If you’re trying to create a page post ad in Power Editor and using FOF (friend of fan) targeting to narrow down your audience, you’re perhaps frustrated this option has disappeared:
Others have verified the bug.
The good news is that it’s still in the regular ads manager.
So that’s your workaround for now.
FOF targeting is critical to trim down audiences to a testable size and to increase CTR, as I explain here.
Even 3 years ago, connection targeting was the cornerstone of Facebook ads, because it helped people see what their friends are doing. It was paid by word of mouth.
I expect that Facebook will keep trimming the ad options available to us, to automatically piggyback sponsored stories on top of brand posts and to automatically choose FOF audiences to serve ads to first, even if you don’t specify it.
When advertisers whine about how difficult Facebook ads are, what they’re really saying is that they don’t want to deal with the complexity.
It’s Facebook’s problem to solve
Rather than forcing us to bid CPM or CPC (I don’t ever recommend this), wouldn’t it be smarter to let Facebook do the work?
- • Optimized CPM bidding on the offsite pixel allows Facebook to choose who to target and also decide how much to pay.
- • FOF targeting increases your CTR by automatically finding the right friends to show in each ad.
- • Custom audiences (and especially lookalike audiences based on similarity) makes Facebook find the right combination of attributes to target, so you don’t have to figure out the combos yourself.
What’s your “favorite” Power Editor bug?
Do you think Facebook marketing will ever get to the point where you can just press a button, with no ad copy, targeting, or bidding?
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other organizations that have many locations.
He has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs because of his partnership with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Companies like GoDaddy, Fiverr, onlinejobs.ph, 7 Figure Agency, and Vendasta partner with him to create training and certifications.
Dennis created the Dollar a Day Strategy for local service businesses to enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring. He's coaching young adult agency owners who serve plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians in conjunction with leaders in these industries.
Mr. Yu believes that there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers need to be certified and licensed. His Content Factory training and dashboards are used by thousands of practitioners.