The other day I was asked how to reach people in a particular location with Facebook Posts. The answer is to target Facebook Posts. This is where your post is seen based on the options you choose before posting.
Say you run a business with multiple locations/offices – a physiotherapist with practices in various locations where you attend, or you own a children’s entertainment product (bouncy castle or show); and you want to target a post to where you are going to be next week to help with walk-in trade. Not all of your Facebook Fans want or need to see these post and you can target Facebook Posts to them.
How to use Audience Restrictions to target Facebook Posts
First of all, draft your post (incl. photos & links) and then click on the tiny arrow next to the map marker.
A pop-up opens and you will need to click on Audience Restrictions at the top of the pop-up. You will then see the following where you will start targeting your Facebook Post.
You are able to target Facebook Posts by each of these items: age, gender, location, and language. Remember though that with a targeted Facebook Post you are targeting your followers and not all of Facebook.
Target Facebook Posts by Age
Targeting by age is generally done by restricted businesses, however it can be useful for targeting school leavers, millennials, baby boomers etc.
Target Facebook Posts by Gender
Your Facebook Insights are a good indicator of the distribution of gender in your followers. Using gender to target a Facebook Post would be handy for a Girls Night Out/Event, gender specific service (like pregnancy massage), or to target the opposite gender with gift giving ideas.
Target Facebook Posts by Location
This is the question which prompted this blog post. The question came from a service provider with multiple locations looking to attract local clients in one place and availability in a second. By using targeted Facebook Posts their audience in a particular area would see only the content relevant to their location. Of note is that some locations are not available to be targeted to such a degree as postcode etc.
Target Facebook Posts by Language
Targeting by language is only relevant when you need to reach people who do not speak/first language isn’t the language of their country of residence. For example I can target French speaking followers in Australia, or perhaps you would prefer to target English speaking followers in Japan. You would be surprised how many business owners are actually multilingual. For them the ability to target Facebook Posts by language means that they are able to speak directly to their audience in their language.
Another benefit in the ability to target Facebook Posts by language is that you can join in conversations about cultural dates of significance to followers who speak a particular language. For example Arabic speakers at Ramadan, French speakers at Bastille Day etc.
Final Steps when you Target Facebook Posts
Now that you’ve taken the time to consider who you want to receive the targeted Facebook Post, make sure you save it in the pop-up before you go back and Post or Schedule your post.
Summary
When you target Facebook Posts you are niching into your followers. When you provide them with a unique and customised experience you speak to their core and in turn drive the relationship. By targeting, you cut through a lot of the noise and get straight to their core fears, goals, needs, desires. Ensure that your targeted Facebook Posts speak directly to them by either educating, entertaining, or inspiring. Do this & watch your business take off!
this sounds great but I am feeling silly … I cant find/see the little arrow. Are there certain platforms this would or would not show in??
Hi Linda, the arrow (or ‘v’) appears on Facebook posts regardless of which technology you use. I really don’t want you to feel silly though.