The Flogging of the Flog

While we doubt that Merriam-Webster will update their definition for flog to encompass the fake blogs, it turns out that the current meaning of the word applies much more appropriately than expected, and that is "to force or urge into action." The success of the flog, whether due to its debatable tactics of authenticity or the feelings of empowerment that they impart on the user, cause them to do what typical jump pages do not – click and convert. Interestingly, though, and perhaps all too appropriately, another definition also exists, one that doesn’t necessarily apply this second, but that through continued unrestrained, overuse of this marketing method will result in it coming true. Flog doesn’t just mean to drive into action, it also means "to beat with or as if with a rod or whip." In other words, if the performance marketing industry continues as-is, the flog will have become flogged. That is why self-policing remains the ultimate goal, but in our space, self-policing thus far means single individuals choosing to hold themselves to a certain standard as opposed to the industry creating and enforcing guidelines. Consequently, we find ourselves in position of comfort, continually pushing boundaries and skirting the rule until someone else decides it is time to re-write the boundaries or build a bigger fence. Described like this, we’re kind of like the illegal immigrants of the online advertising space. We do a lot of good for the overall economy, but it comes at an equally high cost, especially to our employers (in this example, the cpa networks).

Two weeks ago, we wrote about an unexpected, pro-affiliate change to the terms for advertisers, which was posted on Facebook Ad’s Notes section. The post read, "In the past, we have made changes to our ad policies in response to user concerns about the quality of advertising. We realize a few of these changes have prevented some legitimate advertising opportunities and impacted ad diversity, both of which are crucial to creating a positive user experience." The real kicker, came next, where the post reads, "In an effort to communicate our policies more clearly, we’d like to share some minor adjustments to our Advertising Guidelines. We are lifting the restrictions on some content including quizzes, surveys, some ringtones and other business opportunities." Well, thanks to the hard work of affiliates, in less than two week’s time, one of the newly allowed advertising areas no longer remains. As explained to us via email from one of the account representatives and again on the Notes section, Facebook has decided to take down and no longer allow the Google work from home ads as of Friday, February 13th. Facebook giveth, and they taketh away. According to Facebook, "The reason for this recent change is because as part of our ongoing effort to connect users to content they’re interested in, we constantly work to show users the ads that are most relevant to them. As you know, ad quality and user feedback have always been important considerations for Facebook ads, and help determine what ads are actually seen by users.  In general, ads that receive negative user feedback are less likely to be shown to users, and may not even run at all. We’re also working to expose more information to advertisers about user feedback and the quality of their ads."

What the User’s Say
Unlike just about every ad platform, Facebook’s comes with feedback – a little thumbs-up or thumbs-down under each ad. And it turns out that users click on the the thumbs but not usually in appreciation of the ads (unless it’s their own). Reading through the notes section on the Facebook Ads page, we see they don’t just click, they also voice their displeasure. Here’s a fairly typical one.

"I am very tired of looking at botox ads and "earn thousands of dollars from home" ads. That’s all I’ve been seeing lately and it’s soooooooooo annoying. Isn’t there something we can do to make these scam-type ads go away??!"

Or, as one of the more sophisticated users adds in the discussion:

"This is whats happening Guy/Girls, There is a "Google work from home scam" that is being advertised on FB they are breaking every "so called FB T@C’s" you can think of, The scam required people to pay between $1 – $2.95 to access a link to start the scam themselves, but in the fine print it deducts $39.95 every month without the purchaser realizing, Now because there is so much money being made per acquisition this scam company can outbid all existing add space and also they use a mass smash and grab tactic before every body realizes this is a scam. Now the most cynical part to all this is FB knows what’s going on but is turning a blind eye waiting for everybody to increase their bids before shutting it off, by doing this FB raises the minimum bid bar on all existing advertisers."

It doesn’t take too many of these before Facebook feels compelled to act. Despite the performance marketer’s desire, this isn’t a playground just for us.

Why We Care
We wrote a while back about Facebook’s potential and why it is undervalued. Part of that has to do with the automation which doesn’t exist today. Unlike Google, Facebook doesn’t have the notion of quality score. They don’t crawl advertiser pages. They are generally accessible and rather transparent. And, perhaps most important of all, Facebook’s sytem is still in its infancy. Like Google, it has started life friendly to the performance marketers, but how much more will they take before the powers that be, e.g., their countless investors decide that a few million in revenue isn’t worth a few hundred million in market cap.

We care, because Facebook represents one of the few legitimate platforms for diversification where a broad variety of ads work. They have scale. They are growing, and if the same product skills that made status updates a conversation starter get applied to advertising, they stand a real chance at creating not just a viable back-up to Google but a can’t be missed medium.

I don’t want to see it closed off to performance marketers, and while they probably won’t in the near-term with this macro-economic environment, don’t assume they will make it always this easy or accessible. Or, perhaps the whole point of the article is really, don’t be such idiots people. "Work for Google at home?" Really?