Facebook is currently ironing out the bugs in a new mobile ad service that will use your Facebook profile information to display targeted ads within other Apps and web pages.Once the service goes live it means mobile users will start to see ads that are more relevant to their interests, 'likes', location and personal data such as age, gender and friends.This is great for advertisers as they will be able to target specific demographics based on Facebook profile information, and better for users as they will only be shown ads that are actually relevant to them.

How will it work?

1. Advertisers will set a 'bid' for how much they're willing to pay Facebook to reach a specific group of users
2. Websites that want to display the new Facebook ads add a snippet of code to their webpage or mobile app
3. When a user visits a webpage or app that has a Facebook advertising position it the ad position detects the users facebook information and queries the ad server for advertisements where the user fits the target demographic
4. The advertisement is displayed
5. Facebook detects when a user clicks the ad and then charges the advertiser the amount they 'bid', and then gives a commission to the owner of the website/app

Why is this a big deal?

Facebook has traditionally used it's 'platform' to generate income (i.e. attracting people to the site and displaying ads there). This new strategy means that they will be able to target people from beyond the reach of the Facebook website and serve ads that are specifically of interest to the user.Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date with future information on this topic!