Facebook Ads: How Well Do They Really Know You?

Remember in The Social Network when Jesse Eisenberg, aka Mr. Zuckerberg, resisted allowing advertising on the site simply because he wanted to keep it “cool”? Oh the times, they’re always a-changin’.  Wednesday, the social networking giant unveiled its plan to make ads on the site even more highly targeted by partnering with data companies, including Acxiom, Datalogix and Epsilon, that track online and offline buying habits. Although interests shared on Facebook profiles via “Likes” and timeline posts have long aided targeted marketing, in a blog post, the company said, “Now with partner categories, [advertisers] can show ads to people on Facebook based on the products and brands they buy across both desktop and mobile.” What does this mean for your business? This post offered up one example: “A local car dealership can now show ads to people who are likely in the market for a new car who live near the dealership.” This is a win-win for both businesses and consumers; you’re more likely to see more impressive results with targeted ads, as Facebook users are much more likely to express interest in ads that were placed on their homepage specifically for them. As of the Wednesday launch, partner categories include more than 500 unique groups. For example, underneath the umbrella of cereal buyers, business owners can find children’s cereals, fiber cereals and hot cereals. Business owners around the world can revel in Zuckerberg’s inevitable acceptance of advertising on the site, as Facebook marketing will seemingly only continue to become more targeted.