Up until early 2013, we were managing Facebook advertising campaigns from its standard Ads Manager. After a certain point, I realized Broad Categories and Precise Interests weren’t going to cut it if we were to spend a limited amount of money, while hoping to achieve a higher CTR than our previous initiatives for a highly targeted campaign. At last, Power Editor was the answer.

To take advantage of Facebook’s Power Editor, simply download Google Chrome (the only browser the program will run on) and get your segmentation juices starting to flow. Here are some of Power Editor’s top features:

Partner Categories

These categories are targeting bundles created by 3rd party providers: Axciom, Datalogix & Epsilon (only one 3rd party provider may be used per ad), and includes data from users from the U.S. These categories allow advertisers to reach out to users based off their off-Facebook activities and behavioral patterns. For instance, we can target based off types of purchases they make, activities performed, and of course – there’s a handful of “Moms” we can target.

Custom Audiences
Custom Audiences

Facebook users might frown upon this feature, as it allows marketers to use personal information gathered to target directly to consumers. With information such as email addresses, phone numbers, and Facebook user ID’s, advertisers can target individual users and create a stand-alone targeting segment.

Custom Audiences can be best used when advertising for loyalty programs, special offers, local advertising and can be a great tool to increase social commerce (transactions originating from social media platforms).

CustomAudiences2

Lookalike Audiences

This feature can be used only after you’ve created a Custom Audience. Lookalike Audiences allows marketers to reach new audiences that would most likely be interested in the advertiser’s business based on the similarities end users share with the Custom Audience. This is a good strategy to use if the marketer’s end goal is fan acquisition, site registration, and for increasing brand awareness.

Power Editor is an incredibly valuable tool, but given its power, we highly recommend playing around with it or consulting with an expert before you move your entire budget into these more advanced forms of Facebook advertising.

Are there any other cool “hidden” social advertising features that you’re a fan of? We’d love to hear from you!

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