When targeting new audiences on Facebook, most brands will use lookalike audiences taken from datasets such as email lists or custom audiences.

After Facebook works its magic, what you’re left with is million of potential prospects who have some type of similarity with your customers.

To further optimize your lookalike audiences (to reduce costs and increase conversions),  you should combine them with certain interests and demographic targeting to streamline your audience and churn the highest ROI possible.

Which interests should you target?

Facebook recently introduced a number of cool detailed targeting options that you’ll be able to use in the coming months to optimize your ad sets, and I’ve listed them all below.

Back To School

In 2015, the back to school industry was said to be worth $68 billion, with the average family spending $97.74 on school supplies:

picture_1.png

(Source)

Whether you sell stationary, backpacks, laptops, gadgets or clothing that children and college students need, the next few months can increase your business’s revenue if you strategize correctly.

What new detailed targeting features can you use to zoom in on this audience? Here’s the newest additions on Facebook:

You can combine the options above with demographics to find parents who have children in different age groups to lock in some of that $68 billion for your business:

 

picture_2.png

NFL And Baseball Season

The NFL season is about to start on September 9th and it’s never been a more profitable time to align your business with the sport.

According to NBC, 34 of American’s 35 most-watched fall TV shows were all NFL games.

Whether you sell sports memorabilia, run a restaurant or bar showing live games or a local business selling stuff that has nothing to do with the NFL or baseball, just by associating your local team in your ads can see an immediate uplift in clicks.

Here’s the latest detailed targeting for NFL and Baseball:

NFL:

MLB World Series:

 US elections

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past several months, not a day goes by without some media outlet discussing the US election.

Regardless of your business’s political stance, you can now use Facebook to target users by party affiliation:

While a great interest to target, unlike going back to school or the NFL/MSB season options, I don’t advise mentioning too much about the your brand’s party affiliation as it can do more harm than good.

Quality Score do a great job of using this trending topic to their advantage without pledging their support to either party:

picture_pre.png

Summer Sports

With summer hot on our heels, events such as the PGA masters, Rio Olympics and NFL season ahead, you can now target Facebook users by specific events, sports and even broadcasting networks:

Sports and TV:

 If you plan to get creative with your ad copies and make references to sports or TV shows (Games Of Thones style ads has been very popluar this year) in your ad copies, using the targeting parameters above will let you deliver your message with greater impact.

Labor Day

Labor day and the days leading up to it are huge for eCommerce brands.

It’s estimated that Americans consume 7 billion hot-dogs between Memorial Day and Labor day (sadly you can’t target users by hot-dog consumption on Facebook…yet!).

But you can target them based on several other interests such as new vehicles they are looking for, top tier spenders, family vacations and gifts and party supplies.

You can find the full list below:

Labor Day:

 Automotion targeting;

Over 34 million Americans travelled during Labor day in 2013 giving businesses in the hospitality sector plenty of ideas for targeting and campaigns ideas.

Upcoming Holiday Seasons

The last few months of the year are when most brands really start to scale their ads and increase their spend

With holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas creeping round the corner, this is the quarter where your brand must start pumping up its marketing to take advantage of the money being spent.

Online shoppers spent more than $4.45 billion in 2015 during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving, with parents being the number #1 buyers:

picture_3.jpg

(Source)

In the UK, Black Friday to Cyber Monday also generated over £3 billion (yes billion) in sales:

picture_4.png

(Source)

Here’s the new detailed targeting options you should use when looking for customers in the upcoming holiday seasons:

Halloween:

Thanksgiving:

Black Friday/Cyber Monday:

Holiday:

Summary

To make full  use of any of the new targeting features above, combine your detailed targeted interests with your ads like Quality to increase their relevance with users.

If you’re a bar showing every NFL game this season, mention the name or show the logo of NFL teams closest to your city to make your ads’ more relevant to users.

Selling laptops or backpacks? Then call out moms in your headlines emphasizing the time and money they can save ordering online today.

Doing your very own Black Friday sale? Then leverage leads ads and tell users to opt-in so they can receive your special Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers straight to their inbox.

To make the most of Facebook’s new targeting options, get creative with your ads to stop users mid-scroll, and get them to take action.

How will you be using these new detailed targeting options?

MuteSix is now part of the Lunar Solar Group! Learn more about the future of MuteSix here.

Digital Marketing

Increase Conversions in Q4 by Using These Seasonal Detailed Targeting Options

8 min read

Brian Hettler •

Back to Articles

When targeting new audiences on Facebook, most brands will use lookalike audiences taken from datasets such as email lists or custom audiences.

