Facebook's strong mobile advertising business helped the social network to beat expectations on both the top and the bottom line in its third quarter earnings report. Revenue climbed 41 percent to $4.5 billion as net income grew by 11 percent to reach $896 million. The profit increase could have been even bigger, had Facebook not doubled its R&D expenditure compared to last year's third quarter.
When Facebook started selling mobile advertising in 2012, not even the keenest optimists could have predicted how successful this decision would turn out. In each of the past eleven quarters, mobile ads have accounted for more then 90% of Facebook's revenue growth. In the first nine months of 2015, all of the company's growth came from advertising on tablets and smartphones. Mobile ad revenue now accounts for 78 percent of Facebook's advertising revenue and 74 percent of total revenue.
Considering the fact that Facebook has 894 million mobile users on an average day, it is no surprise that its mobile advertising efforts are successful. The pace at which mobile ads have become the single driver of the company's growth is noteworthy though.
We cannot rely on the Facebook desktop experience. The size of images, the length of content, the complexity or simplicity of the call to action -- it all has to be considered and viewed through the eyes of the mobile user.
It confirms what we suspected. We've avoided the right-hand column ad format for several years now, sensing and realizing through results that "right column blindness" is a real phenomenom. The Newsfeed -- both on desktop and mobile -- has been far more productive advertising real estate for our clients.
Here's the proof:
Find more statistics at Statista
Facebook revenue climbed 41 percent to $4.5 billion for Q3 2015, fueled almost entirely by growth in mobile.
What do you think?
Have you experienced this shift to Facebook mobile? How have you changed your planning and publishing to accomodate the shift?
We'd love to hear from you in the comments below.