Facebook Audience Insights alternatives that may be even better!

Andrew Hubbard
21 Oct 202115:36
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe video discusses the removal of Facebook's Audience Insights tool and offers alternatives for targeting interests and understanding audience demographics. It suggests using Instagram and Facebook's suggested pages, SimilarWeb for competitor analysis, and Google Ads' Audience Manager for in-depth insights. The video also emphasizes organizing interests into categories for effective Facebook ad targeting and highlights the continued relevance of lookalike audiences.

Takeaways
  • ๐Ÿšซ Facebook has removed the Audience Insights tool, which was used for finding new interests for ad targeting and gaining insights into existing audiences.
  • ๐Ÿ” Instagram can be used as an alternative for finding new interests by following parenting-related accounts and using the suggested accounts feature to discover related interests.
  • ๐Ÿ”Ž Facebook's search function can also suggest interests based on pages or influencers followed, similar to the Instagram method.
  • ๐ŸŒ SimilarWeb.com is a free tool that provides competitor information for any website or app, which can be used to find additional interests to target.
  • ๐Ÿ”„ By using SimilarWeb, you can uncover interests that might not have been considered otherwise, expanding the range of potential targets.
  • ๐Ÿ“Š Google Ads (AdWords) Audience Manager can still provide detailed insights into existing audiences, compensating for the loss of Audience Insights.
  • ๐ŸŽฏ Google Ads allows for the creation of remarketing lists based on website visitors, YouTube users, and customer lists, providing valuable audience data.
  • ๐Ÿ“ˆ Audience Manager can reveal in-market segments, demographic information, and interests of website visitors, aiding in more targeted Facebook ads.
  • ๐Ÿ“Œ Uploading a customer list to Google Ads can offer insights and targeting capabilities, but this feature is limited to accounts that have spent $50,000 or more.
  • ๐Ÿ’ก Lookalike audiences remain a powerful tool for targeting even without Audience Insights, and a separate video provides guidance on creating and utilizing them effectively.
Q & A

  • What was the primary function of Facebook's Audience Insights tool?

    -The Audience Insights tool was used for finding new interests to target for advertising and for gaining deeper insights into existing audiences, including psychographic and demographic information.

  • Why was the Audience Insights tool replaced by Facebook?

    -The script does not provide a specific reason for why Facebook replaced Audience Insights, but it mentions that the new tool, Facebook Insights, is considered less effective.

  • How can Instagram be used as an alternative to Audience Insights for finding new interests to target?

    -By following large parenting websites or influencers on Instagram, the platform suggests other accounts to follow, which can be used as interests to target on Facebook ads.

  • What role does SimilarWeb play in the process of finding new interests to target?

    -SimilarWeb allows users to input a website or app and provides information about it, including its competitors. This can be used to find similar websites and thus new interests to target on Facebook.

  • How can Google Ads help in understanding the audience for targeting purposes?

    -Google Ads provides an Audience Manager where users can create and analyze different types of audiences, such as website visitors or YouTube viewers, to gain insights into their demographics and interests.

  • What is the significance of the affinity score in Audience Insights that is missing in Facebook's new tool?

    -The affinity score in Audience Insights indicated how closely related a particular interest was to the target audience. Without it, advertisers lose a measure of how well an interest might resonate with their audience.

  • How can Facebook's ad manager suggestions function be utilized for interest targeting?

    -The suggestions function in the Facebook ad manager provides a list of potential interests based on what has already been entered. It also shows the estimated audience size for each interest.

  • What is the recommended way to organize interest targeting in Facebook's ad manager?

    -It is recommended to organize interests into specific categories, creating separate ad sets for different types of interests, such as websites, influencers, brands, and products within a particular niche.

  • How can a lookalike audience be beneficial for advertising on Facebook?

    -Lookalike audiences allow advertisers to target new users who are similar to their existing customers or followers, leveraging the data from successful past campaigns to find a potentially engaged new audience.

  • What is the minimum spend required to upload a customer list for targeting on Google Ads?

