What is Targeting?

Targeting definition: targeting is an advertising process that enables a brand to select the characteristics of the potential customers they want to reach.

Targeting is an integral function of self-serve advertising platforms like:

• Facebook ads
• Twitter ads
• Reddit ads

It allows brands to create “audiences” based on a wide-ranging, but specific, set of factors.

Depending on the advertising platform this can include:

• Demographics: age, gender, location, etc.
• Psychographics: beliefs, hobbies, interests, etc.
• Behavior: past purchases, site visits, content interactions, etc.
• Keywords: exact match, broad match, partial match, etc.
• Lookalikes: based on previously successful audiences

These can all be used in conjunction to create hyper-specific variations, too.

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Popularity of the term Targeting

Concept related to Targeting

• Consumer knowledge
• Competitive intelligence
• Demographics
• Exact match
• Lookalike audience
• Retargeting

Additional resources about Targeting

• The Importance of Targeting in Marketing (And How to Include It in Your Strategy)
• How to use Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) to develop marketing strategies
• The 8 Coolest Ad Targeting Features in Marketing Right Now