Eliminated Targeting Options

Eliminated TARGETING OPTIONS:

On March 17, 2022 Meta is going to be removing a lot of interests in the detailed targeting section at the ad set level. Here’s what they had to say about the update:

“We will remove Detailed Targeting options that relate to topics people may perceive as sensitive, such as options referencing causes, organizations, or public figures that relate to health, race or ethnicity, political affiliation, religion, or sexual orientation. Examples include:

• Health causes (e.g., “Lung cancer awareness”, “World Diabetes”, “Chemotherapy”)

• Sexual orientation (e.g., “same-sex marriage” and “LGBT culture”)

• Religious practices and groups (e.g., “Catholic Church” and “Jewish holidays”)

• Political beliefs, social issues, causes, organizations, and figures

We routinely review, update and remove targeting options to simplify our ads system, provide more value for advertisers and people, and reduce the potential for abuse.” 

OK, so now what do we do?
Well, they are encouraging advertisers to rely on the algorithm to find the right people. This means we need to go more broad with our targeting and let the algorithm do its job. Ad copy will be more important than ever to really speak to your ideal client.  

Here are some things you should do to start preparing for this change: 

• First, review your audiences to see which ones will be discontinued. Here’s a video to show you how to find those.
  

• Continue researching other Facebook pages where your ideal clients might be hanging out online. Think broader and more general - books they read, conferences they attend, stores they shop at, authors they follow, foods they eat, etc.. I use a program called Connectio Audiences to help me. You can learn about the products they sell here. (Not an affiliate, I just like the program!) 
  

• BANT (AKA God Mode): BANT stands for “Broad Audience, No Targeting.”  Yep, that’s right. Just pop in the countries you want to target and let the ad fly! No interests, specific genders, age or anything! Scary, huh??
  

• Lookalike Audiences - I would suggest starting with Lookalikes of people who’ve engaged with your Facebook or Instagram page. Why? Because these aren’t affected by the pixel so people who are engaging with posts on your pages are ‘real’ and ‘currently active’  for lack of a better phrase. So, if you have an active page, try a Lookalike of People who’ve engaged with your Instagram profile in the last 30 days. 

Hope these tips were helpful. Try not to worry too much about these changes. Facebook will never stop making changes to the platform so we have to roll with the punches. I do know they don’t want to lose us, so they will find other ways to help us hone in on the audiences we’re looking for.