Earlier this morning, we reported on some test images that show Facebook’s new mobile app install ads. These are the same mobile ads for apps that were made available through a beta back in August. It’s pretty clear that they have gone through some changes since then.
Facebook announced today that mobile app install ads are now available to all developers. These new ads are being billed as an “effective way for mobile app developers to drive installs and increase app discovery.” The real kicker here is that the ads feature an install button that takes users directly to an app’s page on Google Play or the App Store. App Center is already doing an admirable job of pushing mobile installs, but these ads could be much better.
So how effective are these new ads? During the beta period, a number of major players in Facebook gaming found the ads to significantly raise their CTRs and conversion rates. In fact, TinyCo saw 50 percent higher CTRs and a significantly higher conversion rate.
Preferred marketing developers also saw a similar increase in effectiveness when using the new ads. One such firm, Nanigan, saw its clients achieved eight to 10 times more reach compared to traditional advertising methods.
So, the new ads work. Now you’re going to want to implement them yourself. Facebook has it incredibly easy by integrating the ads into the App Dashboard. From there, developers can use existing ad tools and the new mobile app install ads API to build their own custom ads. These are the same ad tools that developers use on the main Facebook Web site so all of those options are available to you.
To see the effectiveness of your ads, developers will need to integrate with the latest Android or iOS Facebook SDKs. The insights will measure the overall clicks and installs for your current ad campaign. Using this data, you can optimize your ad delivery for installs.
The first release only offers basic ad functionality, but Facebook will begin pushing some pretty ambitious updates to the ad platform in the coming months. For instance, developers will soon be able to customize ad units based on audience and ensure that ads are only shown to those who don’t already have your app installed. Most importantly, a future update will make it so that users can start installing your app without ever leaving Facebook.
You can start creating mobile app install ads right now. To do so, just head over to the documentation that provides all the details you’ll need to create your own mobile ads.
