5 Facebook Targeting Options We Wish Existed

It’s that time of year again when wish lists are being made and visions of bundles of presents are being dreamt.

At Bamboo, we’re making a list too. But, given that we’re in the midst of the busiest advertising weeks in the year, ours is a little different. We’ve got our sights set on new Facebook Audiences.

Here’s 5 from our wish list. Have more to add? Tweet at us or leave a comment.

1.) Smaller Page Targeting

Currently, Facebook doesn’t let you explicitly target smaller companies and pages. There’s no set rule, but it’s rare to be able to target any page that has less than 10,000 likes. This makes it hard for smaller brands to reach a competitor audience and it also removes very specific pages from ad reach.

Twitter, on the other hand, lets advertisers reach very specific handles, with no minimum follower count. For Facebook to court smaller advertisers and give flexibility in targeting, they should follow suit and let any public page be reached as an audience.

2.) Smarter App Install Audiences

Long gone are the days when you could target people who installed specific apps. It’s not likely that this level of detail will return due to privacy and advertiser competition concerns.

Twitter supports install category targeting, but this is too broad. Knowing that someone often installs “Lifestyle” apps simply doesn’t tell you much. Instead, more specific options would be more productive. How about a set like this to start?

• Frequently Installs Featured Apps
• Frequently Installs Apps with In-App Purchases
• Frequently Installs Apps on Weekends
• Frequently Installs Apps While Traveling

3.) Real Time Audiences

Many Facebook audiences feel too static. With 1.5 billion users each logging hundreds of actions on Facebook each day, more dynamic audiences could yield significant results.

• Real-time keyword and sentiment targeting — For example, people who are saying positive things about Bernie Sanders this week.
• Real-time, temporary locations — Why not create temporary location audiences for large events? Think Lollapalooza, Super Bowl Weekend, or New Year’s Eve in Times Square.These audiences are often in certain mindsets which lend themselves to downloading more apps and being intenders to make high-price or very specific purchase decisions.
• Real-time targeting based on content engagement — Given Facebook’s recent focus on Instant Articles and their news siderail, new audiences here could be particularly efficient. For example, people who have been reading a lot of Finance news lately or NBA news.

4.) More Location-Based Behaviors

Facebook’s “Currently Traveling” behavior targeting consistently proves to be one of the strongest targeting options available. This dynamic audience is always changing, and it takes advantage of the simple, yet powerful fact that Facebook always knows where you are.

Of course, Facebook also knows your movement patterns. Translating these to audiences could lead to much more relevant campaigns for all. For example:

• Movement Pattern Behaviors — If you consistently open your phone in one place in the morning and then a place very different in the afternoon, you could fit into a new “Commuter Behavior.”
• Check-In Based Behaviors — If you check-in to baseball stadiums often on Facebook, you could fit into a new “Frequently Attends Live Baseball Games Behavior.”

5.) Audiences Generated From Other Facebook Apps

Facebook’s collection of apps now includes heavyweights like Instagram, Whatsapp, and Facebook Messenger. Billions more data points are generated under the Facebook umbrella of products because of this. Harnessing this expanded set of intelligence from other apps to create audiences back in Facebook is promising. For example:

• A new audience of people who frequently take food-related photos (via Instagram)
• A new audience of people who frequently communicate with long distance friends (via Facebook Messenger)
• A new audience of people who are currently traveling internationally (via Whatsapp)

Of course, it’s very possible that Facebook is already utilizing new audiences like these but is actually blending them into the composition of Lookalike audiences rather then explicitly breaking them out as standalone targeting options. Still, advertisers have always leaned on Facebook for transparency and control in audiences, so shielding them doesn’t feel in line with everyone’s priorities.

As we look to the New Year, here’s to crossing our fingers that we’ll all be unwrapping some new Facebook audiences soon!

We're Bamboo, a mobile advertising agency that uses a unique, agile methodology to drive consistent improvements in our clients return on advertising investment. 
Dropbox, Turo, Coursera, HotelTonight, Shyp and more have trusted us with many millions in mobile advertising budget for one simple reason: We are a trusted partner who is the best at what we do.
Learn More: growwithbamboo.com