axis-social-blog-featured-connectiontargeting

Facebook Connection and Exclusion Targeting

by with No Comment FacebookSocial Media

With the fifth and final instalment in our Core Audience mini-series, we cover the importance of Connection and Exclusion Targeting Parameters.

If you’re yet to, please read our previous articles in this series on;

  1. Core Audiences
  2. Demographic Targeting
  3. Interest Targeting
  4. Behavioural Targeting

If you have already, then let’s get stuck into this final post.

What Is Connection Targeting?

Within your Core Audience, you’re able to specify whether you’d like to target people based on an existing relationship that they may already have with your page, app or event. 

Whether you’re utilising the Page, App or Event Functionality, you have three options that you can choose to add to your Core Audience:

  1. People who like your page, use your app or are going to your event
  2. Friends of people who like your page, have used your app or are attending your event
  3. Exclude people who like your page, have used your app or are attending your event.

These options allow you to add more specific and tailored messaging to your campaigns based on the relationship that the target audience has with your Page, App or Event.

This parameter allows you to put up-sell, retention or referral-based marketing messages in front of those with an existing relationship with your business.

For those who are friends of those who like your page, use your app or are attending your event, you can leverage the existing relationship that their friend has with your business as a piece of “social proof” to establish a relationship with them. 

This option is perfect for top of the funnel campaigns where you’re looking to elicit a low commitment action like an email sign up, content download or low-value sale.

Finally being able to exclude those who like your page, use your app or are attending your event allows you to ensure that your campaigns are only reaching new audiences; those who are yet to establish a social relationship with your brand or business. 

Utilise this crucial targeting parameter for introductory offers or awareness-based campaigns designed to introduce your brand or business to a new audience.

What Is Exclusion Targeting?

When it comes to finding your ideal target audience on Facebook or Instagram, it is just as important to identify who your DO NOT want as part of your Core Audience as it is to specify who you DO.

Enter Exclusion Targeting.

Exclusion targeting allows you to specify the demographic, interest or behavioural parameters that you want to ensure ARE NOT part of your Core Audience. Say you’re offering a training course designed to help Small Business Owners get up to speed with the latest digital technologies.

Your ideal target audience may be found within the Small Business Owner Behavioural Targeting parameter however you’ll want to EXCLUDE any Early Technology Adopters from your Core Audience. 

Similarly, by utilising Narrow Targeting (an alternative to exclusion targeting), you’re able to use multiple targeting parameters that your Core Audience MUST HAVE, rather than either-or.

Rather than targeting people who are interested in either clothing or online shopping, you can target audience members who are interested in BOTH to develop a Core Audience which is likely to complete a clothing purchase online.

In Summary

We’ve covered quite a bit of detail over the past 5 posts, so let’s bring it all together.

The key things to keep in mind when it comes to using Core Audience Targeting are:

  1. Core Audiences allow us to access data that has been explicitly provided to Facebook, i.e. data Facebook acquiries via our use of the platform and data from Facebook’s third-party data providers.
  2. When it comes to developing your Core Audiences, it’s not so much about where your Target Audience COULD be but finding the interests and identifiers that ONLY they would be part of. 
  3. In many ways, it’s just as important to identify who you DO NOT want as part of your Core Audience as it is to specify who you DO.
  4. Make sure that you’re A/B testing audiences and adding additional targeting parameters to ensure accuracy across multiple Core Audiences.
axis-social-blog-featured-behaviourtargeting

Using Facebook Behavioural Targeting

by with No Comment FacebookSocial Media

In part 4 of our 5 part mini-series on Core Audiences, we cover Facebook’s Behavioural Targeting Capabilities.

If you’re yet to, please read the previous three post in this series on:

  1. Core Audiences
  2. Demographic Targeting
  3. Interest Targeting

If you have already, then let’s get stuck in.

What Is Facebook Behavioural Targeting?

Behavioural Targeting allows you to shape your Core Audience based on the purchasing behaviour, their browsing behaviour, their intent to purchase or use particular products or the devices they use.

The data which underpins these parameters is a combination of Facebook’s first-party data as well as data purchased from third-party partners within each country.

So let’s break down we use each of individual Behavioural Factors and how they can define your ideal target audience:

Automotive

Allows you to target owners of particular vehicles or those in the market for a new or used vehicle.

You can also hone in on the type of purchase they are looking to make, as well as whether they currently lease, finance or own their car outright.

Charitable Donations

Allows you to identify someone who has a higher propensity to donate to charity and the types of causes that they are most likely to support.

Digital Activities and Devices

An incredibly powerful targeting parameter tied to our tracked behaviour online.

Within these fields, you can target people based on the following: 

  • Browser
  • Device
  • Network
  • Operating System
  • Whether they are an early or late technology adopter
  • Whether they are a Facebook Page Admin, Event Creator
  • Even if they are an avid Photo Uploader

Given their distinct behaviour online, you can also target Small Business Owners within this category.

