Yesterday we blogged about a new way to target customers within 1 mile of any location. We tested out one of the targeting options to see if it would work. We learned a few things and it also raised several questions.
Facebook has an option where you can target people whose current location suggests they are within 1 mile of the selected location. We created an ad from a recent page post and went to the location to test it out. Once we checked-in on Facebook, we basically sat there and played on our phones and computers until we saw the ad come by. Within :20 minutes, our ad popped up!
This ad was served to anyone whose most recent location is within 1 mile of the selected location. This Ad Set had a budget of $5/day. Here’s the results so far:
When we posted about this new way to target fans in the Nashville Social Media Facebook Group, people had a lot of great questions.
Can Facebook really let you serve ads to people who checked-in at your location?
That one is still a little fuzzy. Here’s what we think: Facebook knows way more about you than you probably think they do- even down to where you currently are. I imagine there’s some giant big screen that contains everyone on Facebook as they’re driving to work each morning. Little dots moving around a map. We feel confident that you are not targeting JUST the people who checked-in to your location but you are at least getting people whose current location suggests they are within 1 mile. This could be people at home, or at another restaurant, driving by or actually dining in at your restaurant. In contrast to what you used to be able to target, being able to market to individuals within 1 mile is pretty cool.
How long will Facebook hold this data?
We also don’t know how long Facebook holds this data for. Is it most recent location for anyone within in the past 1hr? 2hrs? 6hrs? We can probably get a better idea as this ad is served in multiple locations and during different times of the day. We are tracking the numbers each day for the next month to see how they fluctuate. Will they go up and down based on events, festivals, fun-runs ect.
To take things a step further, we used Joe’s Taco Shack in Birmingham, AL as an example.
The ability to show insights within 1 mile of any location is really great news for content creators.
Now you can break down each of the 4 different audience segments (numbered 1-4 below) with different content based on who they are and what they do. Content for group 4 will be totally different than content served to group 2.
Within a 1 mile radius of Joe’s Taco Shack, we found the following between ages 18-65:
57,000 – 1. People whose home or most recent location is in the selected area
16,000 – 2. People whose home is in the selected area
50,000 – 3. People whose most recent location is in the selected area
5,000 – 4. People whose most recent location is in the selected area but their home is more than 100 miles away
<1,000 – People who live in this selected area and are fans of Joe’s Taco Shack
16,000 – People who live in this selected area and are not fans of Joe’s Taco Shack
2,200 – People whose home or most recent location is in this selected area and are fans of Joe’s Taco Shack
55,000 – People whose home or most recent location is in this selected area and are not fans of Joe’s Taco Shack
6,700 – People whose home or most recent location is in this selected area and they are fans of University of Alabama
3,500 – People whose home or most recent location is in this selected area and they are fans of University of Georgia
5,000 – People whose home or most recent location is in this selected area and are currently enrolled at University of Alabama-Birmingham
500 – People whose home or most recent location is in this selected area and are currently enrolled at any college in the Birmingham area and are not fans of Joe’s Taco Shack
We’re excited to continue to test out different advertising and content methods within Facebook. Now that you have seen some results, what questions do you have? Hit the contact us button below to get your questions answered.
