Facebook and Instagram U18 Targeting Changes: How Do Broad U18 Audiences Compare?
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Wavo Labs: This series shares the results of our music marketing experiments and how they inform artist media strategy.
What We Tested
With updated age targeting restrictions on Facebook we can no longer target users under the age of 18 based on their interests or actions. The only way to reach young people on Facebook and Instagram is through broad age, gender, and location targeting. In this case study we evaluated the performance of new age, gender, and location U18 audiences against our usual Core Fans, Lookalike, and Prospecting audiences.
The Results
Our data revealed that the U18 targeting featured a 52.3% lower ThruPlay Rate, indicating these broad audiences were less engaged audiences than our traditional targeting.
Despite converting less impressions to ThruPlays, U18 ad sets served 64.3% more impressions per dollar compared to our other audiences.
This reduced cost to serve led our U18 targeting to feature a 36.36% lower Cost Per ThruPlay than our combined Core Fans, Lookalike, and Prospecting audiences.
The trend identified was that the broad targeting of the U18 audience allowed us to reach a wide audience at a low cost, but this audience was less likely to watch or engage with the content being advertised.
It is also important to note that due to Facebook’s age-targeting restrictions, we are unable to retarget individuals in the U18 audience.
The Takeaway
We recommend including U18 targeting on Facebook and/or Instagram if an artist’s core audience is younger than 18 or if clients have an awareness business objective.
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