Purchase Behaviour

From Business Purchases to Clothing, Household Products to Subscription Services, this parameter allows you to target the existing purchase behaviour of your target audience (or a high intent to purchase from within these categories).

You can use this targeting option either to get in front of those in the market for the product or service that you sell or to promote a complementary product or service based on something they have recently purchased.

Financial

Tailored-made for the finance sector, this parameter allows you to identify members of the target audience based on their banking behaviour, the type and number of investments they have – even the spending methods that they prefer to use.

Travel

Finally, this parameter allows you to identify the level of travel which your target audience undertakes.

From Business Travellers to Commuters, from Family Vacationers to Frequent Flyers, within this component of the Targeting platform, you’re able to specify any notable travel-based characteristics that your ideal target audience exhibits.

This targeting parameter is perfect for advertisers for travel, tourism, or products or services that complement travel (e.g. insurance).

Behavioural Targeting Caveats

Remember, this behavioural data is a combination of data captured by Facebook and data provided by local third parties. 

This data source means that when you incorporate these into your campaign, make sure that you’re testing audiences or adding additional targeting parameters to ensure accuracy.

What’s Up Next?

In the next and final post of this Core Audience mini-series, we cover the importance of Exclusion and Connection parameters within your Core Audience. 

These parameters allow you to refine your target audience profiles and ensure that you’re laser-focused on your ideal customer or client.

axis-social-blog-featured-interesttargeting

Using Facebook Interest Targeting

by with One Comment Social MediaVideo

In part 3 of our 5 part mini-series on Core Audience Targeting, we have a piece dedicated entirely to Facebook’s Interest Targeting Capabilities.

If you’re yet to, please read watch the previous two post in this series: 

If you have already, then let’s get stuck in.

What Is Interest Targeting?

So Interest Targeting is where Facebook’s powerful Ad platform comes into its own.

Interest Targeting is how you’re able to find your ideal target audience based on their passions and the type of content that they engage with on and off Facebook. 

Facebook stores this continuously updated data at an individual user level based on the Pages we follow on, the articles, videos and content we engage with, and the links/ads we click.

All this is explicit and implicit information we provide Facebook with each time we log on.

Now, when it comes to specifying the interests you want to target within your Core Audience, you have two options:

Option 1: Browse Through Interests

You can browse the range of Interest categories that Facebook has already collated and select those best suited to your target audience. These include;

  • Business & Industry Interests
  • Entertainment Interests
  • Family & Relationship Interests
  • Fitness & Wellness Interests
  • Food & Drink Interests
  • Hobbies
  • Activities and Events
  • Shopping
  • Fashion
  • Sports
  • Technology

Within each of these categories lie more detailed child categories.

For example, if I was looking to target those interested in becoming a member of a gym, I could target the ‘gym’ interest grouping. This ‘Child 

Category’ is found under the Fitness and Wellness ‘Parent Category’.

Option 2: Specify Interests

Rather than browsing the existing interest categories, Facebook has curated, you can specify your own by typing interests you’d like Facebook to target.

These can be anything from activities, celebrities, magazines, Facebook pages, whatever articulation of an audience’s passion point you can imagine.

If you’re opting for this option, make sure you’re making the most of Facebook’s suggested Interests. These will appear once you’ve selected one or two interest options as Facebook offers other interest targeting options closely aligned to those already set.

The Key To Success: Be Specific

Whichever option you choose, the key is to ensure that you’re focusing in on the specific interest areas that are unique to your target audience; the areas that they are MOST passionately involved.

For example, say I was selling a new set of golf balls specifically designed to help weekend golfers improve their handicap. I could target “Golf” as an interest category; however, this would be too broad, ranging from pros to armchair enthusiasts.

Similarly, I could target “Tiger Woods” however this would also be too broad, encompassing those who are more mainstream fans of the sport or his celebrity. Instead, far more focused options would be to target information sources that this audience would go to for tips to improve their game, such as YouTube Tutorials or Magazines.

Remember when it comes to Interest Targeting, it’s not so much about where your Target Audience COULD be but finding the interests and identifiers that ONLY they would be part of or would be most passionately involved.

Stay Tuned!

In the next post, we’ll build on both Demographic and Interest targeting to show how you can add Behavioural Targeting to refine your audience.

axis-social-blog-featured-demotargeting

Using Facebook Demographic Targeting

by with 3 Comments FacebookSocial Media

In part 2 of our 5 part mini-series on Core Audience Targeting, we cover Facebook’s Demographic Targeting Capabilities.

If you’re yet to read the first post, an introduction to Core Audiences, then make sure you check that out first.

If you have already, then let’s get stuck in.

