You have set up your Facebook ads, and now you have to make sure that the right people see your ads. It can be an overwhelming experience to find your target audience, but here are some ways that will make the process easier:
How does Facebook get its data? (00:15)
Before we start, it is important to know where Facebook gets its data. It takes in a combination of data that is self-reported, integrated in apps, big data companies and data that has been learned over time by behavior. Oh yes, Facebook is creepy indeed. Now that you know where your data for your audience is coming from, let’s figure out how we can use this data for the better…
Why is it important the right people to see your ads? (01:02)
Since you are paying for each engagement, you do not want to waste time and money engaging with people that are not at all interested in your cause.
Targeting Tactics:
1. Geolocation (01:22)
You can target people based on their physical location. This can be useful if you have an event or an on-the-ground program because you would be targeting people that are most likely to show up based on proximity. By using geolocation, you can target people who live in this location, people who recently lived there or people traveling through down to the zip code.
2. Demographics (01:47)
You can target based on basic demographics. The demographics that Facebook has right now includes age (from 13 to 65 up), gender (which unfortunately only has men, women and all as of now), languages, and ethnic affinity.
3. Customer List (02:16)
This is especially helpful if you have a very specific list of people that you are trying to target that you know are interested. For example, if you have a list of emails or phone numbers from your newsletter series, you can upload this list to Facebook which will match them with Facebook users and target their ads. The list must be over one hundred users, and must match at least twenty Facebook profiles.
Retargeting (02:53)
Retargeting means that you can serve your ad to people who have visited certain site pages through Facebook previously. The ads will show up when the person comes back to Facebook. It is a useful tactic if you want to find an audience of people that have already shown interest because it gives them another chance to take action. You will need to set up the Facebook Pixel for this ad type.
4. “Psychographics” (03:26)
This is the fun part of advertising where you get to create ads that are based off of the user’s behaviors and interests. It allows you to create a more specified audience that are already interested in what your ad is about. We encourage you to play around with all of the settings because the options are endless!
Broad or Narrow?
Thus far, each of these categories are finding an intersection, not a union. For example, if you put the demographics as teenagers, girls, and an interest in Gossip Girl, then the only people that will see your ad are the teenage girls that are Gossip Girl watchers.
Facebook has two box options in which you can broaden or narrow your audience. In the first box, it allows you to broaden your interests because they can have additional interests or fit into one of those boxes. In the second box, you can narrow your interest by making sure that the previous interest matches with what you have previously stated.
Don’t be discouraged if you do not succeed, targeting audiences is not easy. Use A/B Tests with your ads, and after playing around with different settings, you will come up with enough information to make your ads the most effective they can possibly be. Dive deeper with Julie and watch our recorded hour-long webinar Going Beyond Boosted Posts: How to Build, Manage, and Track a Facebook Ad Campaign.