Facebook is finally giving advertisers 2 things they've been asking after for ages

Facebook has today announced two advertising updates that ought to address some of the concerns that marketers have about advertising on the social media platform.

First up, Facebook is introducing a new ad buying option that will allow advertisers to pay only if an ad is 100% "in-view" - meaning the entire ad appeared on a user's screen.

Facebook has come under heat from ad buyers in recent months, particularly when it comes to the way they pay for video ads. Facebook charges for video ad impressions as soon as any portion of the video plays "in-view" on the screen for three seconds or more (although Adweek claims Facebook often charges advertisers as soon as the videos start playing)- even if they just start automatically playing silently as the user scrolls through their News Feed. Facebook has, however, been offering some advertisers the option to choose pay only if the video ad has been watched for 10-seconds or more.

Just yesterday, Sir Martin Sorrell, the CEO of the world's largest advertising agency holding group WPP, said during his keynote at digital marketing trade show Dmexco that Facebook's video viewability standards were "ludicrous," adding: "I'd just point out, for example, that Facebook has a lot of work to do in terms of video and video viewability."

Facebook's new 100% viewability buying option will be charged at a premium to other ad buys and will be available for every type of Facebook ad including video, text, photos, and links.

In a blog post, Facebook says: "While it remains our belief that value is created for an advertiser as soon as an ad is in view, we also believe in offering advertisers control and flexibility over how they run their ads. So to give advertisers more choice and control, we're introducing a new buying option that allows advertisers to purchase 100% in-view impressions on Facebook."

Facebook is saying it doesn't necessarily think paying for 100% viewable ads is the best option, but it's willing to cave in and offer it to marketers if it's what they want. It took a similar approach earlier this year when it allowed advertisers to buy video ads using Gross Rating Points (GRPs,) which is the way TV advertising is bought and measured. Facebook doesn't want marketers to buy this way, but if it's what it takes to persuade them to buy more Facebook ads, it'll offer the option in the hope of recommending the better ways to buy and measure on the platform later down the line.

Facebook also wants to rid itself of the criticism that it marks its own homework when it comes to ad measurement

Secondly, Facebook has announced a partnership with analytics firm Moat, which will act as an independent third-party to provide marketers with data on how their Facebook video ads are performing.

Moat will verify video ad views, as well as the length of time users spend watching Facebook video ads.

The partnership will begin with video ad measurement, but in the coming months the two companies plan to extend the deal to include all other news feed ads and Instagram ads. The announcement comes three months after Twitter announced it had enlisted Moat to measure video viewability on its platform.

Unilever's chief marketing officer Keith Weed has been particularly vocal about the need for online platforms to improve ad viewability from the ~50% of ads served online that are not ever seen to 100% viewability as standard, and he has demanded better measurement options to ensure marketers know they are getting what they pay for when it comes to online ads.

"If you don't have third-party verification, it's like letting them mark their own homework," Weed said back in June.

In Facebook's press release today, Weed cheered the social network's advertising updates.

His statement says: "Our position on this has been clear for some time: We need to get standards that help define viewability across different platforms and publishers, and those standards need to be third-party verified. It is very encouraging to see Facebook joining the ranks of digital media partners who are setting themselves apart - and this commitment continues the momentum. Our hope is that these steps will lead ultimately to 100% viewability through third party verification across the industry."