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Facebook is shutting down Sponsored Stories

Facebook announced last Thursday (09/01) that it is shutting down Sponsored Stories.

Sponsored stories will officially shut down on April 9. The key focus of all ads will now be social

context, and social validation will now be tied into every ad format.

What this means for your brand:

1. The loss of a top-performing ad format:

This has been the best paid media performance on Facebook. At Online Circle Digital we

have been testing distribution across other formats including new ads structures that

Facebook gave us early access to.

2. Increased EdgeRank. We believe non-paid posts will receive better results:

This means content calendars are more important than ever.

3. Other ad formats will perform better:

With less competition from Sponsored Stories, other ad platforms are assumed to

perform better.

4. Engagement is extremely important:

With social validation tied into every ad format, the absence of it next to any ad will

have negative effects. We will be focusing heavily on increasing engagement in the

coming months. Again, content calendars are vital.

5. Paid ads derived from earned advocacy (comments/likes/shares):

With the key focus of all ads now being social context, there will be a heavy focus on

building segments. Each engagement a brand fosters from an organic advocate may

unlock 70 to 100 new friends of that fan who can be reached with social context. If a

brand wants to advertise to 1 million fans, it needs to earn engagement from 10,000

existing fans first.

We will continue to keep informed about any further changes, and keep you up to date about

what actions need to be taken. If you are in doubt talk to your accounts team.

Cheers,

Lucio Ribeiro Lead Strategist