There are 1.55 billion active users on Facebook. Take a moment to consider that number. That’s a very significant number of the world’s population and the user base is only growing. Marketers are always keen to take advantage of this platform to reach out to customers and prospects. Like Google, Facebook offers paid ads. It offers two kinds of ads, the Cost Per Click or CPC ads and the Cost Per Thousand Impressions, or CPM ads. Regardless of the type of ad you choose, they’re effective.
Their effectiveness comes from the comprehensive targeting parameters that Facebook provides. Because there are so many options available, most marketers find themselves at a loss. They wonder just how to use this to their best advantage. So here is a guide on the best audience to target.
1. Targeting Audience who have Visited Specific Web Pages
Consider this: a prospect logs on to Facebook sometime after visiting a web page dedicated to a blue winter jacket on your e-commerce website. They might have even added that particular jacket to the cart before something distracted them and they didn’t complete the transaction.
Now, you know that this person is interested in this product and even wants to purchase it. You can use Facebook’s targeting parameters to send an ad about that blue winter jacket towards the prospect. This would remind the prospect of their interest and urge them to complete the transaction.
While conventional wisdom states that you target your ads to as many people as you can, this particular strategy still works well. Yes, you’re targeting a very small audience, but you’re directing your ads towards people who are most likely to convert. Targeting website custom audiences is a very effective strategy.
2. Targeting Audience who have Visited Specific Website Sections
If you have a large number of web pages and products, creating specific ads for every web page and targeting that set of website custom audiences can be cumbersome and illogical. Yes, the strategy does yield great results, but it can also be difficult to manage and maintain. In that case, you can widen the scope and target specific audiences.
For example, if a prospect visits the section of your website that sells power tools, you need not create a different ad for drill, sander, saw, buffer, etc. You can just create an ad for the entire section of selling power tools and send it towards prospects who visited the section.
Your target audience pool is much wider in this case and the work involved is reduced. This strategy is also effective because it would still remind your prospect of their interest in a particular product from the section.
3. Targeting Audience who have Visited the Website
This point doesn’t need much explanation and is easy to execute. Targeting audiences who have visited your website is a broad strategy. Through this tactic, you send ads to prospects that might not even have the intention to make a purchase. However, this is a strategy that targets the widest number of people who have expressed interest in your product. After all, if you shoot an arrow at a target that’s big and wide, the arrow has the best chance of hitting it.
The Same principle applies here. By showing your ads to a larger number of people, you will stumble across some prospects that are interested in making the purchase. You can adjust the parameters according to the traffic your website receives. If you receive high traffic, it’s a good idea to limit the duration of the website custom audiences. On the other hand, if you receive low traffic, you need to set the duration for a longer time to get the best possible results.
4. Targeting Audience Who Like You
This is a no-brainer. People who like your page on Facebook are interested in your content and your products. Don’t assume that people would like just about any page they come across. Most Facebook users will only like your page if they find good content that interests them and is posted regularly. They might also like your page if they are fans of your product or service.
These audiences have some of the highest likelihood of converting and shouldn’t be ignored. They’re a great way of narrowing down your target audience as well. For example, if you targeted an ad towards a group of 10,000 people of a specific interest and found that 1,000 liked your page, you know whom to engage further.
You can direct offers, discounts, and engage these audiences in a variety of ways. By engaging them, you’re also attracting the attention of their connections. If these prospects continue liking your products or content, their connections will be curious and visit your page too. That’s why it’s very important to engage your fans and people who like your Facebook page.
5. Targeting Lookalike Audiences
If you have website traffic, few likes, and fans, and are a new brand in the industry, you need to cultivate an audience. You can do that by targeting lookalike audiences. Consider this: you’re an apparel design company looking to engage the audience. You can target people who have expressed similar interests and likes as your current fans and audiences. For example, if a fan of your page has an interest in fashion, hairstyles, couture, and particular designers, you can seek out people with similar interests and target them with your ads.
This is a hit or miss strategy. There is a chance that the prospects you’re targeting might not be interested in your products at all. However, if you have a very small audience pool, this is a very effective tactic to utilize. Not all brands need to target their audience in this manner, but smaller, newer companies can take advantage of this and get great success.
6. Targeting Custom Audience Based on Events
By using an Event Response Ad, you can create an event ad on your page (for a launch, networking event, webinar etc.) and choose a custom audience based on location, age, gender, age, interest and more. When your event ad runs, your audience will see it in their newsfeed. When one of your prospects joins, it will be visible on their calendar and keep them notified.
Another benefit to using event ads is that if someone joins your event, it will be visible on their timeline which can then extend the ad reach to everyone on their friend’s list.
As you can see, you can get very creative with Facebook targeting parameters and develop strategies that would help you get better results from your CPC or CPM ads. It’s always great to experiment a little. Who know? You might create a winning strategy for your company.
Here is a guide about how to create Custom Audience based on events
