The Wall Street Journal has reported that GM will discontinue advertising on facebook. The move comes after a review of facebook advertising results and a “come to Jesus” meeting with facebook managers. Unfortunately for facebook, this announcement comes just a few days before facebook’s IPO.
Facebook is a relatively young ad platform. They still need to find–through trial and error–what they can deliver better than other media. GM, likewise, is experimenting with this new social media.
My own experience with facebook has been mixed. Like so many other things, it works for some products/services and not for others. Rather than comparing facebook to radio/TV/newspaper/outdoor, GM should be looking at facebook as the most efficient information distribution medium out there… Car buyers research makes and models online. Instead of replacing newspaper advertising, maybe facebook could replace all those glossy brochures.
