I wrote the below as a comment to David Berkowitz’ post on Mashable about Facebook’s Sponsored Stories.
David, did you see this article?
I was really surprised to see All Things D’s editorial take on this new program. I agree with your statement in your op-ed that your initial posts on Facebook “come from the heart”. In their initial posts, users, like you, are choosing to mention their association with a brand. The Sponsored Stories crosses that line from mentioning association to full-on endorsement. I may post that I’m at a Starbucks because I freely associate and identify with that brand’s image, but that doesn’t mean I want Starbucks to make that look like a recommendation to my friends. Also, I know most of my friends may miss my initial post in their Feeds, and blowing it up into a full on ad makes it very difficult to miss, and much less of the casual, organic mention I meant it to be.
As a user, I agree there should be an opt out. But as a marketer, I’m ready to get client ads up on there the second the option opens up to me in the self-service ads center. This is actually a fantastic fit for a brand who interacts well with people on their Facebook page, since engaging their customers in dialogue will give them lots of stories to sponsor. This could be part of really big Facebook strategies, and could help close the gap between paid and organic marketing on social media. It’s tough NOT to like it from a purely marketing standpoint.
