Facebook Introduces Advanced Post Targeting Abilities For Business Pages

Facebook Introduces Advanced Post Targeting Abilities For Business Pages
The effectiveness of Facebook's mobile ads may get all the headlines, but once you've convinced a potential client to Like your Page and engage with your company, it's up to you to keep them engaged and coming back for more. Currently, interacting with your followers requires more of a shotgun approach. Basic options for filtering posts by your fans' language and location filtering options are in place, but for the most part, posts go out to your followers indiscriminately.

That will change soon, however. According to TechCrunch, Facebook is rolling out a bevy of new targeting options that will allow Pages to send posts to the News Feeds of specific followers based on very granular profile criteria, including the fan's age, relationship status, interests, gender, workplace, education level, and schools attended.

You'll soon be able to send messages to specific groups of your Facebook fans.
Imagine the possibilities: Facebook Pages will soon be able to send laser-targeted messages—and special laser-targeted promotions, if so inclined—to unattached followers on Valentine's Day, or to local University of Alabama alumni in anticipation of another Iron Bowl matchup against Auburn. (Go Tide!)

Coupled with the service's existing geo-targeting tools and Page admins' new-found ability to schedule posts, running a highly targeted, partially automated engagement campaign is soon to become fairly easy with Facebook.

Will your fans appreciate or resent receiving targeted messages?
Granular targeting could be a boon for engagement and conversion rates if handled effectively, but small businesses should note that every targeting option added reduces the size of your potential audience. However, even if your business isn't diverse enough to make targeting specific segments of your followers worthwhile on a regular basis, the new options could help you add the occasional personal touch to your communications with followers.

Many of the new options mirror the targeting segments available when purchasing Facebook ads; read more about those on Facebook's aptly named "How do I control who sees my Page's posts in their news feeds?" page. TechCrunch reports that the advanced post targeting is already starting to roll out to select Pages, with all Pages slated to receive the ability in the coming weeks.

How would you use targeted posts with your business's Facebook Page? Let us know in the comment section, below.

Brad Chacos is a freelance technology and business writer. His work has appeared in Laptop Magazine, the Intuit Small Business Blog, the Global Strategic Management Institute's website, FoxNews.com, NBCNews.com, Maximum PC and more.

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