It’s no surprise that Facebook have realised the two biggest frustrations with Facebook ads are that people don’t like ads that quote inaccurate shipping times or that misrepresent products. In order to address this Facebook are going to start taking notice of Faecbook Ads Feedback from users and potentially ban advertisers that regularly receive complaints.
Users will be asked if they are ‘Satisfied’, ‘Neutral’ or ‘Dissatisfied’ and will then be asked which aspect of the transaction was most important with options for Product quality; Delivery speed; Customer service; and Something else. Finally users will be asked if they’d like to add any additional comments regarding their experience. You’ll be able to leave feedback on the Facebook Recent Ad Activity page.
“We share feedback directly with businesses that receive high volumes of negative feedback and give them a chance to improve before taking further action. We give them guidance on how to improve customer satisfaction and better meet customer expectations. This could mean setting clear expectations about shipping speed upfront or providing more transparency about return policies. If feedback does not improve over time, we will reduce the amount of ads that particular business can run. This can continue to the point of banning the advertiser.”
Facebook have a problem unlike marketplaces where a user (whether a buyer or a seller) can easily be tied to a transaction. They do have Community Standards and ads policies that govern the ads on the Facebook platform, but these don’t apply to bad shopping experiences off Facebook, like after clicking an ad to an online retailer’s site or app to make a purchase. That is what the new Faecbook Ads Feedback is designed to address.
The one thing we don’t know is how Facebook will distinguish between genuine bad experiences and the small proportion of users who will doubtless use Faecbook Ads Feedback as a retaliatory tool for advertisers that they simply don’t like. You can only leave feedback for ads that you’ve clicked on but that’s hardly a barrier to a determined malcontent.
It’s worth remembering that Facebook is entirely free to use but is ad supported and that’s how Facebook make their money. If users stop clicking on Faecbook Ads because they’ve been previously disappointed then Facebook lose their revenue stream.
