Facebook gives advertisers new data to track users

Facebook is giving advertisers new information about how users notice and act on ads as they move between their computers, smartphones and tablets.

{mosads}In a post on Wednesday, Facebook said that it would begin allowing companies that advertise on the social media site “to see for the first time how people are moving between devices — across mobile apps and the web — before they” act on the ad, such as purchasing an advertised product.

“Imagine seeing an ad for a product on your mobile phone while in line at the bank. Do you immediately make a purchase on your phone? Probably not,” the company wrote.

“But perhaps you go back to your office later that day and buy on your desktop computer.”

Building off of existing tools, advertisers will now be able to see how users move between iPhones, Android phones and iPads as they see and then act on ads on Facebook.

“The ability to measure across devices can offer marketers vital insight into how and where their campaigns are performing,” the company wrote.

The post pointed to recent internal research that shows the site’s users seeing or clicking on a mobile ad and then acting on the ad over time.

According to the research — based on U.S. users between May 15 and July 25 of this year — 32 percent of users who clicked on a mobile ad then acted on that act within 28 days.