Gigaom reported that Facebook is gearing up to launch an external advertising network.

Using data about an individual’s personal likes and dislikes based on activity on Facebook will help the social network serve up ads outside of its ‘four walls’.

According to Chris Dixon, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, described the external advertising network as ‘inevitable’.

With the amount of traffic Facebook receives and the micro-targeted data it has collected on users over the years, the ad network could be a good option for advertising using Google’s Adsense.

The key for Facebook’s external ad network will be proving to advertisers that their data is more targeted and better able to convert.  But the issue of low click through rates on Facebook ads will remain unless this new external network can capture consumers when they are in the purchasing phase and not just browsing photos and friends’ updates.

The complete article on Bloomberg Businessweek can be found here:  https://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-26/facebook-makes-it-official-an-external-advertising-network-is-coming-soon#r=read

Photo credit 1 & 2: Jessica Duensing

Photo credit 3: Islam Elsedoudi