Facebook to restructure preferred developer consultant program
Facebook plans to soon change the way it structures its API partner program, assigning “preferred” status to developers in four verticals: page management, ads, insights and custom app development, according to TechCrunch sources.
Currently, Facebook has two tiers, an Ads API partner program and a Preferred Developer Consultant program through which it grants API permissions and allows companies to highlight their status with badges like the one seen right. In November 2011, the social network announced it would unify these under a single title, the Facebook Marketing API Program. By adding more verticals and categorizing developers based on the service they provide, as TechCrunch reports, Facebook could help businesses discover the type of provider they’re looking for.
Facebook started the Preferred Developer Consultants program at the end of 2009, with 14 companies. Now it has 90 preferred developers in its directory. These developers had to apply and get approved by Facebook. The most recent submission round ended in December 2011, but the social network has not yet announced the new additions. On the Ads API side, Facebook has more than 50 partners providing managed services and software tools to help businesses create and optimize ad campaigns on the site. With more of these companies cropping up and others consolidating, it will be useful to have a system in place to indicate which vendors are qualified to provide which services.
Facebook did not respond to requests for comment on possible changes to its developer programs.


Two more social software companies announced integration with Facebook page publishing and ad management tools this week on the heels of news that 
In the traditional self-serve ad dashboard, advertisers have to choose whether to target broad categories or switch to precise interest targeting. With the Ads API or Power Editor, an advertiser can now, for example, select the broad category “expecting parents” and then narrow down that category by targeting precise interests like The Food Network. Previously advertisers could only target one or the other.
Facebook Ads API partner 
Facebook now allows Ads API partners to target users by action, even if the advertiser is not associated with the Open Graph app that created the action. Previously, anyone could target Facebook-created actions read, listen and watch, but only the developer who created a custom Open Graph verb (e.g. drink, visit or run) could target users who took that action.
Now when someone uses an app for at least four minutes in the last 14 days, that activity can be shown to the person’s friends as a Sponsored Story like the one seen right. The story is also eligible to be featured if the user has used the app twice ever with one of those times occurring in the last 14 days.
The panelists addressed the issue of game developers focusing on cost per install rather than more long term return on investment. Tseng, of analytics provider Kontagent, said it’s more important to optimize lifetime value over acquisition cost. Mansell, of Facebook ad agency TBG Digital, said many developers aren’t tracking ROI by segment, which makes it more difficult to optimize campaigns properly. Fazal, of AdParlor, said his company stresses analytics.