    -To upload a customer list for targeting on Google Ads, a user must have spent $50,000 or more within their Google Ads account.

  • What unexpected insight was discovered about the audience of a parenting YouTube channel?

    -It was discovered that a significant portion of the audience (47%) of a parenting YouTube channel were not parents, suggesting that they might be preparing to become parents and are interested in related products and brands.

Outlines
00:00
๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Finding Alternatives to Facebook's Audience Insights

The narrator begins by addressing the removal of Facebook's Audience Insights tool, which was crucial for finding new interests to target and gaining deeper insights into existing audiences. However, this tool has been replaced by Facebook Insights, which is considered less effective. To counter this change, the narrator proposes several free alternatives to discover new interests and delve deeper into audience demographics and psychographics. The first alternative discussed is using Instagram for interest discovery by following specific pages and observing suggested accounts. This method allows advertisers to identify interests that can be targeted on Facebook. The video aims to guide viewers through these alternatives, emphasizing the importance of exploring various tools to enhance ad targeting strategies.

05:02
๐Ÿ” Utilizing SimilarWeb and Facebook Suggestions for Audience Research

This section focuses on leveraging SimilarWeb to identify competitors and related websites, which can be used for further interest targeting in Facebook ads. The narrator emphasizes starting with a well-known website to ensure ample data for analysis. Following the SimilarWeb analysis, the approach involves integrating these findings with the previously discussed Instagram and Facebook methods for comprehensive interest targeting. The narrator also highlights the use of Facebook's suggestion function within the ad manager to discover additional interests and manage audience sizes, providing a methodical approach to categorizing and targeting interests based on websites, influencers, brands, and products.

10:03
๐ŸŽฏ Advanced Targeting Techniques Using Google Ads for Audience Insights

The video script progresses to discussing advanced targeting techniques by leveraging Google Ads to gain insights into existing audiences, compensating for the functionalities lost with Facebook's Audience Insights removal. It details creating audience segments within Google Ads to analyze website traffic demographics, interests, and in-market segments. This section illustrates how to translate these insights into actionable Facebook ad targeting strategies, including targeting by CRM solutions and specific product interests. The narrator further explains how audience characteristics derived from Google can refine Facebook ad campaigns, even suggesting a strategy for targeting potential parents. Additionally, the segment touches on the possibility of uploading customer lists to Google Ads for those who meet specific spending thresholds, thereby unlocking more precise targeting options.

15:04
๐ŸŒ Embracing Lookalike Audiences as a Strategic Tool

In the concluding section, the focus shifts to the power and effectiveness of lookalike audiences, especially in the absence of detailed insights from the now-defunct Facebook Audience Insights tool. The narrator underscores the undiminished value of lookalike audiences as a targeting strategy, despite the challenges posed by the tool's removal. This segment serves as a teaser for another video dedicated to creating and leveraging lookalike audiences for targeted advertising, suggesting a continuation of valuable content for viewers interested in enhancing their advertising strategies on Facebook.

