The old adage goes, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” This is advice Facebook has taken in stride with the launch of their new market research database program Engagement Ads.

After the first attempt to monetize the site with a targeted ad program dubbed Beacon failed, Facebook is back at it again; only this time allowing advertisers to use their site as a marketing research/focus group tool instead of a traditional advertising vessel. Companies using the new Facebook program will be able to pose questions to members based on personal details like whether they are single or married. Two major companies, CareerBuilder and AT&T, are currently testing the system.

Facebook has used the World Economic Forum to announce this product partly in hopes of tearing down the perception some companies carry about the site’s users being students or school children. Facebook now promotes its users as “serious and insightful” adults in hopes to market its members as a useful demographic for marketers looking to utilize the site as a market research tool. A product like Engagement Ads could do wonders for companies looking for a quicker solution to market research, with the market information being shared with the company instantaneously. That method is a far cry from traditional market research which normally takes a much longer period of time.