The promise of Facebook monetization lies in this chart by Nielsen: It shows people trust their friends above all other forms of advertising--by a lot. It may be unsurprising that people put so much trust in their friends, but the gap between trust in traditional ad forms and friend recommendations is huge; for TV ads, the trust gap is a full 45 percentage points . The second most trusted source of ads is consumer opinions online, are the only other kind of recommendation included that are not directly paid for (theoretically) by advertisers. "Research on Facebook ads with and without a social layer (Jimmy, Billy and eight other friends are fans of Brand X), shows that social ads generate much stronger breakthrough and purchase intent than ads without a social layer," writes Randall Beard, global head of advertiser solutions for Nielsen. "Why? Knowing that the advertised brand is liked by our friends builds trust."

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Serena Dai