You should be using Facebook ad targeting to grow your business.
Facebook is a VALUABLE social media marketing platform for small business marketing and promotion. For a fraction of the cost of print or SEO and often Google Adwords, you get access to people who are prone to engage your services or purchase your product.
One advantage of using Facebook for your small business marketing is the ability to target FB users by their interests. If you sell bike saddles, target people who like cycling or even a certain bike brand. Sell a low sodium spice, target those who show an interest in heart health.
Facebook Ad Targeting: How accurate are the interests Facebook assigns to a person?
(I learned this trick to discover interests from a recent article on by Facebook wizard Jon Loomer.) First, let’s run a little experiment to see how accurate FB is at assigning interests.
Take a minute to check your own interests and see how accurate they are.
Click https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences to see what Facebook thinks you personally like.
I found out I had an interest in MANY things for which I truly have a passion.
- A LOT of cycling related interest.
- Liverpool FC related interests.
- Small business/entrepreneur related interests.
- Great music bands by name, etc.
BUT there were some weird interests Facebook thought I liked which I don’t. (Note, I don’t DISLIKE them, they simply aren’t a passion..ha!)
- spoons (really?)
- possums
- pivot tables
So if you sell a product that makes using pivot tables in an Excel Spreadsheet easier to use, you’d be wasting money targeting me. But Facebook WOULD target your ad to me based on you selecting that interest.
If there is one thing we don’t want small business owners to do, it’s waste money or time.
As a result of this, several folks say only target people who have visited your site, subscribed via email, or like your Facebook page already.
BUT, I want to use Facebook to reach NEW PEOPLE.
OR MAYBE, I am just starting out and don’t have many site visitors or an email list or likes on my Facebook page yet.
How is a small business owner to do?
How Do You Better Target Your Facebook Ads
So if some of the interests that Facebook thinks users like they really don’t, how do you avoid false targeting them?
I’m glad you asked.
There is a simple selection trick available to you as a Facebook advertiser that can GREATLY REDUCE false interests.
Combined interest targeting. This is where you make sure your ad is ONLY targeted to people who like a combination of interests related to your offering. This GREATLY lowers the chance of someone falsely being ascribed an interest they don’t truly have.
This also keeps you from wasting money serving them with an ad for something they don’t really like, Facebook merely thinks they do.
A Simple Targeting Example: Here is How You Do It.
Pretend I am selling a unique bicycle saddle geared to ultra cyclists who ride incredibly long distances (a personal passion of Jordan’s.)
First, I would select the interest of cycling.
Second I would click the NARROW AUDIENCE link.
Third, I simply add in an additional interest, in this case
Now anyone to whom my ad is served has to have BOTH interests.
It’s that simple.
This combination greatly reduces the likelihood that a false interest ascribed by Facebook to the user will see my ad.
Of course, you can also limit age, geography, demographics, etc.
You could also add Behavior = Cycling.
You Gotta Start Somewhere
Yes, interests aren’t the primary priority by which to target your ads after you start growing (though interests DO still play a huge role in attracting new customers.)
BUT, until you grow to point to have your Facebook ads targeted to website visitors, FB page fans, or your email list, it using INTERESTS for targeting is the BEST way to get started.
If you’d like Moon & Owl Marketing to handle your social media marketing needs, give us a call at 817-889-1487. We are here to help you grow.
