A new Facebook tool allows page admins to publish content to certain groups of fans defined by several different parameters. And, in true Facebook keep ‘em waiting style, the new post-targeting tool isn’t universally available; instead it’s gradually being rolled out to Facebook page admins.
Prior to the release of this tool, admins had limited post-targeting capabilities that allowed them to specify content based on language and location (country, state and city).
Now, however, page admins will have access to a full set of targeting characteristics that include:
- Age
- Gender
- Interested in
- Relationship status
- Education
- College grad—college name, major
- In college—college name, major, years
- In high school
- Workplace
We tend to view Facebook changes with a slightly skeptical eye, but have to admit we’re excited about the possibilities to more specifically tailor Facebook content to relevant users.
Let’s say you own a company that offers internships for college students, for example. Instead of publishing the information to your entire user base, you could create specifically targeted messages to those fans who are in college. Or maybe you own a retail business. Perhaps you have a product that’s better suited for your younger Facebook audience, but you also have an upcoming promotion that you feel will be relevant to older consumers.
By using Facebook’s new post-targeting functionality, you’ll be able to deliver content to a more detailed sub-section of your user base, creating a more relevant content campaign that not only delivers a tailored experience to your audience, but is more likely to increase your page engagement, too.
All targeted content will still publish to your Facebook page, so those who visit your page directly will be able to see a complete history of your status updates. The targeting feature will determine what shows up in a particular user’s News Feed.
Keep an eye out for a small target symbol at the bottom of the Facebook status window, in between the clock and the location marker. If you don’t yet have the functionality available, sit tight—it should soon be an option.
Anyone given the new tool a test drive? What targeting characteristics do you think will be most relevant for your Facebook audience? Do you like this idea or think it stinks? We’d love to know.
Image by Bogdan Suditu via Creative Commons
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years’ experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging develoment, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly’s coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”
