By Kate Kaye, ClickZ.com
Online advertisers are accustomed to quality scores affecting how or if their ads are served, but a recent Facebook change has political advertisers particularly concerned and frustrated. At issue is the “Report this Ad” function demarked by the small “x” above Facebook ads. Facebook has been using the results of the ad removals to inform its ad-serving algorithm. Some political advertisers say their ads should not be subject to the algorithm change.
When users click the “x” in Facebook ads, they are told, “You have removed this ad,” and asked, “Why didn’t you like it?” They can choose from a list of options to describe the removed ad including uninteresting, misleading, offensive and repetitive.
While many consumer brands do not elicit a passionate response from users, politicians and political organizations often do. Digital political consultants who run Facebook campaigns on behalf of political candidates say opponents of their clients can easily call their ads “misleading” or “offensive,” which can lower an ad’s quality score or knock off a campaign from Facebook altogether.
“It just crushes your quality score and the next thing you know your ad isn’t running,” said Zac Moffatt, partner at Targeted Victory, an agency that often runs Facebook ad campaigns on behalf of Republican candidates. Moffatt said he saw the ad removal data affect multiple campaigns toward the end of the 2010 election cycle.
While national campaigns targeting a variety or groups across several geographic areas may not be affected, the algorithm alteration can have a damaging impact on campaigns targeting niche audience segments in small geographic regions, such as Republicans in a particular city or town, for example.
When running a small campaign targeting Republicans within one state in recent weeks, digital communications firm Harris Media saw the ads “flatline or go to zero,” according to CEO Vincent Harris. He believes the campaign was shut down when opponents of the candidate clicked to remove the ad, prompting Facebook to pull the campaign. In a small, local race, or a heated primary race, he suggested, “There are going to be people who don’t like your ad, give negative feedback, and then the ad can be blocked.”
To read more, visit: Facebook’s ‘Report this Ad’ Worries Political Advertisers