Facebook launches ‘Partner Categories’ to help brands target specific user groups

Last week, Facebook launched ‘Partner Categories’, a feature that will help brands target Facebook users who are more likely to be interested in their products. The targeting feature will be available for both mobile and desktop ads.

What are ‘Partner Categories’? 

‘Partner Categories’ enables marketers to target their advertisements to a more relevant audience. The feature allows for more refined targeting, as previously marketers could only target based on a user’s data from Facebook.

Facebook has partnered with third-party data companies Acxiom, Datalogix, and Epsilon. The information from these companies will allow brands to target users based on anything from their location, to the products they buy on their desktop and mobile devices.

Brands can target Facebook users through the feature in over 500 different categories (with more to come). Each category contains information including the number of users, their description and spending habits. User’s private information is not shared with brands, who can only see the size of the target audience. 

What will be the impact of ‘Partner Categories’?

‘Partner Categories’ offers brands greater refinement in who they target on Facebook. With the feature, brands will be more likely to make a connection with users who are interested in what they have to offer. Coupled with Facebook’s recent announcement of its expansion of ‘lookalike audiences’, it is clear that Facebook is taking steps to target advertisements to users more likely to connect with the brands. These tools will enable brands to have greater success with their advertisements on Facebook, whilst also building their profile and relationship with existing and potential fans.

More information/helpful reading

Follow this link for more information on ‘Partner Categories’.