I Really Have To Wonder What Is Up With Facebook’s Sponsored Ads

I really have to wonder what is up with Facebook’s sponsored ads. I say this because I noticed one of the sponsored ads Facebook was presenting me was for my own book, Bones Buried in the Dirt. I can tell you for sure, neither me nor my publisher (River Otter Press) paid Facebook to sponsor that ad.

It was weird to see. It was actually a post from my mother sharing the Amazon link for the book and commenting how she’d just gotten the signed copy I’d sent her (along with a witty quip that it helps to know the author). I am pretty sure that my mother didn’t pay Facebook to sponsor the ad either.

So, how did this become a sponsored Facebook ad? I’m not really complaining; I’ll take the exposure for the book that I can get. I just wonder, does Facebook not have enough real sponsored ads to run so they just grab stuff to fill things up? Did someone who doesn’t even know me pay to sponsor this at random?

Of course, it’s far more likely that this got snatched up for a sponsored ad because it included an Amazon link. I’m guessing Amazon pays enough that Facebook randomly grabs posts with Amazon links and uses them as sponsored ads. It’s about the only reasonable explanation I can think of. The whole thing just surprised me a bit.