Facebook Direct Marketing Helps Reach Wider Audience

Published May 9, 2014 at 9:11 am

Direct marketing is powerful, and the combination of technology and data has made it easier than ever for companies to market their products to an audience that is more likely to be specifically interested in them.

Facebook provides a good example of how user data can help to create finely targeted marketing. A recent article in the New Yorker calls Facebook the “world’s biggest direct marketing company.” In fact, the social media site generates more than eighty percent of its revenue from advertising. One of the ways that Facebook has accomplished this is through putting advertisements in its news feed: This increased exposure to a targeted audience can be a great asset to businesses and marketers who want to tailor their campaigns.

Facebook uses an automated advertising platform and gives marketers tools to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns, allowing them to target specific audiences using a variety of criteria. Every Facebook user has a news feed, and Facebook has data on each, detailing their location, interests, age, and more, including information about what users are liking on the site. By using this data, advertising campaigns can be targeted to users most likely to be interested in a certain product.

Inc. recently reported on a children’s clothing line that found a great deal of success by selling products through Facebook. Founder of Lolly Wolly Doodle, Brandi Temple, was able create her business by selling on Facebook. The exposure that she received from using the site allowed her company to take off. Every day, eight hundred million people use Facebook. An audience of that size, complete with user data, presents a big opportunity for marketers.

By taking advantage of direct marketing tools like Facebook, marketers can increase sales by increasing their chances of reaching the people most likely to purchase their products.