In this article the author shows readers Facebook’s attempts to become a leader in online advertising. Being one of the most visited websites with more than 600 million active users, Facebook is the ultimate place for marketers to take advantage of word of mouth. Mark Zuckerberg and his team constantly improves features of the website and develops new technologies to create a unique way of personal advertising. Today Facebook allows companies to create free brand pages where users can comment and post on them. Companies and consumers communicate directly with each other, helping to better understand the market. Additionally, Open Graph technology integrates Facebook with other websites, permitting users to share interesting articles, songs and other files with their friends through the feed.
However, there are major issues that challenge Facebook. First, personal advertising assumes the use of users’ personal data. Facebook tracks users’ activity and preferences, which helps target ads better. Recent use of Beacon technology resulted in a scandal, whereas a lot of people were angry that their activities were tracked and broadcasted on ads. Second, people do not perceive Facebook as a search site. Return on Facebook ads is much lower than that of Google ads. People spend more time on Facebook, but they use Google search when they are ready to make a purchase. Third problem is that Facebook does not generate any profit from companies’ free brand pages and Open Graph