As a Facebook reliant generation, we’ve all experienced the “oops, I accidentally clicked that annoying ad on the side of the webpage” scenario. Which begs the question: How effective are Facebook advertisements? As a frequent user myself, I’ll admit I’ve never noticed the ads on Facebook, which leads me to Facebook’s first “no-no”.

1) From a Marketing perspective, Facebook’s advertisements are incredibly underwhelming, so much so, that they often slip under the radar of its users. Facebook’s ads are placed discreetly throughout the site however, with such a large amount of information provided on any given page, it is far too easy to ignore their dull coloured, non-attention grabbing ads. Companies paying Facebook per click on their ad are being scammed. Not once have I logged into Facebook to search through ads, these ads are only being clicked accidentally by users and are immediately exited from without a second glance, which leads me to my second point.

2) Facebook’s primary function is to connect people from across the world and allow them to share their life’s milestones with one another whether it is through status updates, photos albums or personal messages. Never has a Facebook user logged in to the site with the purpose of perusing the advertisements searching for something that appeals to them. Google is highly capable of achieving this goal with better accuracy, relevance and ease than Facebook ever can.

So why is it that companies are spending thousands of dollars each month to have their dull, boring advertisement accidentally clicked on and exited by Facebook users? The thought process of “our competitors think it’s profitable to advertise on Facebook, they must be right” is common. It seems like a case of the blind leading the blind. Sure, Facebook offers a convenient way to reach desired target markets using keywords, but does this make it any more likely that a Facebook user will click an advertisement when their primary reason for logging into the site was to share a few photos or message their best friend on the other side of the world? Unlikely.

Facebook has the potential to provide a positive source of advertisement from companies to their desired target market. However, Facebook is struggling to maintain a balance between pleasing users who would ideally seek an advertisement free Facebook and companies trying to justify the large amounts of money they are spending to receive a single click.