With consumers increasingly using their mobile phones to access Facebook, the social media giant is reportedly readying its first mobile advertising initiative.

Many consider the combination of mobile and social media to be the Holy Grail of digital advertising. The news that Facebook will launch a mobile advertising strategy brings mobile, social media pairing much more into focus and follows closely on the heels of Twitter?s introduction of ads for its mobile apps.

?The connection between and mobile, social and advertising will be one of the main areas of mobility in 2012,? said Jason Armitage, a London-based senior analyst with Yankee Group.

?Facebook is looking for ways to monetize its huge base of users,? he said. ?Advertising is probably the best option because many of the people who use mobile social networks fall into younger age group demographics and are comfortable with accessing content on a free basis and generally are quite difficult to reach through more traditional advertising channels.

?Facebook could certainly be a strong player in mobile advertising and has the potential to make significant revenues from mobile advertising.?

Taking on Google
Given the significant size of Facebook?s user base ? which numbers of 800 million users and 350 million mobile users ? an advertising play makes sense for the company.

Reports began surfacing this week that the social network giant will introduce a mobile advertising play by the end of March. This will put it into competition with Google, Millennial Media and Apple ? the leaders in the space ? although there may be enough room for all as growth continues at a brisk pace. 

?Facebook going into mobile advertising points at direct competition with Google,? Mr. Armitage said.

?This is a space that will be able to support multiple payers for the next few years ahead,? he said. 

Another mobile advertising option also makes an already complex ecosystem even more so from a marketer?s point of view.

?Marketers and big brand advertisers are already faced with a very complex environment when you look at mobile,? Mr. Armitage said. ?There are already lots of players offering different solutions and this causes complexity for advertisers.?

EMarketer estimates Facebook will earn $3.8 billion worldwide this year in advertising revenue, up 104 percent from $1.86 billion in 2010.

However, Facebook?s ad revenues have been hampered by marketers belief that the ads are not effective at driving clicks and that they can engage consumers on Facebook without the need to pay for advertising.

A mobile advertising play could help Facebook drive further growth from advertising.

In-app advertising
The benefit to advertisers in using Facebook could come from the substantial information the social network has on its users, which could be used to help advertisers target potential customers.

?The big advantage of Facebook is that it could provide one of the missing pieces of mobile advertising which is targeting,? Mr. Armitage said.

?Mobile advertising has struggled to become a major platform because of the issue of relevancy,? he said. ?Facebook has very detailed information on it users that could help advertisers reach their desired audiences - this would be a major advantage.?

However, Facebook would need to tread carefully with how it approaches the use of customer data because privacy advocates and regulators are keeping a watchful eye on mobile?s data collection practices.

In-app advertising is one potential area of opportunity for Facebook.

Facebook recently revamped its app for Android to make it quicker and easier to use as it looks to attract more developers.

?Facebook is in a pretty strong position to become as strong distribution channel for mobile apps and this would offer a chance to do in-app advertising,? Mr. Armitage said.

Another mobile advertising opportunity for Facebook could come from emerging markets.

?Mobile advertising is a great way to make money in emerging markets and is a good option for Facebook to monetize its user base in those markets,? Mr. Armitage said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York