of next weeks. Slideshows, which would last maximum 15 seconds, are very versatile and can contain up to seven different images. The company announced that such ads take five times less time to be displayed than traditional ads.
In many developing countries such as India and Latin America, slow 2G connections are still the only technology users have access to.
The ads are especially appealing to advertisers because they are cheaper to make (images can be provided by Facebook), and are very similar to video ads.
And, video ads are more effective when promoting a product than banners or text. Facebook also pledged that there would be a lower cost per view for Slideshow ads than for video ones.
Coca-Cola company already tested the new ads in Nigeria to promote a show with images taken from a previous edition. The social networking giant said that Coke’s ad reached 2 million people, which is double the amount the companies expected.
In the developing world there are currently three billion Internet users that go online on a daily basis. Facebook’s Chris Cox said that the company was striving towards a world where everyone has Internet connectivity, and that moment was ‘pretty close.’
“The people we’re building for look less and less like us,”
Cox added.
In early October, Facebook overhauled its news feed to make it friendlier to slow connections. A week ago, it launched ‘2G Tuesdays,’ a program for employees that encourages them to use a simulation of poor Internet connectivity every Tuesday to see how emerging country users’ everyday life is.
Image Source: Pixabay
