NEW YORK ? Digital executives at the ad:tech New York conference debated the pros and cons of both small and large brands using Facebook as a marketing platform before ultimately concluding that the social network?s lack of communication and pay-to-play standards are not beneficial for most companies.

During the ?Facebook Sucks, Facebook Rocks: Debating the Value of the World?s Largest Social Platform? session, the executives discussed Facebook?s historic rise to fame, its marketing functionalities and its comparison to other social platforms. While mobile and Facebook are closely intertwined, shelling out large budgets for Likes, sponsored posts or other forms of advertising will likely not drive more revenue or awareness, due to Facebook?s filters.

?Facebook is a good platform, but needs to be taken with a grain of salt, especially with small businesses,? said April Wilson, president and CEO of Digital Analytics 101, Rowlett, TX. ?What I?ve seen happen with clients is that it?s creating a cycle of addiction for marketers. You are paying to reach more eyeballs, but engagement on that reach is so low.?

Filtering issues

It is logical for marketers on mobile to gravitate towards Facebook advertising, due to the platform?s significantly high mobile usage.

?Two years ago people were wondering whether Facebook could make that conversion to mobile,? said Chris Treadaway, founder and CEO of Polygraph Media, Austin, TX. ?It?s gone to be the main contributor to Facebook revenue. Mobile ad revenue for Facebook is two-thirds of its ad revenue.?

However, a brand that pays for sponsored content on Facebook may not be reaching nine-tenths of its intended audience due to filters and weights assigned to each type of content, such as videos or ads. When Facebook first began using Edgerank, the algorithm that decides which articles should be highlighted on a user?s News Feed, feeder traffic was decimated, according to Mr. Treadaway.

 Users are only shown 25 percent of the content they could be seeing, which makes many brands choosing to advertise through Facebook feel burned.

?Where we stand today is that Facebook is more or less a paid platform,? Mr. Treadaway said. ?They have to be cleverer over time about how they monetize every log-in.?

Relevant communication

Brands should have a clear perspective of what Facebook really is and how it relates to their marketing strategy, as a multitude of likes and posts are not necessarily relevant metrics for success.

?It?s moving from content marketing with organic reach to, in order to cut through technology changes that the platform is making, a pay-to-play engagement model,? Ms. Wilson said.

The executives also claimed that Facebook is failing to use user data to create relevant ads. Although it offers many different advertising methods, such as cost per Like, brands need to spend considerable time and revenue to sort through those methods until they identify the one that works best for them.

The executives called for Facebook to bolster its communication with brands and marketers, and possibly even offer a virtual learning academy to help bridge the gap between smaller brands trying to compete with larger ones for social media space.

?Regardless of platform, I expect to be treated as a valuable partner whether I?m spending $50 or $50,000 a month,? Ms. Wilson said. ?I just wanted to be communicated with as an advertiser on that platform, and that?s where I think Facebook is failing.?

With other social platforms such as Twitch, Pinterest and Twitter gaining traction, brands should not feel chained to Facebook. While it may be a successful advertising platform for some brands, it will likely be forced to reinvent itself in the coming years due to rapidly changing technology.

?The only constant in the digital world is change,? Ms. Wilson said.

Final Take

Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York