Facebook hopes new ad scheme can engage users

Owyang said that companies that do use the engagement advertising scheme should:

• Focus ads on the community;
• Interact with users in the community -- don't ask them to link to other sites; and
• Change success metrics because it can't be weighed solely on page views or referral traffic.

As for Facebook, he suggested that they "hand-hold" customers as they navigate through the social network's frequently changing marketing plans.

"Facebook must develop a client solution that will help optimize these tools with professional services based on data, results and demographic information," Owyang added. "Marketers can't afford to experiment with their brand without the help of a trained and experienced group of social marketers provided by the platform."

Inside Facebook blogger Justin Smith spotted one of the new ads on Facebook last week when they were launched and? noted that this type of ad unit has the potential to drive more engagement than any other such product on Facebook.

"The comments around the ad dramatically increase engagement with the unit, as the highly visible comments provide an opportunity for users to simultaneously draw attention to the ad by drawing attention to themselves," he added.? "While this could backfire if comments degrading the advertiser are abundant ? the ad comments powerfully take advantage of Facebook's social dynamics to draw attention to an ad in a way that is impossible without the social graph."