Facebook Beacon: A Driving Force Behind Facebook Ads

Today, the announcement of the new Facebook Ads system has been a top story, although I question its ability to successfully market to users without coming across as spam or an invasion of privacy. It may be my favorite soda, but I cannot see myself having Coca-Cola as a Facebook friend just to give them another place to try selling me something.

The way I see it, the best elements to the new system are Beacon and the existing developer platform. Sharing has become very popular on the internet with web users circulating everything from news stories to classified listings to videos. With the 44 partner sites now making use of Beacon, Facebook users will be able to perform all kinds of actions around the web and have them instantly displayed on the News Feed in their profile, and I am betting that many users will be more willing to take suggestions from a 'real friend' as opposed to the suggestions of 'company friends' only out looking to make a profit.

Facebook itself has even called Beacon “a core element of the Facebook Ads system for connecting businesses with users and targeting advertising to the audiences they want,” so what is all the fuss about?

Blockbuster has already implemented a resourceful tool to allow Facebook users to share the movies they add to their Blockbuster.com queue with their friends back on the Facebook website. This is coupled with Movie Clique, a Facebook application that adds the ability for anyone to create lists of movies they want to see, share movie ratings, stay updated on new releases, and, for Blockbuster Online subscribers, rent movies right through Facebook.

?We view this as an innovative way to cultivate relationships with millions of Facebook users by enabling them to interact with Blockbuster in convenient, relevant and entertaining ways,? said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster chairman and CEO. ?This is beyond creating advertising impressions. This is about Blockbuster participating in the community of the consumer so that, in return, consumers feel motivated to share the benefits of our brand with their friends.?

Several tasks that people perform are inherently social and with friends now staying connected on social networks such as Facebook, it makes logical sense for this to become an integral part of the social networking scene. For instance, friends are always discussing the latest movies they have seen, for which reason Fandango has begun using Beacon, so that when Facebook users purchase movie tickets at Fandango, their movie plans can be shared with their friends on Facebook. Both sides benefit because the visitor has a new way to inform friends and Fandango earns greater social distribution on Facebook.

Travelocity will also now use Beacon to allow those who book vacations with the travel service to share their plans on Facebook. Early next year, eBay will begin use as well, allowing sellers to post new auction listings to their Facebook News Feed in an effort to attract more potential bidders and buyers.

Sharing is such a simple action that it seems to be undervalued on social networks despite its widespread acceptance across the web. With Facebook Beacon, there are now dozens of new possibilities that could make it easier to instantly share actions with friends, and both consumers and businesses can benefit. What a simple yet amazing system Facebook has managed to create.

What do you think of Facebook Ads and Beacon? Would you add companies as Facebook friends or stick with trusting individuals as friends? Can you think of an excellent use for Beacon that should be shared?