4A Adweek kay/Wen

Facebook reported a 28 percent increase in revenue to $16.9 billion in the second quarter of 2019 as the social media giant snred from negative news and record fines in its data-sharing practices this week.Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said on a conference call with analysts Wednesday that mobile advertising revenue reached $15.6 billion, or about 94 percent of total advertising revenue.That's 12 percent higher than the $13.9 billion reported in the first quarter, underscoring the importance of mobile advertising to Facebook.

Mobile video, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the company's video revenue, can attract mobile viewers faster than 30-second TV ads, Sandberg said.She said:"The best mobile-first ads or ads on Facebook reach a major advantage or gain a product within the first three seconds.”

Facebook APP, its oldest and largest product, grew 8 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to 2.41 billion, making it the world's largest social media platform.Daily Active Users (DAUs) increased 6% year-on-year to 1.59 billion.According to Facebook, the numbers don't include Instagram, WhatsApp or Oculus users.

Facebook's results show not only the importance of mobile advertising to the company's growth, but also the social network's success in expanding beyond the broader digital advertising market.eMarketer recently estimated that the digital advertising market in the U.S. would grow 19 percent to $129.3 billion, of which $87.1 billion would go to mobile platforms.Facebook rival Snap also reported earnings this week, with Snapchat users up 8 percent from a year earlier, but the young company's revenue rose 48 percent to $388 million, a small amount from Facebook's ad revenue.

CEO Sandberg said the company aggregated 3 million advertisers in the second quarter from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, but did not provide comparisons with previous periods.

Sandberg said Facebook is expanding its customer base by offering small and medium-sized advertisers free advertising tools that were "previously accessible only to the largest companies" by launching an automated advertising service in May that can guide advertisers through a range of issues and offer customized marketing programs with up to six creative options.The company has also launched video editing tools to help small and medium-sized businesses create videos based on images they already have.Mr Sandberg said Fernwood Fitness, a chain of Australian women's health clubs, used the tools to create a mobile priority that would double the number of new members.