Facebook recently released partner categories, a massive extension of its targeting options based on offline transaction data from three of the biggest names in the data business: Datalogix, Acxiom, and Epsilon. These third-party data companies provide segments that reach groups ranging from purchase habits of consumer packaged goods to insurance buyers and lifestyle targeting, such as “Fit Moms” and “Spa Mavens.”
Five years from now, Graph Search will have won the search war. Not because it’s going to have better algorithms than Google, or have better reviews than Yelp or Foursquare; but because unlike those services Facebook is a platform and not a provider. The future value of Graph Search is only going to be as strong as the providers that utilize Open Graph.
Facebook’s new targeting feature, partner categories, will help marketers reach relevant consumers. Partner categories enable Ampush to hyper-target users based on stores frequented, items purchased, and spending behaviors. Partner categories leverage data from almost every US household with more than $1 trillion in consumer transactions.
The recent announcement of Facebook Home has the potential to be a game changer for advertisers on the social platform. Facebook Home replaces a standard Android’s home screen and lock screen with an immersive Facebook Cover Feed featuring constant full-screen photos, status updates, and notifications. The deeper mobile integration of Facebook Home could help the company not only attract more advertisers, but also provide more compelling ad products.
For brands to engage their fan bases effectively, it is essential to segment audience groups and effectively test which messaging yields the highest engagement. Unpublished page posts (which can only be seen by target audiences in the news feed) greatly improve advertisers’ abilities to do this, enabling brands to create engaging and personalized marketing materials that will greatly enhance their ability to capitalize on their fan bases.