Last week, Facebook's leadership team held an open call with investors, that call gave us a sneak peak at what Facebook's future strategic plans might look like.
Mark Zuckerberg indicated he will be taking Facebook in a Google like direction. The CEO wants FB to be a 'pull' based service, as apposed to a 'push' like service, where users are spending more time searching for and discovering new content around the platform.
Zuckerberg noted he is working to get Facebook moving toward more indexation of information based on user content creation and to continue to build "services" around that information.
Sheryl Sandberg also said Facebook was working on "better targeted" ads based on what users are doing on Facebook, not just demographics and location.
They also said a maximum point has been reached on news feed ads for users. Basically, Facebook has realised users are now starting to become annoyed at sponsored posts, acknowledging a tipping point in revenue demands from investors and concerns about user satisfaction.
Facebook also wants marketers using the platform to think by objectives more. "I want my app installed," or "I want engagement with a web service," Zuckerberg said.
Mobile Ads:
Now 49% of Facebook's revenue, up from basically 0% in 2011. Mobile app install ads were leading the way and very popular with marketers.
Areas for revenue growth:
There are two fundamental areas of revenue growth Facebook is poised to deliver: the first ever sponsored content posts are appearing from premium advertisers on Instagram, and Facebook is also set to reap big dollars from major companies looking to get into Facebook's new video advertising product. Mobile ads are also likely to be a huge driver of revenue, with the mobile ad world booming.
"We are making good progress on our strategy, especially mobile," Zuckerberg boasted. "We have reached new milestones on mobile. ... It's a pretty incredible sign of how Facebook has evolved over the past year.
Facebook Video Ads:
Advertisers are set to be charged $2 million per day for the right to own 15-second video ad spots across user generated video content.
Delivered on both smartphones and .com platforms.
Should be rolling out by the start of 2014 or very late in 2013.
Instagram advertising:
Facebook noted it was working hard to make sure Instagram ads were very much 'native'-looking for the platform, with ads basically being images slightly larger than independent user posts and in many cases more interesting than typical content. It was not yet reported how much revenue was being generated from these first ad products.
Other key statisitcs:
Facebook's user base continues to grow, despite some signs younger users are leaving the site for other networks.
Facebook reported a global active user base of 1.19 billion people, up from 1.16 billion.
Mobile only users were at 254 million per month, up from 126 million last year (2012)
Facebook owned Instagram has reached 150 million active monthly users.
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