Your family may not look at the same content on Facebook but they may soon be seeing the same advertisement. Creepy-feeling? Maybe, but not that far removed from the niche targeted advertising we’ve already become accustomed to. Facebook already allows advertiser the distinct advantage of spending their advertising dollars based on profile interests targeting someone who is likely already interested in their product….and now they are offering the ability to advertise to the entire household.
How does Facebook do this?
Facebook utilizes its vast data to consider relationships people declare on Facebook profiles, if they share the same last name, home locations, Facebook activities like life events, check-ins and even where people login to the internet from to determine potential households. Advertisers can then match that with already hyper-niched advertising options Facebook offers.
Taking it one step further, Facebook even offers the ability to exclude households that may have already purchased a particular product, making them less likely to need another one (i.e. A family that has recently purchased a home security system is less likely to need another one).
The feature is yet another example of digital platforms like Facebook pulling advertising dollars away from television networks, which previously has been how you advertisers show the same ads to the same household at the same time.
How would Advertisers take advantage of this new feature?
By utilizing family targeting, a travel advertiser could focus campaigns on each member of a household, helping to enhance awareness of a specific offer or destination. Family members in a household may also share similar interests or already be discussing purchasing something for the same upcoming event. Imagine a larger brand taking the opportunity to increase awareness of their brand by promoting household products each particular member of the family – if all members are seeing similar ads for the same brand, they could be more likely to lean towards a particular brand or offer.
The new audience targeting comes shortly after Facebook introduced video capabilities for its Dynamic Ads product, which allows advertisers to move beyond only utilizing static images that have only been allowed in the past….According to Facebook, 30% of mobile shoppers prefer to discover products through video. That number is likely to increase as the option becomes the more of the norm.
To offer this new audience targeting, Facebook is also adding more data on the number of households reached, with a new suite of household measurement insights in Ads Reporting that show how Facebook campaigns drive results across various household members.
Per Facebook:
“These metrics provide information on how many households are reached by advertising and at what frequency. They will allow businesses to better attribute conversions that occur within a household and understand how Facebook ads may impact the conversion behavior of various household members, not just the person seeing the ad.”
So, the next time your sitting around the dinner table and you and your family have the same great idea to go Disney World for the family vacay, it may be less of a coincidence then you think!
Over the next several months Digital Tulip will be testing this new feature, and working with Facebook to learn how to best take advantage of this new feature and reporting for our clients. Contact us to learn more.
