SAN JOSE, Calif. — Facebook is testing a system that instantly targets ads based on the content of wall posts and status updates, as the social network joins a growing list of Internet companies working with advertisers to market products related to a person’s interests or online activities at that moment.
For some time, Facebook has used the contents of members’ status updates and wall posts to target advertising, but the test is the first time that the social network has had the ability to select ads almost immediately, related to content that users are sharing. The service is an example of new technology that increasingly allows advertisers to tailor ads based on what users are doing online at that moment.
For example, a Facebook user responding to posts on a friend’s wall about the University of Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball team and the NCAA basketball tournament began to see ads featuring UConn athletic gear and a travel company endorsement from the University of Kentucky basketball team — the Huskies’ opponent in the Final Four.
