The History of Facebook Ads: See How It All Began
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 8:19 am
We've already talked about Facebook Ads on the blog. However, today we'll tell you how it all started and all the important changes that occurred.
After all, to understand what Facebook is , one of the most efficient social platforms for advertising, it is necessary to understand its entire development. This will not only give you more confidence to advertise on this social network, but also, it will give you the knowledge that few professionals have.
Check out the story of how Facebook became today's advertising giant.
2004 - Harvard: Where it all began
The platform was developed at Harvard when Mark phone number lookup philippines Zuckerberg was still a student there and quickly became popular among students. You probably already knew this if you watched the movie “The Social Network.”
But we want to tell you what the film doesn't show: where the advertising is in that story. Mainly because the film shows a Zuckerberg who is opposed to the commercialization of the platform. However, this started before we realized it.
The platform’s first form of advertising was in 2004, still at Harvard, and was called “Flyers.” These were banners that appeared on the platform’s homepage, sold for $10-$40 per day to local merchants and students. Flyers advertised campus parties and other social events.
Flyers later evolved into Flyer Pro, in which ads were auctioned, defining how much advertisers were willing to invest in a published ad.
2005 - The year of the big advertisers
2005 was the year Facebook hired Kevin Colleran, a salesman, to handle advertising. Colleran closed the partnership with two big brands like Apple, Victoria's Secret but started with Party Poker.

Through CPA (cost per acquisition), Party Poker brought in $60,000 per month for the social network. The ads were performance- based , meaning Facebook received revenue for each user who signed up for Party Poker.
Apple began advertising through an “Apple Group.” The company paid $1 per month for each new member. Later, Victoria’s Secret began advertising with a minimum of $25,000 per month.
After all, to understand what Facebook is , one of the most efficient social platforms for advertising, it is necessary to understand its entire development. This will not only give you more confidence to advertise on this social network, but also, it will give you the knowledge that few professionals have.
Check out the story of how Facebook became today's advertising giant.
2004 - Harvard: Where it all began
The platform was developed at Harvard when Mark phone number lookup philippines Zuckerberg was still a student there and quickly became popular among students. You probably already knew this if you watched the movie “The Social Network.”
But we want to tell you what the film doesn't show: where the advertising is in that story. Mainly because the film shows a Zuckerberg who is opposed to the commercialization of the platform. However, this started before we realized it.
The platform’s first form of advertising was in 2004, still at Harvard, and was called “Flyers.” These were banners that appeared on the platform’s homepage, sold for $10-$40 per day to local merchants and students. Flyers advertised campus parties and other social events.
Flyers later evolved into Flyer Pro, in which ads were auctioned, defining how much advertisers were willing to invest in a published ad.
2005 - The year of the big advertisers
2005 was the year Facebook hired Kevin Colleran, a salesman, to handle advertising. Colleran closed the partnership with two big brands like Apple, Victoria's Secret but started with Party Poker.

Through CPA (cost per acquisition), Party Poker brought in $60,000 per month for the social network. The ads were performance- based , meaning Facebook received revenue for each user who signed up for Party Poker.
Apple began advertising through an “Apple Group.” The company paid $1 per month for each new member. Later, Victoria’s Secret began advertising with a minimum of $25,000 per month.