The fact that I am taking the time to write a blogpost (even though it is very busy and buzzy here) says enough: I am annoyed 🙁 I am mad at all those advertisers, who think that they have to shoot on a fly with a bazooka on Facebook. While you can target advertisements on Facebook very specifically to the target audience you want to reach, for example by creating custom audiences, or even easier, by using demographic data and/or interests.
Everyone around me knows that I am not a mom, and that I will never ever become one. So it irritates me enormously when I see an advertisement for a BABYSITTING app on Facebook.
While you can select the option ‘parents’ within the ‘detailed audiences’ during the ad setup. You can even opt for ‘expecting’ parents. This is as easy it gets, so why would you bother non-parents like me with irrelevant ads?
Another example… Yes, I confess: I am addicted to Immoweb. So I don’t mind seeing advertisements from Immoweb. But proposing houses for sale in my region (Steenokkerzeel), and then showing me houses in Bredene en Ichtegem, miles away from Steenokkerzeel… Shame on you Immoweb!
And also in this case, the solution was soooooo simple. Targeting on location and then filtering by “People who live here”. Next you can refine the location and play with a radius of for example + 40 kilometres:
These are perfect examples of why it is better to carefully think about your targeting, instead of shooting broadly. Irrelevant ads don’t deliver any results > you throw away your money and it irritates people. By doing so advertising gets a bad name, while advertising can be really useful and effective when it is used correctly.
Of course there are situations in which it is perfectly fine to aim broadly, for example when you want to generate general awareness around something. But make sure that your ad text is correctly adjusted, so the ad is suitable for everyone you show it to. I drive a Volvo, I am 33 years old, and still, I got to see a Facebook ad a while ago, with the message that I could confidently lend my car to my son or daughter, thanks to a special key, which allows you to set a speed limit for example. I don’t mind that they don’t know my car model, because this would require an advanced level of marketing. But if you can count, you know that Volvo either thinks that I am a teenage mother, or they did not carefully consider their targeting set-up … I rest my case ?
Did you also get irritated by irrelevant Facebook ads? Leave a comment, and perhaps we can be annoyed together!