Conducting research may not sound like an enjoyable task.
In fact, if you’ve never dabbled in social media research before, you may have nightmarish flashbacks to your undergraduate research methods course. Fortunately, this is an area that our team is well versed in. From the onboarding of a new client, to developing a strategy for an advertising campaign, we believe in digging into the analytics and information available on our potential audiences before moving forward.
Analyzing audience demographics and psychographics from Facebook’s Audience Insights tool allows brands to make educated guesses as to what content will resonate with their targeted audience.
[ctt template=”3″ link=”ce07n” via=”yes” ]Of all 18 year old Facebook users in the U.S., 60% of the audience solely use mobile devices to access the platform. #parachutemedia @parachutemedia.co[/ctt]
Here are 3 of the areas we analyze when conducting preliminary research, and how our clients have benefitted as a result.
1. Demographics
The first tab on the Insights page allows you to quickly analyze information about your selected audience. From age and gender, to job and relationship status, this basic information can be beneficial to your advertising strategy.
For our client Bart Durham Injury Law, an area of their practice is (surprise), workplace injuries. We had the idea of targeting by job title, specifically industries that had an increased chance of being injured while on the job (think: construction worker, plumber, or electrician). By searching for users in the area with those job titles listed, we were quickly able to see that these blue collar industries have a heavy presence on the platform.
For Facebook users that have a job title in the construction industry, 79% of the 4-4.5 million monthly active users are male. A possible advertising A/B test that could be conducted is to see how females respond to the messaging versus males.
2. Activity
While the activity tab may not feature as many sections as the other areas, we frequently use this portion of Insights to see how different audiences access Facebook. It may seem simple, but by seeing which platform they use to access most, you can change the bidding of your advertisements to cater to that specific platform, which can also help you keep in mind the optimization of the content used in your ads. Plus, why spend all of your ad money on desktop right column ads if 60% of your audience is on mobile?
Of all 18 year old Facebook users in the U.S., 60% of the audience solely use mobile devices to access the platform, valuable information for businesses such as universities looking to target potential students to apply for admission.
Conversely, it’s false to assume that everyone uses their phone to access Facebook. Have you considered the 9-5’ers in your audience that are scrolling through their newsfeed while they drink their morning coffee at their desk? Try maximizing your ad spend by testing ads to these audiences on a schedule by platform – that is, catering to their activity and behaviors on Facebook by serving ads on specific platforms at different times of the day.
3. Household
The household section on Insights features a variety of information, from household income, to family size and spending methods. When conducting research for Churchill Mortgage, we utilized the home ownership section to identify audiences to target with their messaging. By identifying times in an individual’s life when a mortgage company may be needed, we were able to use Insights to confirm the probability that they would resonate with their messaging.
For instance, 43% of users who are recently engaged are renters, whereas by the time they change their Facebook status to “married”, 80% are homeowners. By capturing the attention of these users during this crucial period, you increase your brand’s likelihood of gaining new business.
Still wondering if dedicating time to research is worth it for your business? Don’t know where to begin? No worries. Shoot us a message to get the ball rolling.
