Is Facebook finally bringing the coveted “intent to purchase” factor to its advertising platform? The release of new partner categories certainly hints that they are trying.
Before the release, Facebook advertisers were limited to targeting people according to their Facebook likes and about section. But with partner categories, advertisers will be able to “show ads to people on Facebook based on the products and brands they buy across both desktop and mobile.”
The social network is partnering with third parties including Acxiom, Datalogics and Epsilon to pull in data on users’ activity outside of Facebook. As of now, there are 500 unique categories of consumers to choose from, ranging from “people who are heavy buyers of children’s cereal” to “people who are likely to buy a entry, economy or compact vehicle in the next 180 days.”
According to Eric Stein, EVP of Online Solutions at Epsilon (one of the partner companies), Facebook’s partner categories program “is a tremendous opportunity for marketers to leverage offline data to reach their customers and prospective customers where and when they are deeply engaged.”
Advertisers also will be able to mix and match the new partner categories with Facebook’s more traditional targeting options. Partner categories are now available to U.S. advertisers in Power Editor.
