Targeting in social networks: what is it, advantages, formats
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 3:45 am
Nowadays, it is increasingly difficult to meet a person who does not have an account in one of the social networks – VK, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms have firmly established themselves in our daily lives, becoming constant sources of educational and entertaining content, communication, news and many other types of activities. A large audience with a huge range of interests is an excellent opportunity for a business to find its client. And targeted advertising will help with this.
How does targeted advertising work?
Targeted advertising or, as it is also called, malaysia company email list targeting comes from the English word "target" - goal, target. Such advertising allows us to "target" the desired social network user based on certain characteristics, such as gender, age, geographic location, interests, behavior, etc.
Targeted advertising encourages the user to perform some target action - go to the site, make an order, leave contact information, etc. This type of advertising is considered quite effective and inexpensive due to the fact that in addition to paying for clicks, you can choose to pay for the number of impressions, and the ad is seen only by those who may actually be interested in the advertised product or service.
Post on Instagram
Targeted and contextual advertising
Many people confuse these two types of online advertising because of the similarity of their operating principles. What is the difference between targeted and contextual advertising ?
Placements : contextual advertising ads are placed directly in the search results of Yandex and Google and on their partner sites, while targeted advertising is found on social network pages.
Display conditions : search contextual advertising is shown to the user based on the query they entered, while targeted advertising is shown based on information about the user.
Target audience : the audience of search contextual advertising is “warm” or “hot”, such users are looking for specific products and services. The audience of targeted advertising is usually “cool” or “cold” – there is no exact information about the desire to buy a product or order a service, only an assumption that users may be interested in this.
Ad format and content : contextual advertising has a very limited choice of ad formats and strict restrictions on both design and content, while targeted advertising allows you to use videos, ads, various graphics and place them in the format of posts, carousels, banners, etc.
Contextual advertising search
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantages of targeted advertising include:
Flexible settings and, as a result, greater coverage of the target audience - due to the correct set of parameters, you can ensure that advertising is shown only to those people who may be interested in it.
Quick launch – creating a simple ad and moderating it takes on average about 20-25 minutes.
Low entry threshold – you can launch targeted advertising even with a very small budget, which is a huge plus for small businesses.
Ad personalization – thanks to flexible targeting settings, you can create unique advertising creatives that will easily attract the attention of your target audience.
In addition to many advantages, targeted advertising still has a number of certain disadvantages. Among them are:
Strict advertising policy of the platforms : each social network has its own list of areas, advertising of which is prohibited on their site. Such restrictions may be due to both legislative prohibitions (tobacco and alcohol products, weapons, psychotropic substances, etc.) and the requirements of the social network itself. There is also a list of topics for which supporting documentation may be required, for example, a license for the relevant medical activity is required to advertise medical services.
Subtleties of customization : as paradoxical as it may sound, the ability to fine-tune targeted advertising is both a plus and a minus. The slightest mistakes can significantly affect the budget and not give the desired result at all.
Consistency and engagement : like contextual advertising, targeting involves constant monitoring of the effectiveness of advertisements and timely adjustments. In addition, the audience of social networks is characterized by rapid burnout - any advertising creative, no matter how good it is, quickly
How does targeted advertising work?
Targeted advertising or, as it is also called, malaysia company email list targeting comes from the English word "target" - goal, target. Such advertising allows us to "target" the desired social network user based on certain characteristics, such as gender, age, geographic location, interests, behavior, etc.
Targeted advertising encourages the user to perform some target action - go to the site, make an order, leave contact information, etc. This type of advertising is considered quite effective and inexpensive due to the fact that in addition to paying for clicks, you can choose to pay for the number of impressions, and the ad is seen only by those who may actually be interested in the advertised product or service.
Post on Instagram
Targeted and contextual advertising
Many people confuse these two types of online advertising because of the similarity of their operating principles. What is the difference between targeted and contextual advertising ?
Placements : contextual advertising ads are placed directly in the search results of Yandex and Google and on their partner sites, while targeted advertising is found on social network pages.
Display conditions : search contextual advertising is shown to the user based on the query they entered, while targeted advertising is shown based on information about the user.
Target audience : the audience of search contextual advertising is “warm” or “hot”, such users are looking for specific products and services. The audience of targeted advertising is usually “cool” or “cold” – there is no exact information about the desire to buy a product or order a service, only an assumption that users may be interested in this.
Ad format and content : contextual advertising has a very limited choice of ad formats and strict restrictions on both design and content, while targeted advertising allows you to use videos, ads, various graphics and place them in the format of posts, carousels, banners, etc.
Contextual advertising search
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantages of targeted advertising include:
Flexible settings and, as a result, greater coverage of the target audience - due to the correct set of parameters, you can ensure that advertising is shown only to those people who may be interested in it.
Quick launch – creating a simple ad and moderating it takes on average about 20-25 minutes.
Low entry threshold – you can launch targeted advertising even with a very small budget, which is a huge plus for small businesses.
Ad personalization – thanks to flexible targeting settings, you can create unique advertising creatives that will easily attract the attention of your target audience.
In addition to many advantages, targeted advertising still has a number of certain disadvantages. Among them are:
Strict advertising policy of the platforms : each social network has its own list of areas, advertising of which is prohibited on their site. Such restrictions may be due to both legislative prohibitions (tobacco and alcohol products, weapons, psychotropic substances, etc.) and the requirements of the social network itself. There is also a list of topics for which supporting documentation may be required, for example, a license for the relevant medical activity is required to advertise medical services.
Subtleties of customization : as paradoxical as it may sound, the ability to fine-tune targeted advertising is both a plus and a minus. The slightest mistakes can significantly affect the budget and not give the desired result at all.
Consistency and engagement : like contextual advertising, targeting involves constant monitoring of the effectiveness of advertisements and timely adjustments. In addition, the audience of social networks is characterized by rapid burnout - any advertising creative, no matter how good it is, quickly