What does Facebook's 'Ask' button mean for marketers?

Facebook has installed a new ‘Ask’ button, allowing snooping users to request the relationship status of a crush – but what does this mean for marketers?

The button will only appear if the user has decided to abstain from publicly revealing their status – but on request it will provide marketers with more than just a single status.

It is understood that through users answering an “ask” inquiry, Facebook members will inadvertently provide data to marketers.

Additional data collected through the new tool will allow marketers to better target ads and services to the user. However, the ask button doesn’t just end there, it will also feature on all information left blank by a user – meaning that telephone numbers, addresses, email addresses and all sorts of tasty data can be requested by data hunters.

The move could see a flurry of mouth-watering data donated to marketers through friends general enquires.