Facebook Rolls Out 'Core Audiences' Targeting

Facebook says it is rolling out its improved Core Audiences targeting feature built into all its ad buying interfaces. Worldwide users can target by location, demographics, interests and behavior, whilst in the US marketers will also find the firm's Partner Categories added to the Ads Create Tool.

The new flexible location targeting means advertisers can build campaigns around 'any combination of geographies, including countries, cities, states and ZIP codes - for example 'California and Las Vegas'; and can more easily exclude specific areas, eg 'the UK excluding Cambridge'.

Demographic options will make use of Facebook relationship status and changes in it, including the timing of these changes - for example 'those who have got engaged or married in the past year, or the last 3 or 6 months'. Workplace and job title are also included, as is more information about education.

Interest-based targeting segments have been redefined and simplified, following likes and expressions of interest in topics on Facebook; while 'Behaviors' gives marketers the ability to target campaigns to people based on things they purchase and what devices they use.

Partner Categories, which allows marketers the ability to build audiences around off-line actions, was previously available only in Power Editor.

The news comes a week after Facebook alarmed some privacy campaigners and astonished some acquisition-watchers by paying a whopping $19bn for messaging suite What'sApp, which it described as 'on a path to connect 1 billion people' (it currently has 420m users and is adding 1m a day). What'sApp users are apparently 'more engaged' than those of Facebook, with 72 percent using it each day.