Facilitating Following a Content Provider

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, are provided for facilitating a following of a content sponsor in a social network. In one aspect, a method includes the actions of identifying a creative for presentation to users in response to requests for content, and receiving selection criteria from a sponsor associated with the creative, the selection criteria for use in determining when to present the creative. The creative is augmented to include a control that enables a user to follow the content sponsor automatically upon interaction with the control, and the augmented creative is presented in response to received requests for content in accordance with the selection criteria. The sponsor is charged when the creative is presented and a user initiates an action to follow the sponsor in a social network.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A method comprising:
 obtaining a creative for presentation to users in response to requests for content;   receiving, by a content server, selection criteria and a bid from a content sponsor associated with the creative, wherein:
 the selection criteria controls when the creative is eligible for presentation; and 
 the bid controls whether the creative is delivered when the creative is eligible for presentation; 
   augmenting, by the content server, the creative to include a control that adds a user as a follower of the content sponsor in a social network automatically upon interaction with the control that is included in the augmented creative;   transmitting, by the content server over a network and to a publisher server that differs from the content server, the augmented creative for presentation to the user within a resource that is provided by the publisher server to a device of the user, the augmented creative being provided by the content server based at least in part on the selection criteria and the bid;   determining, by the content server, that the user has interacted with the control included in the augmented creative while the augmented creative is presented within the resource at the device of the user, based on interaction information transmitted by the device of the user to the content server;   transmitting, by the content server and to a social network server that differs from the content server and the publisher server, a request that the social network server perform an update that adds the user as a follower of the content sponsor within the social network based on the determination that the user has interacted with the control included in the augmented creative;   adding, by the social network server, the user as a follower of the content sponsor in the social network, based on the request by the content server that the social network server perform the update; and   transmitting, from the social network server and to the device of the user, content posted to the social network by the content sponsor based on the user being added as a follower of the content sponsor in the social network.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising: responsive to determining, by the content server, that the user has interacted with the control included in the augmented creative (i) determining an identity of the user in the social network, and (ii) providing, by the content server to a computing device of the content sponsor, the identity of the user to enable the user to be included in a list of users who have chosen to follow the content sponsor in the social network. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 determining, by the social network server, that the user has interacted with the content posted to the social network server by the content sponsor and transmitted from the social network server to the device of the user; and   responsive to determining that the user has interacted with the posted content, transmitting, from the social network server and to the content server, a notification that the user has interacted with the posted content.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the notification informs the content server that the user has interacted with an approval control for indicating approval of the content posted to the social network server by the content sponsor. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the notification informs the content server that the user has interacted with a reposting control for reposting or forwarding the content posted to the social network server by the content sponsor. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the notification informs the content server that the user has interacted with a posting control for posting content related to the content posted to the social network server by the content sponsor. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the notification informs the content server that the user has navigated to a landing page of the content sponsor outside of the social network. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising: based on receiving, by the content server and from the social network server, multiple notifications that users have interacted with the posted content (i) determining, by the content server, aggregated user interaction information based on the multiple notifications, and (ii) transmitting, from the content server to a computing device of the content sponsor, the aggregated user interaction information. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the augmented creative is transmitted by the content server over the network and to the publisher server in response to a request for content for the device of the user, the request for content being received by the content server and from the publisher server. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the augmented creative displays information that identifies one or more other users who are followers of the content sponsor in the social network. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the augmented creative is provided by the content server when the user is identified as being a member of the social network. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the augmented creative is provided by the content server when the user is identified as having followed one or more other content sponsors. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the augmented creative is provided by the content server when the user is identified as being connected on the social network to one or more other users who have followed the content sponsor. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein after determining that that the user has interacted with the control included in the augmented creative while the augmented creative is presented within the resource at the device of the user, the augmented creative is modified to indicate that the user is a current follower of the content sponsor in the social network. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising determining that the user is not logged into the social network, wherein the control that adds the user as a follower of the content sponsor in the social network is configured to receive a social network account identifier of the user, the social network account identifier being entered by the user using the device of the user. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising determining that the user is logged into the social network, wherein the control that adds the user as a follower of the content sponsor in the social network is configured to receive an indication of a user intention to follow the content sponsor within the social network, the indication of the user intention being provided by the user using the device of the user, and a social network account identifier of the user being automatically provided by the device of the user in response to the control receiving the indication of the user intention. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein transmitting the request that the social network server perform the update that adds the user as a follower of the content sponsor within the social network includes the content server using an application programming interface provided by the social network server. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein transmitting content posted to the social network by the content sponsor from the social network server and to the device of the user includes adding posts from the content sponsor to a timeline of the user. 
     
     
         43 . A computer system comprising:
 one or more data processing devices; and   one or more data stores storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more data processing devices, cause the one or more data processing devices to perform operations comprising:   obtaining a creative for presentation to users in response to requests for content;   receiving, by a content server, selection criteria and a bid from a content sponsor associated with the creative, wherein:
 the selection criteria controls when the creative is eligible for presentation; and 
 the bid controls whether the creative is delivered when the creative is eligible for presentation; 
   augmenting, by the content server, the creative to include a control that adds a user as a follower of the content sponsor in a social network automatically upon interaction with the control that is included in the augmented creative;   transmitting, by the content server over a network and to a publisher server that differs from the content server, the augmented creative for presentation to the user within a resource that is provided by the publisher server to a device of the user, the augmented creative being provided by the content server based at least in part on the selection criteria and the bid;   determining, by the content server, that the user has interacted with the control included in the augmented creative while the augmented creative is presented within the resource at the device of the user, based on interaction information transmitted by the device of the user to the content server;   transmitting, by the content server and to a social network server that differs from the content server and the publisher server, a request that the social network server perform an update that adds the user as a follower of the content sponsor within the social network based on the determination that the user has interacted with the control included in the augmented creative;   adding, by the social network server, the user as a follower of the content sponsor in the social network, based on the request by the content server that the social network server perform the update; and   transmitting, from the social network server and to the device of the user, content posted to the social network by the content sponsor based on the user being added as a follower of the content sponsor in the social network.   
     
     
         44 . A computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer system including one or more servers, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:
 obtaining a creative for presentation to users in response to requests for content;   receiving, by a content server, selection criteria and a bid from a content sponsor associated with the creative, wherein:
 the selection criteria controls when the creative is eligible for presentation; and 
 the bid controls whether the creative is delivered when the creative is eligible for presentation; 
   augmenting, by the content server, the creative to include a control that adds a user as a follower of the content sponsor in a social network automatically upon interaction with the control that is included in the augmented creative;   transmitting, by the content server over a network and to a publisher server that differs from the content server, the augmented creative for presentation to the user within a resource that is provided by the publisher server to a device of the user, the augmented creative being provided by the content server based at least in part on the selection criteria and the bid;   determining, by the content server, that the user has interacted with the control included in the augmented creative while the augmented creative is presented within the resource at the device of the user, based on interaction information transmitted by the device of the user to the content server;   transmitting, by the content server and to a social network server that differs from the content server and the publisher server, a request that the social network server perform an update that adds the user as a follower of the content sponsor within the social network based on the determination that the user has interacted with the control included in the augmented creative;   adding, by the social network server, the user as a follower of the content sponsor in the social network, based on the request by the content server that the social network server perform the update; and   transmitting, from the social network server and to the device of the user, content posted to the social network by the content sponsor based on the user being added as a follower of the content sponsor in the social network.