Introduction To Facebook Demographic Targeting

So when we’re talking about Demographics Targeting on Facebook, we’re talking about being able to access;

  1. Data that we’ve explicitly provided to Facebook (like our age and where we work)
  2. Data that we’ve implicitly provided to Facebook by using the platform (like our location or major Life Events)
  3. Data from Facebook’s third-party providers (such as household income and composition).

Now, let’s breakdown the individual Demographic Factors that you can choose from and how each can define your ideal target audience.

Age and Gender

This factor is a pretty basic targeting option, which means we won’t spend too much time on this.

We recommend that if you’re targeting by age, allow some room either side of your sweet spot target. 

So if you’re ideal customer is men in their mid-twenties, set your targeting parameters from 21 – 29 to ensure you’re capturing all prospective customers.

Relationships

Relationship targeting involves targeting whether someone has identified themselves as single, in a relationship, engaged, married and more. Again this is relatively basic targeting which will apply to some products and services more than others. 

This parameter is highly relevant for:

  • Dating services
  • Those within the wedding industry
  • Travel companies

These advertisers can leverage this parameter for their product offerings.

We’ve interestingly seen quite a lot of advertising for law firms making the most of this targeting feature for newly separated couples.

Location

Location targeting falls into three main options

  1. Everyone within a Location
  2. People who have recently visited a Location
  3. People who are travelling to a location.

Remember that this is data isn’t necessarily explicitly provided to Facebook; it’s provided by our use of the platform and through IP and Location Tracking.

Pay attention to this parameter if your business targets tourists or visitors to an area rather than residents.

Languages

This parameter is another self-explanatory one. 

However, it can be vital to including or excluding key fragments of your target audience.

Unless the language that you’re focusing on isn’t particularly common within the location that you’re targeting, we’d recommend just leaving this blank.

Education

Now things are starting to get interesting!

Within this section of your Core Audience, you can specify the Education parameters that your targeting audience have previously completed or are currently studying; from Education Level to Field of Study to Schools to the year they graduated.

We find that this parameter can be a beneficial complement to people targeting a particular industry or occupation rather than just relying on Job Titles alone.

Work

Of all the Demographic targeting parameters, this one is the most relevant to those marketing B2B products or services.

Within this parameter, you can focus in on the type of industry your ideal customer works within, what their job title is – even who their Employer is.

If you’re targeting a B2B audience, we strongly recommend focusing primarily on this parameter for much of your targeting – it’s incredibly accurate while providing a significant scale of audience members.

Financial

Within this targeting parameter, you can specify the income levels of your target and their level of affluence.

If you know the approximate household income level of your ideal client or customer, then this is an excellent targeting parameter to trial for your business.

Just remember that this data is a combination of Facebook data and data provided by local third parties so we’d recommend either A/B testing audiences or adding additional targeting parameters to ensure accuracy.

Home

This parameter is an incredibly powerful option for those within the property, construction, household services and insurance industries.

Within this parameter, you have the option to specify the following: 

  • The type of home your target audience currently lives in
  • Whether they own their home or are renting
  • The composition of that household
  • Who else they live with

Again this data is a combination of Facebook data and data provided by local third parties so ensure that you’re A/B testing audiences or adding additional targeting parameters to ensure accuracy.

Parents

If your business targets those with Children (or their close relatives), then make sure you’re taking advantage of this demographic targeting option.

From Expecting and New Parents to those with Adult Children, you’re able to target the full gamete of those with kids with highly relevant messages based on their child’s age segment.

Life Events

If you’re in the events industry or provide business or services tied to specific occasions, then this parameter should sit at the core of your Facebook campaigns.

Within this parameter, you have the option to target people: 

  • In a new relationship
  • With an upcoming anniversary
  • Who have recently moved homes or jobs
  • Who have recently become engaged or newlywed 
  • Currently away from Family
  • Presently in a long-distance relationship.

Within this factor, you can also target friends of those who fall into any of the above segments. 

This targeting is perfect if your business involves the sale of products or services which can are commonly gifted.

Stay Tuned!

So there you have it – some incredibly powerful Demographic Targeting parameters that you can use to start developing your Core Audiences.

In the next post, we’ll build on this by covering how you can use Interest Targeting to get even more focused on the passion points of your target audience.

axis-social-blog-featured-coreaudiences

Finding Your Ideal Prospects Using Facebook’s Core Audiences

by with 4 Comments FacebookSocial Media

Welcome to the first part of a 5 part mini-series on how you can use Core Audience Targeting to find your ideal customers or clients on Facebook or Instagram.

If you’re looking to improve the effectiveness of your Facebook Advertising campaigns or want to get started on the right foot, then this mini-series is for you.

What Are Core Audiences?

Facebook’s unparalleled targeting capabilities come from the fact that we can pull from arguably the most extensive online collection of first-party data (provided by Facebook and advertisers) plus third-party data from Facebook’s localised consumer data providers.

