There has been a lot of buzz around Facebook for sometime and it hit a fevered pitch last week with their developer announcement, but I haven't heard too much (lately at least) of their burgeoning advertising network and (virtual) gift-giving business. After getting wrapped up again with Facebook since getting my first 'poke' from Surgarae a couple of months ago... I stumbled upon their "Facebook Flyers."
Facebook Flyers allow you to post announcements (ads) based on CPM (cost-per-thousand) impressions to your various networks. $5 will get you 10,000 *highly targeted* pairs of eyeballs. A $0.50 CPM is unheard of for this coveted audience. It's surely worth a test for the right product... like this one I saw being advertised for Dorm2Dorm. (Perhaps the targeting could be a little sharper since I received it because I was in the UCSD network...but it should have targeted active students or a higher age group that could have college-aged children.) I'm sure that could come at a higher price... by selecting additional targeting but it's all about ROI and if the click-through's and conversions don't merit the additional targeting expense... you leave as-is.
I think "Flyers" work in the Facebook world because they blend into the content and are "authentic" to the Facebook experience. You won't see Lowermybills ads flashing at you (yet...and I hope not ever.) I think there is plenty of money on the table for Facebook to monetize their visitors before they need to open up the inventory to everyone.
