Facebook Ads API Goes Live for All

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Facebook has released its Ads API to the larger agency and ads product developer world, after allowing 20 brands to test the platform in recent weeks. The Palo Alto, CA-based company is touting a trio of case studies that it says showcases how the platform lets developers build tools that provide greater ad targeting, improved analytics, and custom like-gating, among other examples.

Recently reported by ClickZ News, U.K. travel site On the Beach tested the Facebook API to see how the social promos compared to its paid and organic search efforts for generating sales. Based on 30 campaigns, for every seven sales where Facebook ads were the first click in the purchase funnel, there was only one conversion originating with either a paid or organic search click.

With the help of advertising agency I Spy and Facebook ads marketing provider Upcast, the travel site targeted 18- to 64-year-olds initially, but testing helped them whittle the target group down to women 35 to 54 years old. They tested dozens of ad creatives and day parts before launching the campaigns that brought in the 7X figure.

Expedia and Einstein Bros. Bagels are the other two cases being presented by Facebook, having trialed the API via their shared marketing vendor, Context Optional. The brands utilized the increasingly employed like-gating tactic. Expedia reportedly increased Facebook followers by 750 percent, helping the travel site top 1 million "likes." Einstein Bros. increased its Facebook audience by 250,000 in one day, gaining more than 400,000 "likes" during a short campaign.

Facebook now has a dedicated API for the Ads, Pages, and Insights products, which fall under the social site's Marketing API umbrella.