Facebook share price: Company reaches two million active advertisers on its platform

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), the world’s largest social media company,has released a new mobile application that makes it easier for the rapidly-growing number of Facebook advertisers to set up and manage ad campaigns on the go. The company yesterday announced that it had reached two million active subscribers, 33 percent more than the 1.5 million it had in July 2015. The majority of those advertisers represent small- and medium-sized business owners, the company’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said in an interview with Reuters.

Some 80 percent of the advertisers Facebook attracted in the final quarter of last year started by paying for a promoted post. Sandberg revealed that the fastest growth rates of small business advertising were in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Asia Pacific regions.
Attracting more advertisers to its platform is crucial for Facebook, as the company tries to increase its share in the digital advertising space. The market is dominated by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), but the online search giant’s lead has narrowed in the past year or so. According to research firm eMarketer, Google has 31.1 percent of the market, compared with 33.6 percent in 2013. At the same time, Facebook’s share increased to 7.8 percent last year, from 5.8 percent in 2013.

The newly-launched Ads Manager app is aimed at increasing Facebook’s appeal as an advertising platform for small and medium sized businesses. With its help, advertisers are now able to more easily manage their Facebook campaigns from their smartphones. Using the app, marketers can track ad performance, create ads, edit existing ads, ad budgets and schedules and receive push notifications on the go.

“Today, we’re launching Ads Manager app, a new mobile app that gives marketers more power to manage ads from anywhere,” the company wrote in a blog post. The app is currently limited to iOS devices.
In yesterday’s trading, Facebook shares closed 0.5 percent lower at $78.45. The company’s market capitalisation currently stands at $220.6 billion.
According to the Financial Times, the 41 analysts offering 12 month price targets for Facebook have a median target of $90.00, with a high estimate of $107.00 and a low estimate of $65.00. As of February 14, 2015, the consensus forecast amongst 55 polled investment analysts covering Facebook Inc has it that the company will outperform the market. This stance has been maintained since the sentiment of investment analysts improved on May 29, 2012, the FT notes.
As of 12:54 GMT, Wednesday, 25 February, Facebook Inc share price is $78.46.