Ads that are sent from one Facebook friend to another sent engagement levels up 50 percent, claimed Sheryl Sandberg, the social net’s COO at the Ad Age Digital Conference. But it will take more than that to convince advertisers to spend more money on social media. Sandberg: The college market are not making advertising decisions. It has to move to the general market. But we’ve broadened our audience and that’s starting to make a difference. We don’t think banner ads or text ads make a difference. But we’ve been able to feature ads that behave the way the site behaves.”

I spoke to Sandberg after her appearance and asked her to elaborate. “Social networking sites are different from other kinds of publishers. Ads need to be integrated into the user experience. And that means they have to do things that users do on our site. What are people doing on Facebook? They’re commenting, they’re sharing notes, they’re watching videos, they’re RSVP-ing to events. Our ad products do help marketers match that experience. The ads are inviting users to engage with them in much the same way that their friends are.” In one example of the way marketers and users can interact, Sandberg, who was unflappable during some technical glitches during her presentation, alluded to the recent outcry Facebook received after its terms of service change and latest redesign. “When you’re doing something right, you’ll hear about it and when you do something they don’t, they’ll let you know by exchanging comments on the site.”