Over the last decade, Facebook has grown to become one of the best digital advertising platforms, with a range of expansive data targeting options fuelled by their ever-increasing user base.
But even with all those options, many businesses still fail to see significant results from their Facebook ad efforts. Many are still focused on reach, which remains a key metric, but it's equally important to ensure that you're connecting with the right audience, not just the biggest.
This means that you must have to get your demographic targeting right.
Demographic targeting is crucial for any advertising campaign, and it's even more important on Facebook because the CPMs are so high. Facebook charges high advertising costs, because its advertisers can narrowly target their audience. If you don't take advantage of these targeting options, then you're throwing money out the window.
I assume that you are already targeting users by interests, age and gender. These are obvious demographic targeting options that you need to include in every campaign. However, they're not enough.
Here are some other very important demographic targeting options that you should consider.
1. Income
Income is one of the most overlooked targeting options, which is surprising. Personally, I rate it as the single most important.
Why? If you sell premier products and you're advertising to people who can't afford your services, then they won't provide any value to your business. On the other hand, if you sell more economically priced products, you could generate more response by pitching to lower income households.
When you analyze your buyer profile, it's important to estimate their income.
2. Buyer Behavior
Buyer behavior is one of the three broad advertising targeting options available on Facebook. Social marketing consultant Kandice Linwright says that it tends to be one of the most expensive, because it has such a strong impact on conversions.
There are multiple ways that you can target users by their behavior:
- Automotive purchases
- Charitable donations
- Activities online
- Financial decisions
- Residential profiles
Within each of these categories, there are multiple targeting options.
For example, the "Financial" category enables you to target users according to their investing decisions and level of frugality.
If you sell luxury products, you would probably want to target users that make impulse purchases and aren't as concerned about saving their pennies. On the other hand, brands selling economically priced necessities would probably have better luck targeting frugal Facebook users.
3. Life Events
Major life events obviously have a tremendous influence on people's buying decisions.
Social expert Margot da Cunha writes that it's actually her favorite targeting feature.
"Life Events has to be my favorite targeting option within Facebook because it's the perfect medium for this. From personal experience, I've found that my friends like to share major life events on Facebook, whether it being getting engaged, graduating from grad school, or having a child."
Life event targeting is frequently used by wedding planners and companies selling baby products, however it can also be a powerful targeting option for many other companies. Real estate agents can target people that just got engaged, because they may be more likely to purchase a new home if they're anticipating new additions to their family in the near future.
4. Residential Profiles
Residential profiles are another overlooked targeting option that can have a tremendous effect on your campaigns.
Here are some questions that you should ask:
- Are your target customers homeowners or renters?
- Are your target customers living in rural or suburban areas?
- What type of home do they live in?
These targeting options tell you a lot about their lifestyle and personality - it can be a roundabout way to target users based on their financial status without paying high CPMs.
Look Beyond Obvious Targeting Options
Virtually every Facebook advertiser targets users by their age, interests and gender. These targeting options are necessary, but you can go into a lot more detail to focus your campaigns onto the exact right users.
Try to expand your horizons by testing other targeting options - you'll likely be able to increase your conversion rates if you have a more granular understanding of your audience.
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