New Ads on Facebook Help Businesses Target Individuals

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The way businesses advertise on Facebook is changing. The new dynamic Facebook product ads are aimed at making it easier for businesses to advertise their products.

According to Internet Retailer Magazine, merchants can now upload their entire catalog of products and tailor them to consumers’ specific interests.

Marketers can use the tool to aim ads at consumers who visited their site or app, or to reach people based on their interests or location. They can also fine-tune ads to highlight products that a particular consumer viewed most recently, for example, or best-selling products.

Facebook’s product ads will compete with Google’s Shopping ads, which are based on a user’s search for products, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Facebook will use the data it’s collected on the websites its users have visited, pages users have liked and ads that have been clicked on.

“Merchants just load up their product catalogue, Facebook matches it against potential ad viewers, and conversion rates go up,” IR Magazine said.

The new ads, which will feature pictures and prices, take the guesswork out of the frustrating process of businesses trying to figure out which ads might persuade a customer to click on it and buy a product.

According to Facebook, its product ads have been well received by merchants. Kristi Argyilan, senior vice president at Target, said:

With dynamic product ads, Target has been able to more easily engage consumers with highly relevant creative. The early results have exceeded expectations, with a 20 percent increase in conversion compared to other Facebook ads. Performance has also been especially strong with people shopping on mobile devices — an important and fast-growing area for Target — where we’re seeing two times the conversion rate.

Watch the ads that pop up on your Facebook page. Chances are, they’ll be for products that appeal to you.

I think it’s a little creepy when I check out a pair of shoes online, and then open another web page only to have those shoes pop up in one of the ads. Great for businesses, creepy for users.

What do you think of Facebook’s newest ads? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.

Advertisers are getting more savvy, and so should you. Watch this video and learn to avoid falling for common sales tricks:

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