As “noisy” as Facebook is the social media geniuses behind this networking leviathan is extremely hush-hush when it releases updates. The next day you wake up, its privacy setting has changed. The next time you access your account, you’re greeted by a fresh ‘Timeline’ user interface. Such major changes were all carried out in utmost silence – for whatever reason nobody knows.
This slithery quality of Facebook prompts social media agencies to be always on their toes – on the lookout for the latest updates that can affect their campaigns. Just recently, Facebook introduce ever so quietly the Custom Audiences feature. As the its name suggests, Facebook Custom Audiences enables social media marketing companies to target their ads towards specific individuals based on their email addresses, Facebook usernames and phone numbers.
For the true blue social media agencies and marketers who appreciate the value of reach as well as market specificity, this new tool satisfies both criteria.
Setting up Custom Audiences
All social media marketing companies who would want to incorporate Custom Audiences into their Facebook ad campaigns should make sure that they have power editor up and running. There’s a step-by-step process on how to do this.
Next, you have to agree to the terms and conditions of the feature. First, go to the Custom Audiences tab in your Facebook ad account. The tab can be found in the middle of Page Posts and Funding Sources. Take note that only the account administrator can accept the terms and conditions.
After this, you’re ready to use the Custom Audiences feature. The initial thing social media agencies need to do is to select a name for that particular audience. The next step is to upload a CSV or TXT file with one entry per line containing the information of the individuals you want to target. Again, you have to select from email addresses, phone number and Facebook IDs. There are things to keep in mind when creating your TXT or CSV file in terms of information format:
• Phone numbers should in numerical characters only and should include the country code and the area code
• Facebook IDs should be entered as numbers
• Email addresses should have the format name@emailprovider.com (i.e. user@gmail.com )
Uploading this list is usually a breeze, but it can also take a few minutes depending on the size of the file. What takes relatively long is disseminating your ads to your “audience members.” You may want to check in after a few hours to see that your ads have been fully propagated.
Once you have this set-up, you can either add or exclude a member from your audience. If you’re using Facebook Ad Manager, you can only add but not exclude.
Amplifying the Value of Your “List”
Social media agencies and other internet marketers are always emphasizing the importance of a list – be it in email marketing or customer service. This new feature launched by Facebook solidifies the business case on why brands with online presence should strive to build this list. Undeniably, targeted ads can produce higher ROI and are cost efficient.
Leave a Reply