Facebook Audience Network: More Details On Impending Launch Of Mobile Ad ...

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg may not have had much to say about the social network's reported launch of a mobile ad network during the company's first-quarter earnings call Wednesday, but someone apparently spilled the beans to Josh Constine of TechCrunch, as he reported that the mobile ad network, named Facebook Audience Network, will officially be announced at Facebook's F8 global developer conference in San Francisco April 30.

Constine reported that Facebook will initially target its existing advertisers, many of which are eager for new inventory, as the social network limits the number of ads shown to its mobile users, but no such limits will be in effect outside of the Facebook environment.

The social network's extensive ad-targeting features will also be a part of Facebook Audience Network, according to Constine.

There will be two ad-delivery methods, according to Constine: Developers will be able to integrate code and run ads on Facebook Audience Network instead of their existing ad networks or other solutions they are using to serve ads, which will ease the process on both the advertiser side and for Facebook itself.

Or custom ad units will be made available, tailored to the applications in which they will run. Constine offered the example that ads running within a navigation app could display promoted locations, such as restaurants or other businesses, as pins.

The advantage for Facebook lies in the treasure trove of personal data it has acquired on its users, which no other ad network can replicate.

Readers: Do you think Facebook Audience Network will be a successful venture for the social network?