Facebook Changes To Audience Targeting

Facebook has changed their advertising policies. The social media company has stated that they have eliminated the ability for advertisers to target specific groups or disqualify certain groups from their targeted marketing programs. This change was made in an effort to prevent discriminatory advertising.

The change in marketing was said to be a direct result of the Russian advertising campaign for 2016 and of lawsuits filed against Facebook by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Facebook further stated that it wants to ensure that no one is subjected to discrimination on their platform.

But Is This Really Fair To Advertisers – Targeting Should Be Allowed

The entire point of targeted marketing is to reach a specific group of people. For instance, in the home buying market, it would be illogical to target people who cannot buy a house, such as those under the age of 18, or for those who cannot qualify for a mortgage in the price ranges that your housing company offers.

Compared to other forms of advertising, Facebook is relatively inexpensive but if you can’t target your audience, it is a waste of money. Why should anyone pay for marketing to a broad range of customers that have no interest?

Television commercials are very targeted. Marketing companies specifically request to be shown during certain time periods or with certain programs to ensure that their products are seen by their market segment. Radio commercials are the same way. Why should Internet marketing be any different?

Yes, there will always be someone who is abusive of the system. There will always be that one marketing rep that wants to discriminate for personal bias reasons and not logical marketing strategy. What can you say about that except that justice will be served on them at some point in time? Punishing everyone, however, for the actions of these few marketers seems a little out of sync with the essence of marketing.

Make The Choices More Logical

It would probably be more within the guidelines of preventing discrimination if some of the choices that Facebook actually offers are removed. Marketing should be geared at age groups and income guidelines and little else. Adding such qualifications as “interests in mobility scooters” or “religious interests” should not even be allowed. Keep it simple and go by age and income.

Discrimination should not be accepted in any form, period. So why not make an effort to eliminate categorizing everything in a way that can only lead to discriminatory acts? By changing the policy to age group or income level, Facebook can allow marketers to reach their designated market without having to risk eliminating anyone based on race, religion, sex, disability or marital status.

Categorised in: Social Media