After coming under fire for misreporting metrics last year, Facebook announced Friday that it’s committed to undergo an audit by the Media Rating Council.
Last fall, the social giant disclosed an internal audit that found several flaws that led to the undercounting of metrics, such as the reach of publishers’ posts or time spent on Instant Articles. The audit by the Media Rating Council fulfills a promise Facebook made at the time to seek an independent review.
The council functions as a watchdog to ensure audience measurement services received by the media industry and other publishers are valid. Without accurate numbers, it is impossible to determine how content is performing on the site, which impacts advertising.
In addition to the audit, Facebook has expanded its partnerships with organizations that provide independent metrics, allowing publishers to choose their preferred vendor.
The site will also offer marketers more detailed data surrounding ad impressions, including information on the duration the ad, or a portion of the ad, was displayed on screens.
Later this year, Facebook will roll out new video buying options for advertisers. Companies will pay based on how long their ad was viewed. For example, advertisers could opt to buy completed-view video ads, and only pay when they were viewed in their entirety, or choose two-second buying, where at least 50 percent of the ad’s pixels are in view for at least two seconds.
“We are confident that these new options, when combined with creative best practices for mobile, will help deliver well-crafted video ads to more people who will watch and take action,” Facebook said in Friday’s announcement.
