The IAB developed new guidelines for ads in social media

Social media could be a goldmine for marketers: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Netlog and similar sites… Nowhere else do users tell so much about their interests in their profiles. But: is it actually okay to use this information to place targeted ads?

Therefore, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has developed guidelines about how advertisers should act with “social ads”. The aim is to leave advertisers use the users’ information more efficiently, while also protecting the users’ privacy and providing openness regarding which information can be used and to what end.

The "Social Media Best Practice" advise advertisers to give users the possibility to choose themselves to which ads they want to collaborate and have their information used to that end (opt-in). This is preferable to an opt-out model, where it is automatically presumed that users give their permission, unless they explicitly state that they do not agree to collaborate.

Previously, the IAB had already established standards for measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) of ads placed in the social media (Social Media Ad Metrics Definitions).