Core Audiences allow us to access this data and define the parameters which represent our ideal target audience. From demographic information such as location and lifestyle factors to interests and passion points to online and offline browsing and of course, purchasing behaviour – it’s all at your fingertips.

Core Audience Targeting is unlike Custom Audience or Lookalike Audience targeting which leverages existing customer data possessed by an advertiser. 

Instead, Core Audience Targeting is where leverage Facebook’s data to find the ideal target audience for our campaigns.

Core Audience Categories

When it comes to creating a Core Audience for your campaigns, there are four main categories from which to select. There are:

Stay Tuned

We’ll cover all four of these over the next four parts in this mini-series so make sure you join us for the next post in which we focus specifically on the Demographic Targeting component.

axis-social-blog-featured-b2bfunnel

A Simple Facebook Ads Funnel for B2B

by with No Comment FacebookSocial Media

This article discusses a simple, but effective, 3-step B2B facebook advertising funnel that you could implement in your business today.

Suppose you are interested in dipping your toe into the wonderful world of Facebook advertising for your B2B company. In that case, this article will give you a highly practical framework to do so.

Required Reading

This article is a direct follow on from a previous post, in which we attempted to debunk the myth that social media advertising does not work for B2B.

So if you’re thinking that to yourself right now, be sure to check out this article first. 

Goals Of Social Media Advertising

2 of the primary goals of social media advertising for B2B are:

  1. Education of your prospects
  2. The positioning of your company

This simple, but effective, funnel attempts to tick those boxes whilst ultimately driving high-quality B2B leads.

The B2B Facebook Advertising Funnel

As shown below the three steps in this funnel are:

  1. Content
  2. Case Study
  3. Conversion / Call To Action

Below we explain each in more detail.

Step #1: Content

At the very top of the funnel, we have content.

Ideally, this is high-quality content that your company has produced, developed specifically for one of your ideal buyer personas, to hit one of their potential pain points. 

Further, this pain point should have direct alignment with the problem that your company solves.

To illustrate this point and the rest of the funnel, let’s make up an accountancy firm which services small business owners, and let’s call it ‘Pennywise Accounting‘. 

Pennywise Accounting could develop a series of blog articles or videos on how small business owners can take the stress and time-suck out of developing and lodging their company tax return.

After they develop this content, they use the powerful Facebook advertising platform to put this content in front of small business owners within say 30Km of their offices. 

NB: Targeting small business owners is beyond the scope of this article. However, our targeting mini-series covers this in-depth. 

Whilst this content might sound boring to many, for the business owner who is struggling with their tax is highly likely to engage with this specific, relevant, helpful and timely content. 

By engaging with this content, they are putting their hand up as saying “I am feeling the pain of this right now”.

And what’s more, if the content is of high enough quality it will position Pennywise Accounting as an expert in the space of small business tax returns.

Step #2: Case Studies

The Facebook advertising platform allows you to retarget people who visit specific pages on your website with additional advertising.

So in step 2 of the funnel, you retarget anybody who engages with your top of the funnel content with a highly impressive and relevant case study.

This case study should be;

  • Informative to the reader
  • Relevant to the pain points they would like to address
  • Cement your company’s position as an expert in that field

For Pennywise Accounting, in step 2 of the funnel, they use Facebook to retarget the small business owners who engaged with their ‘Small Business Tax Returns’ series at the top of the funnel.

They would do so by promoting a highly impressive and relevant case study. 

For example, “How John smith’s small business saved six figures on their annual tax bill through Pennywise Accounting”. 

Whoever has engaged with this case study has now read a piece of fantastic content from Pennywise and has also been shown that Pennywise can solve the problem that they have, in this case, tax return issues.

Step #3: Conversion / Call To Action

Conversion or call to action means it is time to go in for the kill.

It means asking for someone’s contact information or enquiry for the product or service you are promoting. Whilst there are many devices for getting the conversion, at the bottom of the funnel here you are retargeting those who have engaged with both your high-quality content and impressive case studies to say ‘let’s take our relationship to the next level’.

In the case of Pennywise Accounting, they could promote a landing page for their annual tax return services for small businesses. 

This landing page is where they go for the ask, with a call to action that could say something like “Apply For A Free Small Business Tax Return Savings Session!”.

The best bit is that those that submit an enquiry on this landing page are a warm inbound lead.

The Most Important Variable: Content Quality

One final point is that whilst this framework is essential, one of the most significant variables of success in this is the quality of the content.

We have seen cases where the content was just so good; the company did not need steps 2 and 3 – because their clients converted at the top of the funnel. 

On the other side of the coin, your ideal clients might take a lot more warming up, with more content and touchpoints at the top of the funnel. 

So invest heavily in great, high-quality content to promote. 

In other words; don’t pay to promote shit content!