After Facebook works its magic, what you’re left with is million of potential prospects who have some type of similarity with your customers.

To further optimize your lookalike audiences (to reduce costs and increase conversions),  you should combine them with certain interests and demographic targeting to streamline your audience and churn the highest ROI possible.

Which interests should you target?

Facebook recently introduced a number of cool detailed targeting options that you’ll be able to use in the coming months to optimize your ad sets, and I’ve listed them all below.

Back To School

In 2015, the back to school industry was said to be worth $68 billion, with the average family spending $97.74 on school supplies:

picture_1.png

(Source)

Whether you sell stationary, backpacks, laptops, gadgets or clothing that children and college students need, the next few months can increase your business’s revenue if you strategize correctly.

What new detailed targeting features can you use to zoom in on this audience? Here’s the newest additions on Facebook:

  • DLX Seasonal > Fall Seasonal > Back to School Shoppers – Kids under 12
  • DLX Seasonal > Fall Seasonal > Back to School Shoppers – Teens
  • VisaVue Audiences > Back to School > Apparel > Seasonal Shoppers
  • DLX Seasonal > Fall Seasonal > Kids Lunchbox Packers
  • VisaVue Audiences > Back to School > School Supplies > Seasonal Shoppers

You can combine the options above with demographics to find parents who have children in different age groups to lock in some of that $68 billion for your business:

 

picture_2.png

NFL And Baseball Season

The NFL season is about to start on September 9th and it’s never been a more profitable time to align your business with the sport.

According to NBC, 34 of American’s 35 most-watched fall TV shows were all NFL games.

Whether you sell sports memorabilia, run a restaurant or bar showing live games or a local business selling stuff that has nothing to do with the NFL or baseball, just by associating your local team in your ads can see an immediate uplift in clicks.

Here’s the latest detailed targeting for NFL and Baseball:

NFL:

  • DLX TV powered by TRA > Sports Events > NFL Draft
  • DLX TV powered by TRA > Sports Events > NFL Super Bowl
  • DLX TV powered by TRA > TV Shows > Sunday Night Football
  • DLX Seasonal > Fall Seasonal > Football Fans

MLB World Series:

  • DLX TV powered by TRA > Sports Events > MLB World Series
  • DLX Seasonal > Summer Seasonal > MLB baseball fans 

 US elections

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past several months, not a day goes by without some media outlet discussing the US election.

Regardless of your business’s political stance, you can now use Facebook to target users by party affiliation:

  • Politics (US) > Party affiliation > Registered Democrats
  • Politics (US) > Party affiliation > Registered Republicans

While a great interest to target, unlike going back to school or the NFL/MSB season options, I don’t advise mentioning too much about the your brand’s party affiliation as it can do more harm than good.

Quality Score do a great job of using this trending topic to their advantage without pledging their support to either party:

picture_pre.png

Summer Sports

With summer hot on our heels, events such as the PGA masters, Rio Olympics and NFL season ahead, you can now target Facebook users by specific events, sports and even broadcasting networks:

Sports and TV:

  • DLX Lifestyles > Sports Fans
  • DLX Seasonal > Winter Seasonal > Winter Olympics followers
  • Purchase behavior > Sports and outdoors > Golf and tennis
  • comScore TV > Network > Sports Networks > Tennis Channel
  • DLX Seasonal > Summer Seasonal > Golf lovers
  • DLX TV powered by TRA > Sports Events > PGA Masters
  • comScore TV > Network > Sports Networks > Golf Channel
  • comScore TV > Network > Sports Networks > CBS Sports Network
  • comScore TV > Network > Broadcast Networks > CBS
  • comScore TV > Network > Broadcast Networks > ABC
  • comScore TV > Network > Broadcast Networks > NBC

 If you plan to get creative with your ad copies and make references to sports or TV shows (Games Of Thones style ads has been very popluar this year) in your ad copies, using the targeting parameters above will let you deliver your message with greater impact.

Labor Day

Labor day and the days leading up to it are huge for eCommerce brands.

It’s estimated that Americans consume 7 billion hot-dogs between Memorial Day and Labor day (sadly you can’t target users by hot-dog consumption on Facebook…yet!).

But you can target them based on several other interests such as new vehicles they are looking for, top tier spenders, family vacations and gifts and party supplies.

