Facebook Gains on ComScore Report

Facebook [FB 27.20 0.89 (+3.38%)] has been pummeled since its IPO—now down more than 30 percent—but the stock got a boost on Friday on news that ComScore says Facebook ads 'are' effective.

The Internet traffic measurement firm posted a blog previewing a report its releasing next week, titled “It’s time to change the discussion on measuring Facebook effectiveness.”

ComScore didn’t go into any details—saving them for the full report’s release Tuesday, but says that it has found that Facebook ads do have an impact. The company says that based on its research of consumer behavior after seeing ads, that “Facebook earned media is having a statistically significant positive lift on people’s purchasing of a brand.”

ComScore reports that Facebook users are spending more time on the site than they did six months ago—despite consumers reports to the contrary. ComScore stresses that people are not very good at recalling their behavior—whether it’s how much time they spend on a site or how they’re impacted by ads.

This blog and the pending report takes direct aim at a Reuters poll issued earlier this week that found “Facebook Comments, Ads Don’t Sway Most Users.” The poll, which asked users to report Facebook’s influence on them, found “four out of five Facebook users have never bought a product or service as a result of advertising or comments on the social network site.”

The problem, according to ComScore, is that individuals recall about ads impact or their resulting behavior is entirely imperfect. ComScore, in contrast, measures how people spend their time online.

The release of ComScore’s report on Tuesday won’t end this debate over Facebook ads efficacy. Business Insider did a casual poll of ad execs at digital agencies about their impression of Facebook ads.

Facebook has been addressing some of marketers’ frustrations—like about the ease of buying ads and targeting mobile users. But the social network continues to face tough comparisons to Google’s [GOOG 580.58 2.35 (+0.41%)] more mature and automated ad-buying system.