It’s no secret that Facebook is a massive data mine and boon for advertisers. We’ve all had ads follow us around the Internet, prompting us to buy the pair of shoes that we looked at once in the News Feed.
One of the reasons Facebook is able to retarget consumers with ads is that it knows how they behave on the platform. In addition to traditional demographic data that advertisers have long used to target consumers – age, location, marital status – Facebook knows what users are actually doing on the platform.
It tracks data like:
- If a user likes to watch videos or not.
- How long a user watches a video before scrolling on.
- If a user clicks through to make a purchase but abandons the shopping cart before buying.
- If a user swipes through photos in a carousel ad.
For businesses wanting to use Facebook advertising, this kind of behavioral data allows Facebook to optimize your ads to be delivered to the people who are most likely to engage with them.
An Example of Behavioral Targeting
For instance, take Anne and Diana.
Anne and Diana are both 21, they fall into the same demographic profile, they share the same interests, and they both like to shop at ABC Boutique.
Anne likes to watch video ads, but Diana doesn’t. Diana tends to just scroll by them, whereas Anne will watch for at least 15 seconds.
ABC Boutique is running several ads, all targeted at Anne and Diana’s demographics, but some are targeted at people who watch videos and the others aren’t.
Anne will receive the video ads because Facebook is optimized to deliver them to her.
Diana may also receive ABC Boutique ads, but they could be photo or carousel ads instead.
This ability to target based on behavior, going way beyond traditional demographic targeting, is one of the reasons Facebook advertising is so effective.
The Bottom Line
Facebook advertising enables you to get your message to your ideal customer on a very granular level, in terms of demographic and psychographic details.
Combine this detailed demographic targeting with behavioral data, and you’re now able to reach your ideal customer in a format they’re likely to engage with.
You’re reaching highly targeted prospective customers with relevant messages, without wasting money trying to deliver ads to people who won’t engage with them.
The bottom line: Use Facebook advertising to generate more leads and reduce ad spend waste.