Facebook Audience Insights is a powerful tool that provides demographic and interest data on the people who are most likely to engage with your Facebook Page or ad campaigns. When you analyze your target audience in Audience Insights, the data is broken down into four main categories:
Overview
The Overview section provides a high-level snapshot of your target audience. It includes basic demographic information such as age, gender, location, language, education level and relationship status. This section gives you a sense of who your audience is on a broad level.
People
The People section dives deeper into the demographic makeup of your audience. It allows you to analyze your audience across factors like age, gender, relationship status, education level, home ownership and more. This section is useful for understanding the key segments within your target audience.
Age
You can view the age breakdown of your audience, like what percentage are ages 13-17, 18-24, 25-34, etc. This can inform your content strategy and ad targeting.
Gender
See the gender breakdown – what percentage are male vs. female. You may want to tailor content or offers according to gender.
Relationship Status
Understand what % are single, in a relationship, engaged, married, etc. Relationship status can impact interests and purchasing behavior.
Education Level
Education level gives insights into income level and profession. You can see what % have high school diplomas, associate’s, bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees.
Home Ownership
Know if your audience rents or owns their home. Homeowners may be interested in home improvement offers.
Location
The Location section shows where your audience is based. You can view country, city, region and even zip code data. This helps inform your ad targeting and any location-specific content.
Countries
See what countries your audience lives in. This could impact language needs, cultural references, shipping costs if selling products, etc.
Cities
Identify which cities have the highest concentration of your audience. You may want to target local events and news to engage that city’s population.
Regions
Breaks down audience by state/province/territory. Helps you localize marketing and understand regional differences.
Zip Codes
Super-targeted view of US audience by zip code. Enables highly localized marketing.
Interests
The Interests section reveals your audience’s likes, activities, hobbies, behaviors and more. It’s based on Facebook profiles, Pages liked, Groups joined, ads clicked and other behaviors.
Page Likes
Shows the top Facebook Pages your audience has liked. Get ideas for partnerships, influencer marketing and interest-based content.
Interest Categories
High-level categories of this audience’s interests, like Food & Dining, Sports, Fashion. Helpful for ad targeting and content themes.
Sub Categories
Narrows down the interest categories into super-specific sub-topics this audience cares about.
Behavior
Interests based on purchase behaviors and intents – extremely actionable for marketing. Examples: luxury shopper, home improvement shopper, frequent traveler.
Conclusion
In summary, the four main categories in Facebook Audience Insights are:
- Overview – High-level demographic snapshot
- People – Detailed demographics like age, gender, education, home ownership
- Location – Where your audience lives – country, state, city
- Interests – Pages liked, groups joined, purchase intents, hobbies
Audience Insights provides a 360-degree view of your target audience so you can truly understand them and market to them effectively. The more you know about your audience and what makes them tick, the better you can engage them through content and advertising.
Some key ways to use these audience insights include:
- Crafting relevant, value-driven content that speaks to their demographics and interests
- Personalizing messaging to resonate more deeply
- Informing ad targeting to reach the right people
- Optimizing posting times based on their time zones
- Building lookalike audiences to expand reach
- Sending targeted emails or campaigns
- Retargeting active site visitors
- Monitoring audience growth and trends over time
Keep referring back to your Audience Insights data regularly. As you gain more Fans and followers, your audience makeup may evolve. Use these 4 categories to intimately understand your audience and create meaningful engagement at every touchpoint.
Now that we’ve covered the main categories within Audience Insights, let’s go deeper into some examples and use cases for each category.
Overview Examples
The Overview section gives a snapshot of age, gender, location and language preferences for your audience. Here are two examples of the type of insights you can gain:
Nonprofit Organization
| Age | 55% are 35-65 |
| Gender | 60% female |
| Location | Mainly based in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago |
| Language | 98% English (US) |
For a nonprofit, this might indicate creating more daytime events when the middle-aged audience is available, gearing messaging toward women who likely control household donations, and localizing content for their top cities.
Ecommerce Store
| Age | 60% are 18-30 |
| Gender | 55% female |
| Location | Primarily US, UK, Canada, Australia |
| Language | English (US), English (UK) |
A younger audience indicates that this ecommerce site should invest more in social media marketing versus traditional platforms. Women are a key target for fashion and lifestyle brands. The global audience means localizing website content and shipping options.
People Examples
Now let’s look at some more detailed examples within the People category:
University Audience
| Age | 65% are 18-24 college-aged |
| Gender | 55% female |
| Education Level | 35% some college, 60% bachelor’s degree |
| Relationship Status | 70% single |
Since this is a college-dominated audience, content should focus on student life, college advice, academic program spotlights and campus events. Messaging can be tailored toward single students living on their own.
Luxury Brand Audience
| Age | 45% are 35-65 |
| Gender | 60% female |
| Education Level | 45% bachelor’s, 35% graduate degree |
| Home Ownership | 85% home owners |
This affluent audience is middle-aged, highly educated and mostly female. Content should focus on luxury living, highlighting quality and craftsmanship. Messaging can mention household upgrades and gifting.
Location Examples
Let’s look at some location-based examples:
Regional Coffee Shop
| Countries | 100% United States |
| Top Cities | New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland |
| Top States | New York, Illinois, Washington, Oregon |
Since this coffee shop brand has a regional following in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast, they can highlight local attractions and events to engage those audiences. Targeted ads would go to Seattle, Portland, NYC area.
Global Nonprofit
| Countries | US (50%), India (15%), Kenya (12%), Guatemala (9%), Brazil (8%) |
| Top Cities | New York, Chicago, London, Delhi, Rio de Janeiro |
This nonprofit has a global audience. Content and campaigns should represent their diverse locations. Volunteers can be recruited in top cities. Multilingual options are needed.
Interest Examples
Finally, here are some examples of interests and behaviors:
Outdoor Brand
Page Likes: REI, The North Face, National Parks, Backpacker, Outside Magazine
Interest Categories: Outdoor activities, outdoor recreation interests, cycling enthusiasts
Sub Categories: Hiking, camping, rafting, boating, skiing, mountain biking
Behaviors: Outdoor shoppers, frequent travelers
Content should cover outdoor gear, trips, adventures and environmental causes. Ad targeting goes after outdoor and travel shoppers.
Jewelry Brand
Page Likes: Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Bulgari, Vogue, Elle Decor
Interest Categories: Fashion and style, jewelry and accessories, interior design
Sub Categories: Designer handbags, designer jewelry, luxury hotels
Behaviors: Luxury shoppers, frequent travelers, home decor shoppers
Messaging highlights quality, craftsmanship, and elegance. Ad targeting goes after luxury shoppers and fashion content. Interior design partnerships possible.
Putting It All Together
Getting a 360-degree view of your target audience takes looking at these 4 categories holistically. Here are key steps:
- Look at Overview for demographic basics like age, gender, location
- Dive into People for details like education, relationship status, home ownership
- Check Locations to identify your audience’s geographic centers
- Review Interests for their likes, behaviors and purchase intent
- Combine insights from all 4 categories to build your audience profile
- Brainstorm content topics and partnerships based on their demographics and interests
- Inform ad targeting, localization, languages and more based on locations
- Continuously monitor Audience Insights for trends and changes over time
Regularly analyzing these 4 categories in Facebook Audience Insights will help you engage your audience in an authentic, relevant way at every touchpoint.
In summary:
- Overview gives high-level demographics
- People provides detailed demographics
- Locations show where they live
- Interests reveals their hobbies and behaviors
Use these categories to get a complete view of your audience and create tailored, nuanced marketing campaigns that truly resonate.