You can find the full list below:

Labor Day:

  • DLX Seasonal > Summer Seasonal > Patriotic Americans
  • DLX CPG Brands > Meat & seafood buyers > Meat > Ball Park
  • Purchase behavior > Purchase types > Gifts and party supplies
  • Purchase Behavior > Alcohol beverage buyers > Domestic beer
  • DLX Seasonal > Summer Seasonal > Outdoor entertainers
  • Travel > Family vacations 
  • DLX Seasonal > Summer Seasonal > Big grillers
  • MasterCard > Seasonal > Top Tier Spender > Pool Supplies

 Automotion targeting;

  • Automotive powered by Polk > New vehicle shoppers (In market) > Style > Full-size sedan
  • Automotive powered by Polk > New vehicle shoppers (In market) > Style > Midsize car
  • Automotive powered by Polk > New vehicle shoppers (In market) > Style > Small/midsize SUV
  • Automotive powered by Polk > New vehicle shoppers (In market) > Style > Full-size SUV
  • Automotive powered by Polk > New vehicle shoppers (In market) > Style > Economy/compact
  • Automotive powered by Polk > New vehicle shoppers (In market) > Style > Pickup truck

Over 34 million Americans travelled during Labor day in 2013 giving businesses in the hospitality sector plenty of ideas for targeting and campaigns ideas.

Upcoming Holiday Seasons

The last few months of the year are when most brands really start to scale their ads and increase their spend

With holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas creeping round the corner, this is the quarter where your brand must start pumping up its marketing to take advantage of the money being spent.

Online shoppers spent more than $4.45 billion in 2015 during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving, with parents being the number #1 buyers:

picture_3.jpg

(Source)

In the UK, Black Friday to Cyber Monday also generated over £3 billion (yes billion) in sales:

picture_4.png

(Source)

Here’s the new detailed targeting options you should use when looking for customers in the upcoming holiday seasons:

Halloween:

  • DLX Seasonal > Fall Seasonal > Halloween Costume Buyers
  • DLX Seasonal > Fall Seasonal > Halloween Candy Buyers 
  • DLX CPG Brands > Candy buyers > Candy > Hershey’s Milk Chocolate 
  • DLX CPG Brands > Candy buyers > Candy > M&M’s 
  • DLX CPG Brands > Candy buyers > Candy > Hershey’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup 
  • DLX CPG Brands > Candy buyers > Candy > Snickers 

Thanksgiving:

  • DLX Seasonal > Fall Seasonal > Thanksgiving Holiday Cooks
  • DLX Seasonal > Winter Seasonal > Holiday Entertainers

Black Friday/Cyber Monday:

  • DLX Seasonal > Fall Seasonal > Black Friday / Cyber Monday Shoppers
  • VisaVue Audiences > Black Friday / Cyber Monday > Big Box & Club Stores > Seasonal Shoppers 
  • VisaVue Audiences > Black Friday / Cyber Monday > Online Shoppers > Seasonal Shoppers

Holiday:

  • DLX Seasonal > Winter Seasonal > HolidayEntertainers
  • DLX Seasonal > Winter Seasonal > Post-Holiday Bargain Shoppers 
  • DLX Seasonal > Winter Seasonal > Top Holiday Spenders 
  • DLX Seasonal > Winter Seasonal > Price Conscious Holiday Shoppers 
  • VisaVue Audiences > Holiday Shoppers > Big Box & Club Stores > Seasonal Shoppers 
  • VisaVue Audiences > Holiday Shoppers > Luxury Department Stores > Seasonal Shoppers 
  • VisaVue Audiences > Holiday Shoppers > Consumer Electronics > Seasonal Shoppers 
  • VisaVue Audiences > Holiday Shoppers > Department Stores > Seasonal Shoppers 
  • VisaVue Audiences > Holiday Shoppers > Children’s Stores > Seasonal Shoppers 
  • VisaVue Audiences > Holiday Shoppers > Apparel > Seasonal Spenders

Summary

To make full  use of any of the new targeting features above, combine your detailed targeted interests with your ads like Quality to increase their relevance with users.

If you’re a bar showing every NFL game this season, mention the name or show the logo of NFL teams closest to your city to make your ads’ more relevant to users.

Selling laptops or backpacks? Then call out moms in your headlines emphasizing the time and money they can save ordering online today.

Doing your very own Black Friday sale? Then leverage leads ads and tell users to opt-in so they can receive your special Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers straight to their inbox.

To make the most of Facebook’s new targeting options, get creative with your ads to stop users mid-scroll, and get them to take action.

How will you be using these new detailed targeting options?

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