Facebook to unveil its plans for a mobile ad network

Facebook will unveil its plans for a mobile ad network at its F8 conference on April 30, according to a Re/code report. This comes after Facebook started testing ads in third-party mobile apps earlier this year, signalling a move towards working directly with its partners rather than outsourcing the work to an outside ad-serving platform. Re/code reports that Facebook will appeal to publishers and developers by leveraging the social network’s database to create more precise ad targeting.

Lots of people have wanted Facebook to build an ad network for a long time. Here it comes. Facebook will take the wraps off its plans for a mobile ad network at its“F8″ developer conference in San Francisco at the end of the month, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Facebook will pitch the ads to publishers and developers as a way to leverage the social network’s vast database of user information for better ad targeting. And Facebook wins by expanding its ad reach — now it can make money from its billion-plus users even when they’re not on Facebook’s own properties. Facebook declined to comment. This shouldn’t be a shocker. People inside and outside of Facebook have wanted the company to build an ad network for years, and it has dabbled in fits and starts. In January,Facebook announced that it was experimenting with ways to sell ads on other people’s apps, and describing the test as a “like a mobile ad network.”