Why this targeting method is interesting
Audience targeting is crucial for the success of Facebook ads. Sometimes Facebook groups can be more effective than interest-based audiences.
- Interest-based audiences may not always be the right fit for your audience. For example, people interested in fitness may already be in shape and not in need of a weight loss program.
- The members of a Facebook group dedicated to weight loss, for example, are already involved in this process. Their targeting can therefore be more effective.
- Brands that are just starting out with Facebook ads and don't yet have significant assets (email list, Facebook page, post engagement) can benefit from Facebook group targeting.
- Businesses that have already tapped into their current audience may also find it beneficial to target Facebook groups, especially if they have large budgets.
Targeting Facebook groups can be an effective strategy for reaching relevant and engaged audiences.
2 ways to target Facebook groups with Facebook ads
I'm going to start by saying that it's not something that's easily available to you in the ad manager like “Click here” to target a Facebook group... Although I wish it were that easy!
So we'll have to play with a few workarounds to create this audience.
If you prefer to consume this content as a video, here is an option:
If not, you can continue reading this article! P.S. I prefer option 2
Option 1: Extracting group data with Phantombuster
The first option is to use an automation tool like PhantomBuster who visits the profile of each member of the group page and collects available information such as their “likes” on the pages, their online behaviors, etc.
Then, we can analyze that data in something like a Google sheet and try to identify common trends and patterns between these members. For example, if you see an industry that many of these members seem to be showing an interest in.
Once you've identified commonalities, you can use these interests and behaviors for your targeted options detailed in the ad manager.
As I said earlier, it's certainly not the preferred method for targeting specific members of the group because it's a time-consuming task, but it's a great way to help define who your target market is.
1. Sign up for a Phantombuster account.
NOTE: If you want more details, you can consult the detailed sheet or Open an account by clicking here
2. Download the Phantombuster expansion.
The Chrome Extension allows you to automatically fill in session cookies on Phantombuster without having to open developer options in your preferred browser (the extension is available for all recent web browsers: Chrome, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, Edge)
LINK: Get the Phantombuster Chrome Extension
3. Select the “Phantom” to extract members from a Facebook group
Now let's tell Phantombuster which groups we want to choose.
To do this, you will choose the next Phantom by pressing the “use this Phantom” button.
According to the documentation, this Phantom will allow you to extract the first names and surnames of your users (+ complete list of information at find in the documentation)
To set up this Phantom, Phantombuster will ask you:
- The Facebook Group URL
- 2 session cookies that can be easily retrieved in 1 click thanks to the Chrome extension: “Connect to Facebook (new session)” + “Connect to Facebook”
In the next step, Phantombuster asks you for the data to extract, which is where the Google Sheet file will be interesting. If you remember we named a column in our sheet called “groups.”
You are going to “right click” on the column and then select “Get Link to this range”.
Now paste the link you just retrieved into Facebook settings (https://docs.google...)
Since our column is called “channels”, you will also fill in this data in the field as below.
4. Set up your Phantom
- Just click on “Connect to Facebook” and the rest should fill out automatically. Click “Save.”
- Add the URL of the Facebook group you want to extract. Then click “Save.”
- You will go through a series of parameters.
- Keep clicking the “Save” button until you get to a page with a button that says “Launch.” Click on it to launch your Phantom.
5. Start the Phantom
Click on Launch and now let Phantombuster do its work.
Once finalized, a “Download CSV” button will appear as in the image below.
Now we're going to copy the data from this CSV file to import into Google Sheet.
6. Get the data in Google Sheet
Copy to the button in the middle of the image below:
Then now go to Google Sheet to retrieve this data.
We're going to use a very useful Google Sheet import function to “connect” the Phantombuster CSV data to our Google Sheet.
Once done, Google Sheet will automatically import the data into your sheet like this:
7. Use the results obtained on Facebook to target the audience
Again, this won't allow you to target people who are part of this group, but it will collect some of their information like age, gender, pages liked, interests... so you can get a better idea of who you should be targeting in the ad manager.
Option 2: Retargeting video views
It's my preferred and most accurate method for targeting Facebook groups with Facebook ads. Let me take you through the process step by step.
1. Make a good video
You will need to produce a video that is engaging and educational. It should be about the service or product you offer, and be a way of “getting your foot in the door.” The aim is to have a group of people watch your video and then retarget them using the custom audience option “video views.”
You want your video to get as many views as possible, so make sure it contains these elements:
- A good miniature.
- A great catchphrase in the description.
- Provide value (I can't emphasize this enough!)
- No sales pitch. It's just educational.
2. Post your video on your page and then share it in your target Facebook groups
So you'll want to first publish the video on your professional Facebook page and then share it in your target Facebook group afterwards.
Please note >> Most groups only allow people to join, not pages. So when sharing your video within the group, share it with your personal Facebook profile.
3. Retarget video views
Once your video has enough views, you can go to the ad manager and create a custom audience based on group members who watched at least 3 seconds of your video.
Pro tip >> By sharing your video on your Facebook page first, you're likely to get views from people who like and follow your page. You can exclude “people who liked your page” from this audience if you only want to retarget members of the FB group.
If you decide to exclude people who liked your Facebook page, keep in mind that if a user is part of this group and also likes your Facebook page, that value will not be added to your target audience.
Conclusion
That's it, you have two ways to target people in Facebook groups with Facebook ads.
Keep in mind that both of these options are only workarounds. But if you ask me...
I think that as Facebook groups become more and more popular, Facebook will soon give the group administrator the option to retarget group members and create similar audiences based on members. But that is only a prediction.
