Facebook just announced their new ad product. Highlights from the press release:

(…)Today, Facebook Ads launched with three parts: a way for businesses to build pages on Facebook to connect with their audiences; an ad system that facilitates the spread of brand messages virally through Facebook Social Ads™; and an interface to gather insights into people’s activity on Facebook that marketers care about.(…) Just like a Facebook user, businesses can start with a blank canvas and add all the information and content they want, including photos, videos, music and Facebook Platform applications. (…)

Advertising messages will gain distribution through what Facebook has termed the “social graph,” the network of real connections through which people communicate and share information. When people engage with a business’ Facebook Page, that action will spread information about that business through the social graph. Users can become a fan of a business and can share information about that business with their friends and act as a trusted referral. Facebook users can interact directly with the business through its Facebook Page by adding reviews, writing on that business’ Wall, uploading photos and in any other ways that a business may want to enable. These actions could appear in users’ Mini-Feed and News Feed (…).

(…) Facebook gives marketers valuable metrics about their presence and promotion on Facebook. Facebook Insights gives access to data on activity, fan demographics, ad performance and trends that better equip marketers to improve custom content on Facebook and adjust ad targeting. Facebook Insights is a free service for all Facebook Pages and Social Ads. (…)

More details will eventually be found here.

What it means: First thoughts: with this announcement, we’re seeing the rise of what Jeremiah Owyang is calling the Fan-sumer. Consumers who “vote” for their favorite advertisers by becoming “friends” with them, interact with their brands/products and “broadcast” their “love” through the Facebook newsfeed. Quite a fascinating way of channeling word-of-mouth. My big questions: when does an advertiser pay? Is it when they build their profile page? Is it when consumers interact with their page? More details soon…