How Facebook is Trying To Make Better Mobile Ads

Facebook has mobile mostly figured out. At the beginning of the year, the category generated nearly three-quarters of the social networking company’s advertising revenue. But Zuckerberg’s execs are betting there’s still plenty of room for growth.

Facebook is currently developing new ad formats for mobile devices that “it hopes will deliver more immersive experiences for customers and greater value for advertisers,” according to the Wall Street Journal. For example, a prototype of the new offering allows marketers “to create fully-branded, interactive destinations within the Facebook environment, featuring full-screen video, product information and other content.”

That’s beneficial to advertisers because many mobile ad formats don’t work well on smaller devices, especially those that are essentially sized-down version of their desktop equivalents.

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“We’re trying to give marketers a canvas that’s more engaging,” Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox told the Journal. “We’re working on creating things that seem weird at first, and then become invisible.”

The new ads may help Facebook keep users within its network, WSJ reporter Jack Marshall points out. The company could host content from marketers just as Facebook’s Instant Article program hosts content from media publishers, he writes.

On Tuesday, Cox will present the new ad format at the Cannes Lions ad festival in France. The company plans to work alongside advertisers, soliciting their input in order to perfect its product before taking it public. If successful, the strategy could help Facebook lure more advertising money away from TV and other venues.