General Motors has announced it is to stop advertising on Facebook after claiming their current social media marketing campaign is not influencing potential customers.

Earlier this week the global manufacturer posted a survey on its official Facebook page asking for “ways to improve our Facebook community”.

This move adds fresh fuel to the debate of social media advertising: does it actually pay off? Not according to General Motors, it appears.

GM spends approximately $40 million per year on Facebook marketing with one quarter of it going towards online advertising, and the remaining $30 million devoted to page content and maintenance. Many of the posts relate to static images of new vehicles such as the Buick Verano.

However GM’s spending on Facebook ads is meagre compared to the overall amount they spend on advertising. The third-largest advertiser in the US behind Proctor & Gamble and AT&T, GM spent $1.83 billion on ads in the US in 2011 according to Kantar Media – or in other words, about $5 million per day.

The timing of the move is also a debating point. Sam Hamadeh, CEO of analysts PrivCo, told the Guardian that the news was “embarrassing” for Facebook, adding: “You never want to see something like this come out, especially now.” Facebook is set to announce its IPO on Friday at an estimated $93 billion to $104 billion.

There are various issues that can be raised with regard to Facebook’s advertising, from the difference between how ads are positioned on different devices, to the continued prevalence of ad-blocking software.

General Motors confirmed that they will be continuing their Facebook presence despite this news. Their official page, which does not cost to set up, has over 378,000 fans.

A statement from GM said: “In terms of Facebook specifically, while we currently do not plan to continue with advertising, we remain committed to an aggressive content strategy through all of our products and brands, as it continues to be a very effective tool for engaging with our customers”.