Facebook Feels the Love, Gets Boost From Ad Platforms

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Facebook(FB) has not had the easiest of times since going public earlier this year, dashing investor hopes of a massive IPO pop. Since then, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his team have faced ongoing questions about slowing growth and the company's ability to deliver long-term value.

Shares of the social networker have tumbled 40% since its offering in May, but have rallied recently thanks to a number of catalysts, including a new advertising platform.

The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company began testing the Facebook Ad Exchange, or FBX, during the second quarter of this year, letting marketers bid for ad impressions on the site. Touted as a way to deliver more relevant ads to users, FBX lets advertisers reach users based on their browsing history, a practice known as retargeting.

If a user, for example, visits an online retailer, FBX can generate a related ad when he next logs onto the social networker's site. Advertisers can then purchase these ads through what's been described as an automatic auction, known as real-time bidding (RTB).

"Facebook Exchange allows marketers to use their own real-time consumer insight data to reach an audience on Facebook," noted Scott Shapiro, a Facebook product marketing manager, in a recent blog posting.

The real-time aspect of FBX is key, giving sportswear companies the ability, for example, to market their wares during the World Cup final or the Super Bowl.