Facebook lets advertisers poll it's users in the US

Finally!

Facebook have revealed this week that they are beta testing ads that allow marketers to poll Facebook members.

Advertisers clamoring for deeper engagement with Facebook's 150 million members will soon have the ability simply to ask them what they are thinking, and then display the results for all to see -- or even better, comment on.

I don't know about you but for the last year i have been using a whole jumble of technologies & systems to compile qualitative research about the impact of online advertising on purchase consideration, brand advocacy & general reaction, positive or negative, to campaign activity.

Tools such as Dynamic Logic, on-site surveys & brand tracker studies are all well and good but they are expensive and not always conclusive.

These new polling ad units open up a world of opportunity for marketers - we can finally get realtime feedback on our advertising from the people who really matter which can help us respond and open up the dialogue in a whole new way.

The first two advertisers to use the beta polling ads will be Careerbuilder and Papa John's in the US.

In the run-up to the Super Bowl, Careerbuilder will ask Facebook members which team they think will win the game, the Pittsburgh Steeler or the Arizona Cardinals. When users make their pick, they are shown the results so far, as well as how their friends voted. They will also have the option to be taken to the Careerbuilder fan page.

After the Super Bowl, the career-services site will run one or more of the commercials it ran during the game, with new questions relating to the spots. It will also be offering a "virtual gift" featuring an item from the commercials.

The ads will appear either on the right-hand side of the screen or in the News Feed, where it will be shaded and marked as a sponsored item. The beta period for the ads is expected to run through the spring and early summer, said a spokeswoman for Facebook.

Facebook launched Phase 1 of the series of Engagement Ad units in August 08 with advertisers like Adidas, Betty Crocker and Dreamworks. The first ads allowed Facebook members to become "fans" of advertisers or view trailers and leave comments without leaving the page.

Go Facebook!