As the midterm elections loom, consumers in the U.S. (and around the world) are calling for greater transparency on social platforms.
Combating misinformation sharing is an uphill battle.
Meta (formerly Facebook) responded to consumer concerns by announcing updates to its ad transparency tool.
Jeff King, VP of Business Integrity at Meta, introduced new measures to improve advertising transparency for the following tools:
- Facebook Open Research and Transparency (FORT) Tool
- Facebook Ad Library
Specifically, the types of ads that will be affected include:
- social problem
- elector
- political
Updates to these tools are available to all nation Meta’s ad authorization and disclaimer tools are currently available.
While these updates are driven by consumer feedback, they also have an impact on advertisers. Let’s take a deep dive into these changes and how advertisers can prepare.
Facebook Open Research and Transparency (FORT) Tool
Facebook’s Open Research and Transparency (called FORT Forward) tool is not open to the public, but is open to vetted academic researchers.
First launched on January 11, 2022, its goal is to provide researchers with a tool to understand the impact of Meta on society.
The tool is a cloud-based research platform that is cost-effective, flexible and secure for researchers in storing data.
Beginning at the end of May, the FORT environment will include detailed ad targeting information (such as interest categories) for social issues, elections and political ads.
Detailed targeting information for affected ads will be available at the ad level.
Facebook Ad Library Changes
By contrast, Facebook’s ad library is open to the public.
An update to the ad library will roll out in July 2022. If your ad falls into one of the three categories above, consumers will now be able to see the following:
- A summary of targeting information for each affected ad
- Place
- Demographics
- interest
- The total number of targeted ads in the three categories that the homepage has served
- % of ad spend spent on social issue, political or election ads
- Whether the page uses a custom audience
- Whether the Page uses lookalike audiences
What this means for advertisers
It’s no secret that Meta is cracking down on detailed targeting.
While you can still target by demographics like age, gender, and location, you may see more disapproved ads depending on the ad content.
Even if your ad doesn’t directly apply to social issues, elections, or political categories, you may still be affected.
If you feel like you’ve lost all hope for Meta audience targeting, don’t worry! Here are some tips and tools to try.
#1: Start with broader goals
Even if you know exactly who your target market is, you may not be able to use demographics the way you used to.
One trick for broader impact and awareness is to create a large “interest” category that isn’t separated by demographics.
During the learning phase, you may see a high initial CPA, but Meta’s algorithm is usually quick to find your highest quality targets.
#2: Use remarketing to your advantage
If you start with broad targeting (above), track people who interact with your ad!
Quick video ads are one way to increase awareness, but did you know you can create a remarketing list from the people involved?
If you don’t have video content, try creating a remarketing list of people who have previously interacted with your page.
This takes demographic targeting out of your ad and translates into a more qualified audience more likely to buy from you.
#3: Use Custom Audiences
While users can now see if you’ve used custom or lookalike audiences, it’s less likely to be staged if they’re a past customer.
As long as you populate these lists from first-party data, you should have no issues getting your ads approved.
source: Yuan
Featured Image: Tada Images/Shutterstock
