Meta Targeting in 2022

It is no secret that large corporations like Meta, Google, and Amazon have access to an alarming amount of their users' information that they can use down the line in targeting later down the line. The most notorious for gathering data and using it in targeting efforts down the line is Meta. Meta, previously known as Facebook Inc., just came to a $90 Million settlement that forced the media giant to sequester and delete user data that was collected between April 2010 and September 2011.

Since this lawsuit came to be and concerns around Meta's usage of data began to hit mainstream media, Apple put in place stronger data privacy protection on all devices using iOS 14 or later. The biggest change with the data privacy update is based around App Tracking Transparency (ATT). This requires developers to ask for and receive your permission before an app accesses your random advertising identifier, which is used to track your activity across apps and websites! Unless permission is granted from the user to enable tracking, the device's advertising identifier value won't appear and can't be tracked. You have probably seen this pop up on your screen!

If you select the Ask App not to Track option, this means that your information will not be tracked as you explore other sites or apps. The corporations that are probably the most affected by the privacy update are Google and Meta, as their advertising platforms have options that rely heavily on tracking codes to later retarget visitors of certain pages.

If you're advertising on Facebook and use event tracking, retargeting, and lookalike audiences, then you have definitely felt the effect of the iOS update. While advertisers are still able to use retargeting strategies for users that allow Facebook to track activity across other companies' apps and website, more marketing dollars will have to be spent to mimic the results that advertisers were seeing pre-update.

At Hyperchat Social, we pride ourselves on being experts in all things Meta. While the limitations around retargeting are not ideal, there are still ways to reach a target audience that is familiar with your brand.

Customer List

On the Facebook advertising platform, there are quite a few options for custom audiences. It is essential to take advantage of the data and information that you do have, especially with the newfound limitations around the Facebook Pixel. If you are like most business owners, you have probably built up a pretty sizable email list from past lead generation efforts, your online newsletter, or from the form fills on your website.

To begin retargeting your email list, you will need to be in Audience Manager on Facebook. When you begin creating a new audience, you'll select Custom Audience > Customer List. From there, you will simply upload your audience list in a CSV format. Facebook will then work to match the emails provided to profiles on the platform.

Once you have the customer list as an audience within Facebook, you can target the list directly on the platform. Facebook also gives you the ability to create a lookalike audience using the email list. This means that once Facebook has matched the emails to users on the platform, a lookalike audience will find those that have similar interests and characteristics to your current email list. This is a great opportunity for brands to expand their reach to an ideal target market.

Retargeting on Engagement

There are more creative ways to reengage users that are familiar with your brand than relying on Facebook Pixel tracked traffic. The Facebook platform also gives advertisers the ability to retarget users who have performed different actions on their page. In Meta world, this is called a Dynamic Audience.

This option also lies within the Custom Audience section as well. To begin retargeting your email list, you will need to be in Audience Manager on Facebook. When you begin creating a new audience, you'll select Custom Audience > Engagement. Facebook gives you the option to retarget video views, lead form submissions, instant experiences, shopping actions, Instagram activity, event registrations and more.

Lookalike Audiences

One of the best tools we have at our disposal as advertisers on Facebook is the Lookalike audience option. A lookalike audience is a way your ads can reach new people who are likely to be interested in your business because they share similar characteristics to your existing customers. When you create your lookalike audience, you can use a percent range to choose how closely you want your new audience to match your source audience. The percentage you choose depends on your goals. Smaller percentages more closely match your source audience, but larger percentages create a bigger, broader audience.

You have the option to create lookalike audiences from any custom audience that you have built. This includes existing website traffic you have successfully captured, past engagements on your page, and even your custom email list.

If you'd like to take a hands off approach to your advertising, that's what we are here for! Click below to schedule a free consultation to start Turning Social Into Sales!