Facebook has offered two programs – the Preferred Developer Consultant and the Marketing API Program – over the past three years that have helped brands work with developers on Facebook specific campaigns. It appears to have been a wildly successful program, but two programs can sometimes lead to confusion. To combat this and consolidate their offerings, Facebook is taking these two initiatives and combining them into one program.
Say hello to the Preferred Marketing Developer Program. It’s designed to “bring developers to the right clients and making it possible for any brand or company to find consultants who can work with them to build comprehensive Facebook campaigns and presences.” This essentially means that brands can easily find the right company for the job while the company finds themselves decent work. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone.
The consolidation seems to have worked too since Facebook has seen 141 companies from 20 countries apply for the PMD program. This means that there are now 232 PMDs operating out of 35 countries. That’s a massive collective of developers that any client would love to have access to.
The new program doesn’t just stop there though. Facebook has made it faster and easier for developers to submit and find brands to work with. The first change is the way clients can find developers. The new search tool lets you find a developer by qualification, business model and customers served.
Developers can now show “specific expertise with Pages, Ads, apps and Insights” on their Web sites or the look up tool page. Here’s an example of how it will look on the look up tool:
To ease marketers and developers into the world of Facebook ad development, the company has created a new help page that features all the information you need to get started.
Finally, Facebook has revamped the submission form so that developers can apply whenever they’re ready. This is a massive change from before where developers could only apply during periodic rounds.
If you’re still not sold on the PMD program, Facebook has some stats to share on how the program has helped other developer groups grow and become more profitable. Vitrue, a Facebook marketing developer, grew from 66 to 180 employees in a year after joining the program. This allowed them to expand internationally by opening up five offices.
There are other success stories as well, but the main point is that this is an easy way for a developer to get noticed by large brands looking to get the word out on social media. Facebook is still a great place for businesses to push their brand and they need the talent of developers to make it happen. The PMD program seems to be the right fit for both parties.
