Getting content to “go viral” is not a simple process, no matter what advertising might lead you to believe. You do not just write content and sit back waiting for it to magically bring you great results. Often, you must push that content out to the public in order to ensure that people actually get to see it.
In this regard, Facebook advertising may be a great way to get your content out to viewers. One of the advantages of working with Facebook as opposed to other forms of advertising is that you can use this social media platform to fine-tune the details of your target audience. This allows you much greater flexibility in using your advertising budget to reach the people you really want to reach.
Reaching Out With Facebook: Identifying your Targets
Just a cursory glance at Facebook’s targeting choices includes location for geographic profiling, gender, age, language group, relationship status, education level, job title, interest and behavior. These demographic and personal identifiers already help you target audiences 90 percent better than many platforms. However, you can dig much deeper to determine your true target audience.
Choosing a Custom Audience
Your content can go out to a very targeted audience by defining exactly who it is you would like to see your advertising. Custom audiences include those who are already engaged with your brand and who are more likely to be interested in what you are promoting.
You can choose a number of ways to define a custom audience on Facebook, including data files, MailChimp, mobile apps and your website. Each type of audience builder chooses from among those who have performed certain actions like signing up for a mailing list, downloading an app or visiting your website in the past.
Building Lookalike Audiences
While custom audiences generated from your own lists are helpful, you may also want a lookalike audience. This means that you find customers who are similar to those you have listed but are not already engaged with your brand.
Facebook has a proprietary methodology for dealing with these types of situations, but it is obviously based on demographics, interests and what a person “likes.”
By using Facebook to promote your content, your advertising budget may be well-spent. You will find that your content is targeted more specifically, reaching the customers or clients to whom you want to send your message.