Where to start?
Using the example below, I will show you how to create adverts that can reach the right people using Facebook’s interest targeting.
PS: If you have questions or want further explanation on any aspect, please click here to send me a WhatsApp message
Let’s dive in.
What Is Interest Targeting — And How Does Facebook See You?
Facebook collects a lot of people’s data and can target your adverts to people based on their interests. Here’s a screenshot of how interest targeting works:
See a Practical Example – A Bike Shop
Let’s assume that the business that you want to promote on Facebook is a bicycle store operating out of New York City. You sell anything related to bicycles and biking gear.
Here is what your perfect customer could look like:
Great! We know that your ideal customers are bike lovers. Now it’s time to get started with identifying them on Facebook.
Step 1 – Get Your Toolbox Ready
- Go to your Facebook ads manager (I assume you have one already)
- Click the menu button in the upper left and click Facebook Audience Insights and click “everyone on Facebook”.
- This free but powerful Facebook tool gives you insights and suggestions about the people on Facebook.
Open Excel or Microsoft Word and create a table just like the one below.
Step 2 – Research – Extremely Important
You will need to research and fill the columns in the document you just created. This will help you target the right audience.
Let’s go through this step by step together.
Open up Google search and type in: “bicycle magazine” (use your product category instead of bicycle).
This will show you with a list of results
- Now, open up every search result that looks like a magazine, then visit their website.
- Look for their Facebook page
- Type or copy the link to their Facebook page in a notepad or separate document. At this point, don’t insert in the excel document. This comes later.
- Continue doing that until you have an extensive list of magazines site’s Facebook pages.
Next up, repeat this same process for companies, local stores or any kind of eCommerce product.
Here are some keyword combinations you can try in Google (insert your product instead of bicycle)
- Bicycle online shop
- Buy bicycles in Lagos
- Bike store in Nigeria
- Bike store on Amazon
- Bicycle supplies online
- Popular bicycle stores
Again, look for the Facebook pages of each store or website and type them in your notepad.
Here’s an example:
Then, repeat this same process with websites and public figures (popular people). In the bicycle world, public figures can be athletes, bike stuntmen or some “pimp my bike” types. So, just look for popular people that your potential customers might follow.
See an example below;
Use Facebook Search
You can also use Facebook search to get more options.
Type “Bicycle Magazine” into your Facebook search and then filter by “pages” and type down the names of the Facebook pages that you find. Remeber to replace “Bicycle” with your own product.
Repeat this process for shops, websites and public figures, just like you did with Google search.
Here are some search terms you can try:
- Bicycle athlete
- Bike store
- Bicycle & equipment
- Bicycle events
Step 3 – Analyze Your Findings with the Audience Insights Tool
At this point, you will have a huge list sorted by magazines, companies, websites and public figures. Now it’s time to open the audience insights tool as shown above.
If you have questions or want further explanation on any aspect, please click here to send me a WhatsApp message