Facebook and Pinterest enhance marketing offerings with targeting, location features

Snapchat isn’t the only social media company beefing up its marketing offerings.

Facebook and Pinterest are advancing their ad platforms—and exposing those platforms’ maturity levels in doing so.

Pinterest is adding ad features that users can already find in more mature ad platforms like Twitter, Google, Instagram and Facebook.

The company is expected to allow advertisers the ability to target users who have shopped on a brand’s site, logged in to a brand’s mobile app or opted in to sharing their email address with a brand.

For instance, if a buyer puts something in their shopping cart on a website but doesn’t purchase it, advertisers will be able to target that user with an ad. The thought is that since Pinterest is a more commerce-focused platform than some of the other social sites, that customer would then be more likely to follow through with a purchase.

Pinterest will also enable marketers to use Lookalike Targeting to reach audiences. This helps brand managers find and target users that have similar demographic characteristics to an existing set of customers. Frank Fumarola, product manager at Pinterest, told Advertising Age:

By giving advertisers the ability to leverage their own data, which they have invested a lot of time and money into, in combination with our data, which largely revolves around a [user’s] intent, we believe we will create an even better Pinner experience. Advertisers will be able to reach people on Pinterest with more relevant and actionable ideas.

Just announced: The Employee Communications, PR and Social Media Summit at Microsoft HQ

Meanwhile, Facebook is using applications like Google Maps and Apple Maps to link on-platform advertisements to in-store visits.

Users will have the option of clicking on maps within the ads that provide directions, hours and contact info. Facebook can also use a store’s WiFi signal to detect whether a user has visited a store location—and it will actually poll the person to confirm whether that’s where they were.

Facebook product manager Sam England told Advertising Age:

It's a seminal moment for Facebook because it's the first time we can close the loop for retailers. It's been difficult to measure and give advertisers the full picture, but now they can see in real time the number of store visits on a location-by-location basis. You can cut the data any way you see fit.

What do you think of the developments, PR Daily readers?

(Image via)

from PR Daily News Feed http://ift.tt/1UvLCg5