There is no such thing as a surefire ad so saying Facebook ads don't work as a broad statement is misleading. Facebook ads don't work for GM the way they thoug

There is no such thing as a surefire ad so saying Facebook ads don't work as a broad statement is misleading. Facebook ads don't work for GM the way they thought it would to accomplish their goals but they certainly work for many other companies. The problem GM has as well as most marketers is that they are comparing it to their traditional marketing channels and using those metrics to judge Facebook ads. You also shouldn't use the number of followers as the addressable audience for the brand, the whole point of social is that messages are amplified through the network effect out towards a much larger reach of users. One user who likes one of your posts or comments on it may mean hundreds of friends seeing it show up in their subsequent feeds like "YCombinator reader just liked GM's Blah Blah". Everyone's right below that if you're using it as a direct marketing channel, you'll most likely see failure because people want to stay on Facebook. Think of it as a way to stay engaged with your audience and as a one time investment for the ability to message to them again and again in the future. Facebook ads also work much better when you tie them to your Facebook presence vs. trying to send someone off Facebook to your site. GM should have thought of more creative ways to leverage the Facebook app platform to promote on-Facebook activities that drive brand value and help promote their new cars/trucks. For example, how about a contest on Facebook using an interactive car designer to design a GM that also allows you to upload custom patterns for the paint job. If it's two things people like on Facebook it's self-expression and contests.