Have you ever seen an ad pop up in your Facebook feed that seemed like it was targeted specifically to you? Sure, most ads online are at least somewhat relevant to you because of the many calculations and algorithms that ads have to go through before they reach you. But I’m talking about seeing an ad that seems like it KNOWS you personally. If you have, you’ve probably also wondered how the advertiser knew exactly how to reach you. The answer: Targeting.
For businesses looking to get their message to the right customers, targeting is essential. Finding the right place to put your Facebook ad is paramount to achieving good results, just as it is in traditional advertising. Many businesses spend extensive amounts of time and money creating their ads, from the research phase to the creation phase, but fail to put the same amount of effort into choosing the right Facebook audience. As much effort should go into targeting as goes into writing creative briefs and exploring execution strategies. Depending on your brand and messaging, dropping your ad on the right newsfeeds can be more effective in reaching your target market than even the most sought after traditional media placements, especially in terms of bang for your buck.
To help you get started, Facebook has provided some instruction on how to use its targeting platform here. But that just scratches the surface of what Facebook targeting can do. The amount of targeting combinations is staggering. Below, we’ve listed 25 targeting suggestions from Connectio that you may not have considered. Happy targeting!
- Generations (millennials, baby boomers, etc.)
- People with an upcoming anniversary
- Rate of technology adoption
- Household member composition
- Friends of people with anniversaries
- Small business owners
- People with new jobs
- People in relationships/relationship types
- Facebook event creators
- Recent travellers
- Parents
- Technology interests
- Political interests
- Facebook payments platform (spending activity)
- Browser type used
- People who responded to your event
- Email domain (AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.)
- People living away from home
- Mobile device users (brand and device)
- Friends of people who like your page
- Computer operating system used
- Sporting fans and events
- Types of travellers (business, leisure, commuters, etc.)
- People who used your app
- Advanced combination of connections