FACEBOOK IS REMOVING POWERFUL AD TARGETING OPTIONS - THIS WILL AFFECT YOU!
The digital ad buying world is about to go to hell and no one is talking about it!!! I know sometimes I make a dramatic first sentence to grab your attention and then I gently walk back the comment - but not this time. The digital world is crumbling as a result of the recent Facebook data scandal. A quick synopsis is that Facebook essentially allowed a third party to collect and use data in a way that could have influenced U.S. voters. This is why we can’t have nice things!
As the smoke clears from this fiasco, Facebook is left with a tough choice in what to do to prove to people that the company is serious about data security and privacy. After all, if users don’t TRUST Facebook, then they won’t USE Facebook. And if users leave Facebook, there won't be anyone left to advertise to on Facebook.
As a good-faith gesture, Facebook announced it will be stripping out advertising targeting options built on the data provided by third-party companies like Axiom or Experian on August 15th. These options are called Partner Categories and are very powerful when trying to target users based on the behaviors they take outside of Facebook. Using this third-party data is common in the advertising world; however, Facebook was linked to an entity using these powers in a nefarious way, so Facebook got into trouble.
FUN FACT: These "partner categories" make up for over 50% of Facebook targeting options!
With these Partner Categories, advertisers were able to target people who were frequent buyers, in the market for a new vehicle/house, in certain job roles, likely to relocate or estimations of the level of income they make. This behavioral data is SUPER valuable when trying to meet users with the right marketing message at the right time during the consideration process. This is not good news for brands relying on this information.
If you advertise on Facebook, make no mistake, this WILL affect your ad campaigns! Not "maybe" or "possibly" - but it WILL!
However, all is not lost (most, but not all)! There are still impactful ways to reach your target market with Facebook advertising.
- INTEREST TARGETING
- ADVANCED GEO-TARGETING
- WEBSITE CUSTOM AUDIENCES
- EMAIL CUSTOM AUDIENCES
- ENGAGEMENT CUSTOM AUDIENCE
I know I sound a little like Chicken-Little, running in here screaming "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" - but the sky is falling. The way you advertise your company on Facebook/Instagram is about to change forever!
Will your company be affected? Will you be able to run ads on August 15th? What will your ad campaigns look like going forward? If you have any of these questions, please don't hesitate to reach out below!
