There was a change to advertising on Facebook and Instagram last week, profiles can now limit and opt-out of political advertising. So, what does that mean for the local politician trying to build their name ID?
Like it or not over the last four years, Facebook (and Instagram) have tried to do its best to ignore the fact that their platforms have become a hotbed for political advertising. (How Russia weaponized social media, got caught and escaped consequences). Mark Zuckerberg and his policy team is never quite sure what do about the problem, so they have shifted from supporting the freedom of speech strategy, to the new opt-out policy strategy.
This new “opt-out option” is in response to the mounting pressures they face in the political arena, but falls short in their attempt at “doing something”. So for now, they have chosen to launch a big splashy headline and PR to “Protect Us” from political ads.
Yes there is now an option for you to go into Facebook and opt out of political ads, BUT this option has been a part of online advertising for a long time and the numbers of opt outs is usually less than 15%!
To Learn how to Opt-Out of Political Ads See Video
The reality is that your friends and relatives are still going to Facebook and are going to leave their post. Companies will still buy ads and Facebook will still be an echo-chamber in people’s daily life. And yes, we will still see political advertising.
But how does this affect a local candidate?
If a local candidate planned to include Facebook as a part of their paid advertising plan, they must consider the effects of these changes.
Will the opt-out policy at Facebook reach fewer voters?
Will opt-out options increase as the November election cycle heats up?
Will further barriers to political advertisers affect the value or results for Facebook ads? Most likely, political advertising being overly scrutinized by Facebook which causes delays to their release or for the links to websites page no longer working, which defeats the desired interaction most local politicians are looking for.
To sum it up – The idea that this change within Facebook/Instagram will end Political Ads is just not true.
Unless Facebook places the opt out front and center when everyone logs onto the app, few will go into their settings to opt out.
This is a big splashy “opt-out” headline that just brings more attention to the political ads on the site and in most minds, delegitimizes the political ads posted.
Facebook Advertising should still be a considered be a part of your 2020 Local Political planning but should continue to be questioned as to the value and net worth.
We would love to hear if you have opted-out of political ads or if you knew of the policy change and how to turn these ads off?
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