Facebook's DIY ad targeting explained

Ever time that I show somebody what is possible with Facebook's advertising system, they immediately see the future of advertising. Facebook allows marketers to create ads that are extremely targeted to a unique, specific audience. The ads are pay-per-click so you only pay when somebody is interested enough to engage with you through a click.

In the example I go through in the video (which you can see in the image below) I show you the full range of targeting capabilities within Facebook. While it is very robust, there are some missing elements including ethnicity. Though you may not be able to target the exact individual you are looking for, you can use interests and keywords to achieve the same result.

Here is an Inside//Out look at Facebook's advertising system:

[Feed readers please click through if you cannot see the video.]

Here is the screen capture from the video.

So what does this look like when done right? Here is a good example that I saw today when I logged in to Facebook. The ad to the right is promoting a Chris Brogan "Twebinar" that is hosted by Radian 6. The ad is targeted to my interests, the headline caught my eye and I recognized Chris' headshot immediately. I clicked through to the Twebinar in short order.

Key Takeaways:

• Micro-targeting your audience using these services is easier than ever
  
• Determine how you can target people directly with ads as well as using meta data to reach them indirectly (for example reaching people who watch Monday Night Football to target football fans)
  
• Ads that speak to the audience with the right message at the right time are highly effective
  
• The prevalence of broad, un-targeted advertising inside social networks is nearing an end
  
• Invasive ads like Facebook's social ads should be used sparingly if at all (there is too much risk at this point)
  

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Technorati Tags:
advertising, Facebook, Inside//Out, marketing, Matt Dickman, social networks, strategy, Techno//Marketer, trends

Comments

[mvellandi]

Thanks for the explanation.
I see you use Blip.tv (I do too), the customized players plus the auto titling are great.

[Greg March]

We buy plenty of Facebook's CPM media and when we've inquired about using their CPC programs the response is that scale allowed is extremely limited. That I could only buy about $15k worth of media. With the scale my advertisers are trying to reach its logistically inefficient to invest the time to go in the CPC system.

That said, i really want to use this system and I need to answer to my clients that learn about this.

I think this is another example of Facebook being inconsistent Their general inconsistency on Beacon, protocal for developers, and this makes it difficult for their larger marketers to determine how Facebook fits in the very BIG picture of their marketing. Until that happens there are not going to be any HUGE (sure I'll cut my TV budget type) bets.

I hope the new COO gets this together. I am confident she will.

[David Alston]

Hey there Matt, thanks for the great feedback on the Radian6 Twebinar Facebook ad. And even more importantly, thanks for clicking through the landing page :-)

Tweet you on the Twebinar on the 26th. Cheers.

David

[gbrandonthomas]

I happen to be in Paris this week. Even though nothing on my profile mentions France, Paris, etc., all the advertising I see on FB is now in French. Worse yet, the ads are for jobs in Paris. Is IP-based targeting first on the list? Shouldn't FB be able to tell that I am traveling and present ads accordingly?

Google isn't much better, as I cannot seem to even view the English version - when I type google.com it automatically converts to google.fr.

We are not there yet...

[joe malley]

matt:

i was researching and ran across this post asking you a question back in nov 07.

Matt: Question for you... Is Facebook also using Beacon to serve up ads? I was on REI.com last night looking at something for my boyfriend for Christmas, but I decided not to buy it. Later, I checked my Facebook page, and I saw an ad for the **exact** product from EMS. What was that?
Whatever it was, by the way, it was creepy.
Posted by: Ann Handley | 11.29.07

i never could find you answer, so could you please send me your response.

i went to facebook and saw that these two companies were in facebook networks. it is further interesting that facebook appears to be doing away with networks, i assume because of the pay per click program you now describe here, noted as :

"Facebook's DIY ad targeting explained"

here's what is confusing. it looks like hadley was shopping on a site, outside of facebook, at rei. when she returned to facebook. ems advertisement was on her site. who sent that to her site?

ems and rei are not connected,

both are in the networks on facebook

but how did facebook know that she had gone to rei,

and why would facebook help ems advertise when it would hurt rei, another 1 of their members?

We know that system was used for facebook beacon with 44 affliates, but is facebook tracking users when they leave facebook and go to network sites to shop.

this doesnt sound like social ads, applications , or even the pay per click discussion on your present site.

could you help me understand if the beacon program technology is bigger than we know.

thanks
joe

[joe malley]

matt:

i was researching and ran across this post asking you a question back in nov 07.

Matt: Question for you... Is Facebook also using Beacon to serve up ads? I was on REI.com last night looking at something for my boyfriend for Christmas, but I decided not to buy it. Later, I checked my Facebook page, and I saw an ad for the **exact** product from EMS. What was that?
Whatever it was, by the way, it was creepy.
Posted by: Ann Handley | 11.29.07

i never could find you answer, so could you please send me your response.

i went to facebook and saw that these two companies were in facebook networks. it is further interesting that facebook appears to be doing away with networks, i assume because of the pay per click program you now describe here, noted as :

"Facebook's DIY ad targeting explained"

here's what is confusing. it looks like hadley was shopping on a site, outside of facebook, at rei. when she returned to facebook. ems advertisement was on her site. who sent that to her site?

ems and rei are not connected,

both are in the networks on facebook

but how did facebook know that she had gone to rei,

and why would facebook help ems advertise when it would hurt rei, another 1 of their members?

We know that system was used for facebook beacon with 44 affliates, but is facebook tracking users when they leave facebook and go to network sites to shop.

this doesnt sound like social ads, applications , or even the pay per click discussion on your present site.

could you help me understand if the beacon program technology is bigger than we know.

thanks
joe

[Michael Madej (Digital Marketing Rucksack)]

Too bad there's no way to target ads based on body type. I keep getting Facebook ads that say "29 year old male overweight?" -- they seem to be about the only ads I get. Maybe it's a super-intelligent targeting system and they're able to predict what's going to happen in the future... :-)

I guess my point is that no matter how good an ad targeting system is, it's never going to meet the needs of all advertisers. However, this is a pretty intelligent setup by Facebook. With the proper scale, this could end up being an especially efficient tool for marketers...and who knows, it might even change the way the public thinks about targeted advertising.

[Alex]

Thanks for putting this together.

[pay per click site programs]

this is so good. I really got a lot out of it.

[PPC Management Service]

What has your over all experience been with facebook advertising? Great post by the way.