Facebook Marketing: 4 Crucial Demographic Metrics

Over the last 10 years, Facebook has quickly become a platform that businesses can use for digital advertising thanks to its data targeting options and constantly-increasing user base.

However, even with this expansive list of options, businesses continue to fail to see results from their ad efforts on Facebook. Many businesses focus on reach, which is an essential metric; however, it is just as important to make certain that you are connecting with the proper audience rather than the largest audience.

What exactly does this mean? Essentially, it means that you need to focus on getting your demographic targeting just right.

For every advertising campaign, demographic targeting is something that is crucial. With Facebook, it is more important due to the fact that CPMs are exceedingly high. Facebook tends to charge pretty high advertising costs since advertisers have the ability to narrow down their audience. If you fail to utilize those targeting options, then you are essentially throwing money away.

More than likely, you are probably targeting your users by their age, gender and interests. These are typical demographic targeting options that you should use in every one of your campaigns. However, these options are not all you should be focusing on and are not enough for complete success.

In fact, here are four other demographic metrics that you should focus on as well:

1. Income

Probably one of the most commonly overlooked demographic targeting options, income is an option that you need to add to your list and is actually one of the most important.

So, why is this? Think about this for a moment. If you are selling premier items and you are advertising to individuals that are unable to afford your company's services, then they are unable to provide any value to your brand. However, on the other hand, if you price your products at a more affordable price, you will likely be able to generate more of a response from consumers by pitching to households of a lower income.

Therefore, when analyzing buyer profiles, it is critical that you estimate income.

2. Life Events

When it comes to buying decisions, the one thing that can almost always impact a person's choices is a major life event. Some social experts say that this is their favorite demographic targeting feature. Everyone likes to share big events that happen in their lives on Facebook, from graduating school, getting engaged/married, or getting pregnant/having a child.

This particular type of targeting is very popular for wedding planners and businesses that sell baby products; however, this doesn't mean that other companies can't put it to use as well. For example, real estate agents can use it to target consumers who have recently gotten engaged or married since they'll be more inclined to make a home purchase.

3. Buyer Behavior

There are three broad targeting options for advertising listed on Facebook, and one of them is buyer behavior. Often, it is the most expensive one due to the fact that it is no influential on conversions.

Now, there are many ways in which you can target a user by their behavior, including the following:

• Online activities
• Automotive purchases
• Residential profiles
• Financial decisions
• Charitable donations

Then, within each of the aforementioned categories, there are even more targeting options. For example, within the "Financial decisions" category, you can target consumers based on their level of frugality and investing decisions.

So, if you have luxury products that you sell, you probably want to attract consumers that make purchases on a whim (also known as impulse purchases/decisions) and aren't worried about the balance of their checking accounts. However, if you have economically-priced products that you sell, you probably want to attract customers that live a more frugal lifestyle (penny-pinchers).

4. Residential Profiles

Similar to income, residential profiles are yet another commonly overlooked demographic targeting feature that can have a significant impact on your campaign. To develop a residential profile, you need to ask a few questions, such as these:

• Are your target customers renters or homeowners?
• Are they living in suburban or rural areas?
• What kind of home are your target customers living in?

These specific targeting options can tell you a tremendous amount about your target customers personality and lifestyle, which is a roundabout way to target your users based on financial status without breaking yourself on high CPMs.

Go Above and Beyond the Basic and Obvious Demographic Targeting Options

Just about every single Facebook advertiser will focus on targeting users by age, gender and interests. While it is true that these specific targeting options are indeed necessary, it is imperative that you go into deeper detail so that you campaign can locate the most appropriate users.

Focus on expanding your horizons. Think outside of the box. Go above and beyond. You can do this by testing the waters with other demographic targeting options and features. In doing so, you will likely see an increasing in your conversion rates because you will have a much better understanding of your overall target audience.

For more information on Facebook marketing or assistance in getting your campaign up and running, give us a call or shoot us an e-mail at WebDetail.