Facebook’s new ad policy will allow publishers, brands and celebrities to share sponsored content
Facebook announced changes to its ad policies on Friday (8 April), making it easier for brands and publishers to monetise their content shared on the social network, an issue often voiced and barely addressed, till now
Under the new rules, verified Facebook Pages - most commonly owned by publishers, brands and celebrities - can now share branded content on Facebook.
Branded content includes any post — including text, photos, videos, Instant Articles, links, 360 videos, and Live videos — that specifically mentions or features a third party product, brand, or sponsor.
Previously, publishers running branded content on Facebook was completely against the rules, unless they received approval directly from the social network.
The social network is also introducing a tool that will make it easy to tag the sponsor behind that content, which will be a requirement to run a branded post.
The updates to its branded content policy were announced in a post by Clare Rubin, product manager and Nick Grudin, vice president of partnerships at Facebook.
It read:
"This update is something that media companies, public figures, influencers, and marketers have been asking for, as branded content is a growing and evolving part of the media landscape.
"People will now be connected to more of the content they care most about on Facebook as publishers and influencers gain an incentive to share more quality content — of all kinds — with their fans. We know that many of our partners have existing partnership deals with marketers, and this update gives them the ability to extend their branded content business onto Facebook."
The new rules rolled out on Friday for most formats except live sponsored videos, which is still to come.
Facebook has stated that not all types of branded content will be accepted — persistent watermarks and pre-roll ads are still forbidden, as are sponsored cover photos and profile pictures.