You don’t realize it, but you are telling Facebook exactly what you’re thinking – all the time. Every like, news story click, status update and photo caption is a bit of information that advertisers want to add to your file.
Facebook says, “We show you ads based on things we think you care about.” True, but that doesn’t mean that we always want to see them. So, we’re sharing THREE different ways that you can adjust your own targeted ads to stuff that you actually care about.
- First, visit your Preference page. Then, all you have to do is click on the Ad Preferences. You have a list of popular topics from new and entertainment to fitness, lifestyle and travel. Just select the ones you’re interested in and eliminate categories that don’t catch your fancy.
Still seeing ads that you don’t like? There are a couple of reasons why this might be happening.
- On desktop, click the little arrow on the top of the right corner of a post on your News Feed. Select “Why am I seeing this?”
From there, you’ll have all the information you want: Why the ad was targeted to you, the advertisers and the opportunity to change your Facebook ad preferences.
- On mobile, tap the arrow in the top right corner of the ad to get the “Why am I seeing this?” option. You’ll get a similar screen to what you see above.
Facebook and 120 other major companies, including Amazon and eBay are part of the Digital Advertising Alliance. You can use a tool on the DAA’s website to opt out of “online behavioral advertising.” The tool will scan your computer to see what companies are already customizing ads to target you. It can also tell if you’ve opted out of any online tracking for those companies in the past. Simply choose a few companies and sites, like Facebook, where you don’t want to see targeted ads. You can also click on the “Choose all companies” button at the bottom to opt out of targeted ads for every participating network member.
Now you know advertisers can target you based on your activity on Facebook. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg for targeting. If you want to learn more, if you want to use Facebook’s powerful targeting tools, contact us. We offer services on Facebook advertising, Instagram advertising, and Snapchat advertising.
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