• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Facebook Opens The Floodgates to ‘Sponsored Content’

By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 8, 2016, 3:52 PM ET
Courtesy of Facebook

The next post from your favorite publisher, company, or celebrity you see on Facebook might be from an entirely separate brand.

That’s because Facebook has changed its rules around sponsored content. On Friday, the social network announced that it will now let publishers, celebrities, and brands post sponsored or branded content on their Facebook pages as long as they follow a couple of rules, including getting a verified by Facebook and using a special tag for each of these posts.

“This update is something that media companies, public figures, influencers, and marketers have been asking for, as branded content is a growing and evolving part of the media landscape. People will now be connected to more of the content they care most about on Facebook as publishers and influencers gain an incentive to share more quality content—of all kinds—with their fans,” the company explained in a blog post.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Until now, marketers and celebrities have only been able to post sponsored content as actual Facebook ads—not embedded into their photos, videos, and posts. But under the new rules, they’ll be able to introduce content they’re paid to promote into Instant Articles, videos, and even Facebook Live in the coming weeks.

Facebook’s motives for banning this practice until now isn’t hard to figure out—it didn’t get a cut from the revenues. If a company paid a celebrity to promote their product, Facebook wouldn’t make any money from a video or photo the celebrity posted, so its policy promoted its own interests.

However, this is changing. Major publishers like BuzzFeed heavily lean on sponsored content for their own business models, and social media (like Facebook) is huge part of their content distribution strategy. Allowing publishers to extend those models into Facebook could theoretically help Facebook bring in more revenue. As the Wall Street Journal notes, marketers and publishers will likely run Facebook ads to ensure that the sponsored content makes it into users’ feeds.

Given that the Federal Trade Commission has issued clear rules about native advertising intended to make sure consumers aren’t fooled into thinking that ads are organic endorsements, Facebook is making them use its special content tag.

About the Author
By Kia Kokalitcheva
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

solomon
BankingJobs
No ‘job apocalypse’: Goldman Sachs CEO denies the AI hiring nightmare is real
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 23, 2026
3 hours ago
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2026.
AIWorld Economic Forum
AI luminaries at Davos clash over how close human level intelligence really is
By Jeremy KahnJanuary 23, 2026
4 hours ago
Elon Musk, wearing all black and in front of a blue background, presses his hands together.
Big TechDavos
Elon Musk makes the case for why his $2.2 trillion tech empire is the only way to save humanity as the only intelligent life in the universe
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 22, 2026
15 hours ago
sternfels
CommentaryConsulting
AI makes human intelligence more important, not less 
By Bob Sternfels and Lucy PerezJanuary 22, 2026
20 hours ago
Building with a Deloitte company sign
Future of WorkConsulting
Deloitte to scrap traditional job titles as AI ushers in a ‘modernization’ of the Big Four
By Jake AngeloJanuary 22, 2026
20 hours ago
NewslettersEye on AI
OpenAI’s former head of sales is entering VC. She still calls herself an ‘AGI sherpa’
By Sharon GoldmanJanuary 22, 2026
21 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'Some form of crisis is almost inevitable': The $38 trillion national debt will soon be growing faster than the U.S. economy itself, watchdog warns
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 22, 2026
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction are about to be unlocked because someone needs to build all these new AI centers
By Preston ForeJanuary 21, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Jamie Dimon tells Davos: ‘You didn’t do a particularly good job making the world a better place’
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 21, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Energy
Elon Musk warns the U.S. could soon be producing more chips than we can turn on. And China doesn’t have the same issue
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 22, 2026
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
McDonald’s CEO shares tough love career advice he’d give Gen Z and young millennial workers: ‘No one cares about your career’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJanuary 22, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Jamie Dimon says he’d have no issue paying higher taxes if it actually went to people who need it. Right now it just goes to the Washington ‘swamp’
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 21, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.