Mindmap
Keywords
๐Ÿ’กAudience Insights
Audience Insights was a Facebook tool used by marketers to gain detailed information about their audiences, including psychographic and demographic data. This tool was crucial for understanding audience preferences, behaviors, and key characteristics to tailor advertising strategies effectively. In the script, it is mentioned that Audience Insights has been replaced by Facebook Insights, which the speaker finds less useful, highlighting the tool's previous importance in identifying new interests to target and deep diving into existing audiences.
๐Ÿ’กFacebook Insights
Facebook Insights is the tool that replaced Audience Insights. According to the script, it is considered 'effectively useless' by the speaker, suggesting that it does not provide the same depth of data or utility for marketers looking to understand and target their audiences effectively on Facebook. This change has led the speaker to seek alternative tools and methods for audience research.
๐Ÿ’กInstagram
Instagram is used in the script as an unconventional but effective tool for discovering new interests to target with Facebook ads. By following influential accounts or websites related to a specific niche (e.g., parenting), users can get suggestions for similar accounts, which can then be used to identify new interests for ad targeting on Facebook. This method showcases the interconnectedness of social platforms and the creative strategies marketers can employ for audience research.
๐Ÿ’กInterest Targeting
Interest targeting involves selecting specific interests (such as hobbies, brands, or websites) to define who sees an advertisement on platforms like Facebook. In the script, the speaker outlines how to use Instagram and Facebook to discover new interests by following relevant accounts and pages, thereby receiving suggestions for additional related interests to target, demonstrating a method to refine ad targeting.
๐Ÿ’กSimilarWeb
SimilarWeb is presented in the script as a free external tool that provides insights into website or app traffic, competitor analysis, and audience behavior. It's particularly useful for finding competitor websites in a given niche (e.g., parenting.com), which can then inform interest targeting on Facebook. The script highlights SimilarWeb's value in expanding the marketer's arsenal for audience research beyond the limitations of Facebook's own tools.
๐Ÿ’กGoogle Ads
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is mentioned in the script as a valuable resource for deep diving into existing audiences, similar to the previous capabilities of Facebook's Audience Insights. By creating and analyzing audience segments within Google Ads, marketers can gain insights into the demographics, interests, and behaviors of their audience, which can then be applied to targeting strategies on Facebook, despite being a platform outside of the Facebook ecosystem.
๐Ÿ’กSuggestions Function
The Suggestions function in Facebook's ad manager is discussed as a method to find additional interests to target, based on the initial interests entered by the marketer. This function helps by providing related interests, along with audience sizes, allowing for further refinement of targeting strategies. The script emphasizes this as a continuation of the process of building a comprehensive list of targeting interests.
๐Ÿ’กDemographics
Demographics refer to statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it, such as age, gender, and occupation. In the script, demographics are used to understand the composition of website visitors or YouTube audience segments, informing more precise targeting decisions. The example given involves analyzing the gender and age range of website visitors through Google Ads to tailor Facebook advertising.
๐Ÿ’กLookalike Audiences
Lookalike audiences are a targeting option that allows marketers to reach new users who are similar to their existing customers or audience segments. Despite the removal of Audience Insights, the script mentions lookalike audiences as still being a powerful and effective method for expanding reach on Facebook, emphasizing their ongoing relevance in digital marketing strategies.
๐Ÿ’กCRM Solutions
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Solutions are mentioned as an interest category discovered through audience analysis in Google Ads, indicating a segment of the audience interested in CRM software like HubSpot or ActiveCampaign. This example illustrates how insights from one platform can inform targeting strategies on another, showcasing the interconnectedness of digital marketing tools and the importance of a multifaceted approach to audience research.
Highlights

Facebook has removed the audience insights tool.

Audience insights tool was useful for finding new interests to target and for understanding existing audiences.

Facebook has replaced audience insights with a less effective tool called Facebook insights.

Instagram can be used to find new interests by following accounts and exploring suggested accounts.

Facebook's suggested feature can also be used to find new interests by following pages related to your target audience.

SimilarWeb is a free tool that provides competitor information for websites and apps.

SimilarWeb can help identify interests that might not have been considered in your research.

Facebook's ad manager suggestions function can help fill out interest targeting.

Organizing interests into categories can improve ad set targeting efficiency.

Google Ads provides audience manager features similar to the old Facebook audience insights.

Google Ads can provide detailed demographic and interest information about your website visitors.

Google Ads audience manager can be used for deep dive analysis into existing audiences.

Lookalike audiences remain a powerful tool for targeting even without audience insights.

The importance of testing different interests to see which ones are available for targeting.

Utilizing Instagram and Facebook's suggested features can lead to a snowball effect of interest suggestions.

Google Ads allows for the creation of remarketing lists and audience segmentation based on website visitors and YouTube users.

Google Ads audience manager can provide insights on in-market segments and interests of your audience.

For businesses with significant ad spend, Google Ads allows for uploading customer lists for analysis and targeting.

Transcripts

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