In the age of hyper-targeted social media content, it is quite easy to find oneself isolated in a bubble of like-minded content. Whether you are perusing Facebook or some other social media network, finding organic content from friends and acquaintances has never been easier; because we find ourselves associating with people who share similar interests, this content often matches our own interests. Facebook Ads is one of the most versatile and effective ad programs in existence, but how does it work? Today, we’ll discuss the how and why behind Facebook Ads’ functionality, which will give you an idea of how it works so well.

How Facebook Ads Target You

Most Facebook users will have noticed by now that ads shown to them along the right-hand side of the page and in their news feeds seem to be at least somewhat relevant to their interests. How can Facebook figure out who to show which ads? It turns out, there are a number of ways.

First, Facebook collects information from users based on which pages they’ve liked and which interests they’ve listed. Anyone who has deployed an ad through Facebook has probably noticed that ad campaigns can be targeted based on which interests users have. From here, it becomes very easy to start pinging links to social media audiences that share a common interest or like.

Facebook Ads allow brands to target people in a variety of other ways. You can be targeted based on your geographic location, for instance. Ads targeting gender, age and particular relevance in cultural and demographic areas can also be created, which make it possible for brands to craft custom campaigns that will resonate with shoppers, readers, voters and other groups of people.

Why They’re Relevant

As was mentioned above, Facebook Ads are able to start pinging links to relevant audiences due to a variety of characteristics and attributes Facebook collects from each user. Not only does Facebook collect information about your likes and interests from direct input, but it also figures out who and what you care about based on browsing habits, shares and posts.

Facebook can make correlations between users and interests based on a wide variety of other interactions you take on the platform. Every click and every search helps build additional user demographic profiles for the social media network, which can be used to further to custom-tailor ads for your particular browsing experience.

How to Customize Ad Preferences

If you want to see how you are being targeted (at least partially), then there’s an easy way to do so. Click on your Facebook Settings in the top right corner (directly above the “Logout” option). From here, you’ll be able to see the “Ads” option on the left-hand side of the settings page. After you click on this, you’ll see an option that says “Ads based on my preferences” – click the “Edit” option next to that feature, and then select “view ad preferences”. Here, you’ll now see how Facebook is pinging links to you based on past behaviour. A variety of categories will then be visible, showing ad targets.