How Do Facebook And Instagram Read Your Mind?

This news is slightly related to what we’re talking about today, which is ad targeting. As a frequent online shopper and social media user, I have at times noticed eerily pointed ads that seem like it would be impossible for them to know about me. Has Instagram been reading my diary? How would they know I’m craving Pacific Cooler Capri Sun right this second? While I can’t guarantee that Mark Zuckerberg isn’t a cyborg with surveillance chips installed on all of our devices, I will explain the (not-scary) everyday basics of ad targeting.

Advertisers can use an abundance of user data stored on sites like Facebook and Google, which offer their own advertising services (Google Adwords, Facebook Ads, sponsored posts).

Facebook ads allow you to target users based on:
Location
Age
Gender
Interests
Connections
Relationship Status
Languages
Education
Workplaces
Income

You are also probably familiar with ‘cookies’ on your web browser, which can track how you interact with different websites. This is why an ad for a pair of shoes you were looking at online can show up on an entirely different website after you have already exited the shoe page.

Instagram is the second most popular social media. It is also owned by Facebook, but remains its own separate entity with different features and benefits in regards to social media marketing. Instagram draws a slightly different audience, being a newer and more visual based platform. Businesses (or regular users) have the ability to create a sponsored post, which will be shown in potential customers’ feeds and link to your profile and website. Many brands also work with ‘influencers’, or users with a lot of followers that can feature your product on their page to advertise to everyone in their following.

The most important thing to remember with social media marketing is that the foundation is quality content. You can sink a lot of ad dollars into circulating your post or advertisement, but if it’s not interesting or relatable consumers won’t click and continue following your business. Try to maintain a consistent brand image throughout your social media profiles and websites, both through messaging and images. Positive engagement (likes, comments, mentions, follows) is a sign that people are connecting with your product or service, which eventually turns into customer loyalty and sales.

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Why we need more than empathy to design meaningful experiences

James Lukezic has over 20 years of experience as a retirement consultant and financial analyst for large corporations. Some of the companies James Lukezic has worked for include Merrill Lynch…