Use Page Post Targeting to increase Facebook engagement

This fall, Facebook rolled out Page Post Targeting, a tool aimed at easing the daunting task of engaging specific segments of a Page’s Facebook followers.

Page Post Targeting is similar to the granular targeting offered by Facebook Ads for some time, with a couple of exceptions.

1. Page Post Targeting is free
2. Posts cannot be targeted based on a user’s listed interests or Likes. That ability remains the sole domain of paid Facebook Ads.

How can I target?

Up until now, Page posts could be targeted by language and location. Now Facebook offers options to target according to:

• Gender (men, women)
• Relationship Status (single, in a relationship, engaged, married)
• Education level (in high school, in college, college grad)
• Interested In (men, women)
• Age (any range between 13 - 65)
• Location (country, state or city)
• Language

You may have to enable this feature in your Facebook account in order to use it. Look for a crosshair symbol in your post creation area. If you don’t see it, go to Edit Page > Manage Permissions. Check the box next to Post Privacy Gating - Allow me to control the privacy of new posts I make on my Page.

What does this mean for me?

Increase your Facebook engagement by providing content relevant to the right groups of followers. We’ve talked about the importance of personas in relation to your website and the same holds true on Facebook as well.

Armed with an understanding of your desired and ideal audience, Page Post Targeting can allow you to create laser-focused posts for Group A and Group B (or C and D) without alienating or inundating any group with content that’s not interesting to them.

What should I be wary of?

There’s no silver bullet, of course. For one, Page Post Targeting is based on self-reported information. There’s no guarantee that your followers have kept their profile data accurate over time or that they even completed entering all of their data in the first place. Say you target two posts - one aimed at women and the other at men. If John Smith never took the time to flag his gender on his profile, he’s missed out on all communication from you entirely.

Secondly, let’s not forget that Facebook is in the business of making money. They offer paid tools (Ads, Promoted Posts, Sponsored Stories) that are going to provide superior targeting capabilities and options. It’s possible Facebook hopes this taste at post targeting will whet your appetite for their paid services.

Regardless of those possible drawbacks, the value of this update is obvious. Consider Page Post Targeting another tool in the marketing arsenal that, when used smartly, will help you more closely connect with your most important audiences.

Related Links:

• Buyer Personas and Marketing Success
• Better Market Targeting Through Buyer Personas

[Image credit: dkwonsh]