RIP Facebook Targeting

One of the most targeted advertising platforms is getting a makeover, or is it a makeunder? Either way you look at it, the changes are sure to cause a new learning curve and shake up the landscape. While Facebook ads has reigned at the top of the leaderboard in terms of targeting ability, that trend has come to a screeching halt. 

Facebook Ad Targeting Options

On Facebook, it was possible to target three distinct categories of data:

1. Facebook’s user generated Data – thedata that people voluntarily enter into Facebook profiles (the pages that theylike, their jobs, relationship status and date of birth.)
2. Data you’ve obtained – known as custom audiences, this refers to the data you upload into Facebook, (think emails, phone numbers, and Facebook IDs)
3. Partner categories – data gathered through partnerships that Facebook had with third party providers,like Axiom and Experian.

Facebook Ad Targeting Changes

Two major ad targeting changes that have recently taken place:

1. The deletion of partner categories – yes deleted, queue the sad violin.

2. New & new(ish) targeting options – the second big change is the addition of new, and re-introduced targeting options.

Change #1 – Partner Category deletion

As of August 21st, 5000+ Facebook targeting options were deleted. Some of the things that you could’ve previously targeted in the past through partner categories were income levels, whether a person was likely to be moving (a favorite of ours) among many, many others.

You can read more about the changes and Facebook’s reasoning from the official pending lawsuits“>The New York Times and you can find out more about the totarget.

Employer and Job Title targeting – Thesewere previously removed but have since returned. Employer targeting allows youto type in the name of an employer, and serve ads to anyone that has listedthemselves as working for that employer. (In our limited tests thisfunctionality was hit or miss, so your mileage may vary)

School + Field of Study Targeting – Similarto employer targeting, this allows you to target people by what university theygo to and their field of study.

While these changes may be a beneficial step in the right direction as it pertains to data privacy and equal access, the marketer in me can’t help but shed a tear at the notion of my beloved targeting options being sliced and diced. As with everything in digital marketing, things areconstantly in a state of change and we as marketers and business owners, areleft scrambling to adapt to the changes and devise new strategies to offer ourclients consistent and scalable results.

Good luck and happy testing.