What Are Facebook’s New Page Engagement Custom Audiences (PECA) Good For?

Facebook recently released a new feature for its online advertisers and marketers; it’s called page engagement custom audiences (PECA), and it could be incredibly valuable for advertisers already using the Facebook platform.

Facebook advertising’s greatest advantage in the realm of online ads is the fact that it can be fine-tuned and customized for highly specific audiences. Previously, advertisers have been able to segment audiences based on things like web traffic, app activity (such as specific actions taken in a game), or consumer profile. Now, as Active Web Group explains, brands can customize audiences based on how they’ve interacted with the brand in the past, including:

• Whether the user interacted with organic content or paid ads.
• Whether the user interacted with the brand directly (such as through messaging).
• Whether the user has visited the brand’s page in the past (and in what capacity).

Advantages of Targeting

There are many advantages to targeting previously engaged users like this:

• Limiting engagement with uninterested users. When you compare the tendencies of previously engaged users and users who have never engaged with your brand before, engaged users are more likely to respond to your ads and new content. Utilizing PECA restricts the number of unengaged users who see your advertisements, greatly increasing the percentage of previously engaged users; therefore, increasing your conversion rates and eventual success.
• Discovering new strong followers with the “lookalike” feature. According to Jon Loomer, you could also use the insights you gain through PECA to refine who you discover through “lookalike audiences,” Facebook’s way of helping brands target users similar to ones who have already engaged with your brand. This will help you expand your potential audience without having to manually hunt down new potential users.
• Retargeting to capitalize on missed opportunities. You can also use PECA as a kind of social media-based retargeting ad. Conventional retargeting ads monitor a person’s website visits via cookies, and display ads that call them back to the original site in a second-chance bid to win their business. Here, you’ll acknowledge a person’s previous behavior, and call them to make some other behavior, such as visiting your site after reading your content previously.

There aren’t many downsides to the new feature, especially since it’s optional. You’ll be restricting the volume of your audience, and possibly taking more time to create your campaign, but the end result is well worth those mild restrictions.

Ideas for Optimization

So how, exactly, can you use PECA? The options are practically limitless, but here are some examples:

• Target ad engagers with a follow-up offer. If you notice a section of your audience has engaged with your ads in the past, you can deliberately advertise to them again to capitalize on their likelihood to proceed. In the straightforward sense, you could display a similar advertisement to earn the attention and engagement of your first-round successes. However, you could also make a stronger follow-up offer to try and win the business of people who clicked your ad, but never made a purchase or conversion.
• Target content fans with an eBook or whitepaper offer. If you have lots of regular content fans, you could use this segment of your audience to make a stronger content offer. For example, you could offer a whitepaper or eBook in exchange for personal information via a landing page, and pitch the content piece in a way that appeals to an audience already familiar with your work.
• Hit regular interactors with a special deal. If you have regular Facebook interactions that aren’t leading anywhere, you could hit your interactors with a special deal that finally allows them to take the next step. For example, you could use an ad like, “we know you love our brand, so here’s a coupon for 20 percent off your next order!”

Don’t See It Yet?

Are you unable to find the PECA feature under your Facebook advertising account? Don’t worry; this is still a new feature, and Facebook is rolling it out gradually. You should see it available to you within the next few months. Until then, start working to generate new strategies to take full advantage of this impressive new feature.