On Thursday, May 8, Facebook introduced a new feature for businesses to use to learn more about their customers called Facebook Audience Insights. In an announcement, the company said "The more customer insights you have, the better you're equipped to deliver meaningful messages to people. That's the thinking behind Facebook Audience Insights, a new tool designed to help marketers learn more about their target audiences, including aggregate information about geography, demographics, purchase behavior and more."

What does it do?

It shows customer breakdowns by gender, age, education, occupation, relationship status, lifestyle, size of household, the languages they speak, and the place where they reside. It reports Facebook usage, such as: 1) the frequency with which people log into Facebook; 2) the devices used to login; and 3) the Page categories people like (sports, restaurants, music, etc.). Finally, it allows retailers to check on customers' buying habits, the items they purchase and the manner of purchase (whether it is in-store or online). This information is gleaned from Facebook usage as well as from trusted third-party sources.

There are three types of data that can be accessed this way: a) Facebook users who fit the demographic information you choose; b) Facebook users linked to specific events or Pages; and c) advertiser-defined audience (such as email addresses or phone numbers on a contact list collected from customers).

The targeting enhancements according to Facebook will help marketers to reach the people they intend to communicate with and will let them show ads to interested consumers.

With Audience Insights, sellers can determine:

  • the number of people residing near their shop
  • the types of products people buy
  • if they purchase from websites or physical stores.

Privacy Issues

To deal with privacy issues, Facebook provides only aggregate data that are shared on Facebook and with trusted third-party partners. Data connected directly to specific individuals are not shared alone, but rather only as a part of aggregate data. However, they have not specifically announced any method by which the service could prevent an advertiser from using a very small custom audience to deduce which information belongs to a chosen individual, so these assurances may ring hollow to customers concerned about their privacy.