Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been portrayed as a buy in a report compiled and published by Nomura Equity Research. The report highlights some of the key points discussed in a conference call between Nomura Equity Research and Portent Inc, a digital marketing agency. The conference call between Nomura and Portent focused on highlighting the different possibilities that Facebook Mobile presents for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s monetization efforts.
While Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s has doubled its efforts with regard to bolstering Facebook Mobile Ads Units performance, Mobile CPMs are still trending at $1.00 or less. The $1.00 range is a mere divide of desktop CPMs, which are coming in within the range of $3.50 and $5.00. Similarly, Facebook Mobile users have lower ad click-thru rates when compared with mobile users outside of Facebook. While around 20 percent of Facebook Mobile Users click on Mobile ads, 50 percent of mobile users outside Facebook click on photos. Another 60 percent of mobile users outside Facebook click on rich media mobile ads. This lopsided comparison shows that Facebook Mobile still has some ground to cover.
As of the moment, only 15 percent of Facebook’s advertising clients are spending money on the mobile platform. This shows that most advertisers are disposed towards Facebook’s desktop platform.
What is slowing down mobile adoption among advertisers?
According to Portent, the slow adoption to Facebook mobile among advertisers can be attributed to several reasons. The digital marketing agency believes that Facebook places too much emphasis on clicks and conversion, rather than narrowing in on reach and brand awareness. Portent also notes that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s ad purchasing documentation doesn’t appeal to many advertisers, as they occasionally find it hard to locate all the ad buying options. Last but not least, Portent also pointed out that Facebook’s advertising analytics were still in early stages and that most advertisers are usually compelled to hire third-party agencies to refine the data.
Despite the fact that Facebook Mobile is still in the budding stage, Nomura is inclined to believe that the monetization story is evolving, meriting its decision to reiterate its buy recommendation on Facebook. In fact, Nomura believes that Facebook’s mobile sponsored stories and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Ad exchange will materially contribute to 2013E earnings.
In the meantime, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has more things to worry about, rather than just monetizing its mobile operations. Its shares plunged yesterday in light of fears of the looming lock up expiry that may result in employees selling their holdings.
