Facebook has a pretty good reputation for targeted advertising. People share so much information on Facebook that the world’s largest social network has a tremendous amount of data that is invaluable to advertisers.
Now, they’re giving advertisers yet another way to target.
InsideFacebook is pointing to a new PDF from Facebook outlining a few different types of Interests Targeting, and one of those is Topic Targeting. This will allow advertisers to get fans of certain topics (which can include specific brands/celebirites) without being limited to those who “like” the official page.
Facebook explains, ” Topics (indicated with a # symbol) combine overlapping precise interests to enable easier targeting. For example, the ‘#Lady Gaga’ topic will capture people with related interests such as ‘Lady Gaga’, ‘Lady Gaga Fans’ and ‘Lady Gaga Music’. Topics are available in the Precise Interests election box.”
“If you know that your ideal audience is likely to have a particular set of interests, but don’t need to manage a complicated list of keywords, Topic targeting is a simple way to reach your customers without having to select every relevant term separately,” says Facebook.
Other options Facebook offers in Interests Targeting are precise interest targeting and broad category targeting. The former are the exact likes and interest people have shared in their Facebook profiles, and the latter consists of broad categories that combine interests and other profile content users have shared such as “Jazz/Blues” or just “Music”.
Earlier this month, Facebook began making its Ads API available to app developers who are able to demonstrate the creation of added value of Facebook advertising via third-party apps.