Meta Removing Detailed Targeting Options
Published: 9th January 2024
What Meta Removing Detailed Targeting Options Means For Businesses
Meta has made significant changes to its detailed targeting options, and these changes have had an impact on various areas such as health, race, and ethnicity. It is crucial for businesses to understand the implications of these revisions on their advertising strategies and to explore alternative targeting solutions to ensure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest news, Meta recently made an important announcement regarding the removal of certain detailed targeting options. In their statement, Meta explained that these options were eliminated for several reasons. Some were not widely used, others were redundant with existing options, and some were considered too specific.
Additionally, targeting options related to sensitive topics, such as health, race, or ethnicity, were discontinued due to potential public perception concerns. Finally, legal and regulatory requirements also played a role in these decisions. However, Meta assures advertisers that alternative targeting recommendations will be provided within the Meta Ads Manager platform whenever possible.
It is essential for businesses to stay informed about these changes and adapt their ad strategies accordingly. By exploring alternative targeting solutions, companies can ensure that their marketing efforts remain on track and effectively reach their desired audience. Understanding the impact of these revisions on ad strategies is crucial for maintaining a successful digital marketing campaign.
Which Detailed Targeting Options Are Affected?
Meta’s recent description of the impacted detailed targeting options has raised concerns, especially due to the lack of specific information provided in their announcement. They have failed to mention which interests these targeting options directly relate to, which is not a new issue. In 2022, a similar situation occurred when Meta retired certain ad targeting options without clearly communicating the specific interests that would be affected. During that time, they removed sensitive ad targeting options related to:
- Health causes (e.g., “Lung cancer awareness”, “World Diabetes Day”, “Chemotherapy”)
- Sexual orientation (e.g., “same-sex marriage” and “LGBT culture”)
- Religious practices and groups (e.g., “Catholic Church” and “Jewish holidays”)
- Political beliefs, social issues, causes, organisations, and figures
Considering this previous event, it is reasonable to assume that the recent 2024 announcement is another phase of the initial targeting retirement that occurred in 2022.
How Can Businesses Still Utilise Meta Ads?
Despite the continuous decline in interest and the availability of precise targeting options, Meta Ads still provide significant benefits. They possess the potential to significantly boost sales and generate leads by utilising custom audiences, including the opportunity for website retargeting. This allows businesses to focus their efforts on reaching out to their existing customer base.
Moreover, Meta Ads offer alternative targeting options, such as lookalike audiences based on those who have visited your website or engaged with your Facebook/Instagram page. Additionally, the Meta Advance+ audience leverages Meta’s advanced AI capabilities to identify the ideal audience for your campaign. This makes it a highly noteworthy choice, especially considering the rapid advancements in AI technology.
How Can Affected Ad Sets Be Edited?
These updates started on the 15th of January, so you may start to see errors in your affected ad sets which prompts you to edit these ads.
To review and edit your affected ad sets:
- Open the Meta Ads Manager campaigns page. Look for a warning banner at the top of the page.
- Select See affected ad sets in the warning banner.
- Hover over your affected ad sets to make edits.
- Go to the Audience section, under Detailed Targeting, and look for warning messages showing you which options are affected and what to do. You may see affected options listed to remove, with alternative suggestions if available, or see Remove all unavailable options.
When you no longer see warning messages in the Audience section, you have removed or replaced all of the affected options and can save or publish your ad set.
What Does The Future Hold For Detailed Targeting Via Meta Ads?
Considering the ongoing trend of Meta removing its detailed targeting options, it appears probable that this pattern will persist in the future. It would be wise to explore alternative advertising formats, such as retargeting and lookalike audiences, as there is a potential likelihood that Meta Ads might eventually phase out interests-based targeting.
Nonetheless, the decrease in detailed targeting options might not have a significant impact on businesses and advertisers. Our experience indicates that interest-based targeting can be inconsistent, occasionally triggered by minimal audience interaction, such as merely viewing a related post. It is important to note that this is based on assumptions made by the platform and may not always be 100% accurate.
Opting for more focused targeting methods, such as retargeting and lookalike audiences, could potentially yield greater benefits, particularly for businesses operating in niche markets.
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