Facebook Inc (FB) Builds Ad Selling Machine

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Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is continuing to ramp up its investment in its advertising sales teams. The company announced the addition of a lead vertical on auto advertising today. The hire is the latest example of the lengths that the company is going to to improve the service it offers to companies that advertise on its platform.

Facebook Inc (FB) Builds Ad Selling Machine

Michelle Morris has held the position of auto lead at Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) for the last seven years. Her move to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is less of a coup and more of a regular part of the advertising business.

Facebook jumps into auto sales

The car business may be an especially sore spot for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Just days before Facebook’s 2012 IPO, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) said that it was pulling advertising from the social network because it found its spend to be relatively ineffective. Back then Facebook had shown little to prove the effectiveness of its advertising. It still has a long way to go today.

Michell Morris is charged with maintaining the relationship between automakers and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). She knows the business well. Prior to holding the auto lead position at Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Morris worked as lead on the Chrysler account at BBDO. She knows her way around the auto business, and that will be important for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) going forward.

Morris said “With Facebook’s offerings, automotive marketers can build and strengthen brand opinion, consideration, and loyalty, while maximizing efficiencies at every level of the purchase funnel. There has never been a more exciting time to work in the auto industry, and Facebook’s unique capabilities will deliver results across the entire vehicle shopping and ownership experience.”

Facebook building business

There are many words that describe the way that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has managed itself over the last year or so, but the most important is cautious. The company has shied away from making too many moves at once or quickly stuffing its platform with ads. Management does not want to alienate the company’s users, the only real asset that the social network has.

In order to ensure those users are happy, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been slow to roll out many types of ads. The company’s quick success in mobile in the second quarter of the year was moderated by a third quarter announcement that the firm was freezing ad load for the fourth quarter. Ad load, or the amount of ads that users see, is a key metric in increasing the potential revenue at Facebook.

The company is not giving up on advertising, however. While it slows down in order to get users accustomed to its news feed intrusions, the Menlo Park company is building the other side of its business. The managers who handle the needs of businesses advertising with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) are as important as those who manage the needs of the company’s users.

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